March 31, 2008

Memphis at Ole Miss Notes

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The University of Memphis baseball team will look to get back in the win column and break a four-year streak this week, when it takes on Ole Miss in a home-and-home midweek series. The Tigers and Rebels will play in the annual tilt at AutoZone Park on Tuesday, before heading to Oxford for the series finale at Swayze Field on Wednesday. Both games are scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. first pitch.

The Pitching Matchups
Tues., April 1, 2008 • 6:30 p.m.
Ole Miss - So., LHP, Nathan Baker (1-3, 5.32 ERA)
Memphis - So., LHP, Brach Davis (2-1, 3.97 ERA)

Wed., April 2, 2008 • 6:30 p.m. • Oxford, Miss
Memphis - So., RHP, Marc Ashley (1-2, 4.20 ERA)
Ole Miss - So., RHP, Phillip Irwin (2-1, 4.12 ERA)

Tracking the Tigers
Memphis comes into the week with a five-game losing streak to fall to 11-15 on the year. The skid is the longest losing streak of the year. The Tigers dropped a pair of midweek tilts to Austin Peay and Arkansas State last week and were unable to turn things around in a C-USA weekend at Marshall. The Tigers were victimized by a questionable balk call to lose game one of the series 6-5 and the bats were then silenced for the remainder of the weekend as Memphis was only able to muster three runs in the final two games of the series. The U of M was two-hit in an 11-1 seven-inning loss on Sunday.

The offense continues to struggle, ranking last in C-USA in batting average (.241), slugging (.334), on base percentage (.349), hits (213) and homers (12). Trey Wiedman is the lone Tiger hitting over .300, checking in with a .323 clip. He leads the team with 30 hits, 19 RBI and five home runs. Freshman Chad Zurcher has been a bright spot in the offense. Zurcher is third on the team with a .279 average, but has hit safely in 15 consecutive games. The Knoxville native leads Memphis with 20 runs scored and 62 assists in the field. Brett Bowen ranks second on the team with seven doubles and 18 RBI. K.K. Chalmers, who is now the program's all-time leader in runs scored and walks after last week's slate. Chalmers has a team-best 12 stolen bases and is the third C-USA player ever to reach 100 steals. He has 101 career bases and is six shy of the second-place spot on the C-USA list.

The mound has held its own despite the hitting woes, Tiger pitchers combine for a 4.50 ERA and 214 strikeouts. Opponents hit .279 against them. Scott McGregor and Will Hudgens lead the way for the Memphis starting corps. McGregor has logged a 4.15 ERA, while Hudgens has a 4.18 clip. Both have struck out a staff-high 30 batters. Matt Yokley's three saves anchors the bullpen. The Collierville, Tenn., native has a 1-0 record and a 1.50 ERA. Opposing batters are hitting just .140 against him with 20 strikeouts. Brach Davis, a product of Southaven High School, will toe the rubber in the Tuesday's series opener. The southpaw is 2-1 on the year with a 3.97 ERA. He has 22 strikeouts in his six appearances. Marc Ashley will get the starting nod on Wednesday. Ashley is coming off a short injury stint and has not seen action in a few weeks. He 1-2 in three outings (all starts) and has fanned nine.

Scouting the Rebels
No. 27 Ole Miss brings a 16-11 mark into the midweek series after losing an SEC weekend to Alabama. The Rebels entered the week 15-8 and ranked 15th in the country after dropping two of three to Florida in league action. However, losses to Southern Miss and Bama extended the Ole Miss losing streak to five games before they were able to right the ship with a 2-1 win over the Tide on Sunday.

The Rebs showcase a potent offense attack that has put together a team batting average of .307. The offense is led by Munford High School product Cody Overbeck's .368 average, 11 doubles, seven homers and 25 RBI. He is followed by Fuller Smith (.361), Matt Smith (.357) and Logan Power (.354). Matt Smith is second on the club with six homers, while Power has driven in 24. Ole Miss has hit 27 home runs as a team.

Ole Miss is just as impressive on the hill, logging a team ERA of 3.50 and holding opponents to a .250 average at the plate. The staff is paced by Rory McKean, who is 2-0 with a 1.33 ERA. Reliever Scott Bittle leads the bullpen with two saves and a 1.59 ERA in 12 appearances. Bittle leads the pitching staff with and astounding 53 strikeouts in just 28.1 innings of relief. Starter Lance Lynn is the staff ace, with a 4-0 mark and a 2.52 ERA. He is second to Bittle with 48 K's. Tuesday night starter Nathan Baker is a native of Cordova, Tenn., and is a Cordova High School graduate. Baker is 1-3 in five starts and has compiled a 5.32 ERA with 16 strikeouts. Wednesday's starter, Phillip Irwin is also a local product, hailing from Collierville, Tenn. and playing his high school ball at CBHS. The righthander is 2-1 on the year with a 4.12 ERA. He has fanned 19 in five starts. Opponents hit .363 against him.

The Memphis-Ole Miss Series
The Memphis-Ole Miss rivalry is one of the longest standing series for the Tiger baseball team. The series goes way back to the 1915 season with Ole Miss holding an 88-52-1 advantage.

The Tigers have dropped eight straight to the Rebels and have been swept in seven (1999-2000, 2002 and 2004-07) of the last nine season series. Since the 1999 season, Ole Miss has claimed 16 of 19 games.

The last Memphis win came on April 23, 2003, when it snapped a six-game skid with a 6-3 win over the Rebels in Oxford. Then-true freshman Stephen Gostkowski kept the Rebels off the scoreboard in his three innings of work, allowing just one run and striking out three in his first outing as a collegian in his home state.