OXFORD, Miss. – Cliff Godwin has joined the Ole Miss baseball coaching staff as the program’s new hitting coach, head coach Mike Bianco announced on Tuesday.

Spanning the country once again for college baseball nuggets during the off-season…

• Some sad news to start the Notebook this week. San Diego State head coach and MLB Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn has been diagnosed with cancer of the salivary gland. Gwynn’s cancer, which is located beneath his
  

  Tony Gwynn

  tongue, is said to have been diagnosed early. He will begin radiation and chemotherapy treatment.

• A much needed shot in the arm for college baseball  out of Lincoln, NE. The University of Nebraska announced it plans to spend $4.75 million to build an indoor baseball/softball practice facility that would be located at Haymarket Park, where the Cornhuskers play their home baseball games inside Hawks Field. The proposed 22,000 square foot facility would include indoor batting cages and pitchers mounds. It will also give Nebraska a big leg-up when it heads to the Big Ten. The news also comes just more than a week after Cal-Berkley announced it will eliminate baseball, which has been in existence since 1892, after the upcoming 2011 season. Cal is currently in the process of an estimated $321 million renovation of its football stadium. Nebraska also plans to renovated its football stadium. That proposed project will cost about $55.5 million. Both Nebraska projects are still subject to final approval by its Board of Regents.
  

  Future MLB great Steve Garvey played football & baseball at Michigan St. (courtesy MSU athletics).

• Former MLB great Steve Garvey was recently inducted into the Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame. Garvey was a football and baseball player at MSU from 1966-1968. In those days freshmen were not eligible to play, so Garvey served as head coach Duffy Daugherty’s scout team quarterback the week before the epic 10-10 tie with #1 Notre Dame. Garvey recorded 30 tackles on the gridiron the next fall as a defensive back and then earned All-American honors on the diamond in the spring of 1968 with a .376 average, nine home runs and 38 RBIs. He belted a grand slam in his first career at-bat at MSU. Garvey left Michigan State after the LA Dodgers took him with the 13th overall pick in the 1968 draft. He went on to play in five World Series and earned 1974 NL MVP honors.

• Speaking of two sport athletes, we released our second Two-Sport Report of the fall last week. Among the notable recent performances noted there is Jacksonville State quarterback Coty Blanchard. The freshman earned All-Ohio Valley Conference honors last week for his efforts in the Gamecock’s win over Murray State. Jacksonville St. is ranked 4th in the most recent FCS national rankings. Blanchard was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles out of high school this June and plans to play shortstop at JSU next spring. The Two-Sport Report also includes updates on the likes of Clemson’s Kyle Parker, NC State’s Russell Wilson, Taiwan Easterling of Florida State, and many others.

• South Carolina head coach Ray Tanner has received a contract extension. Tanner earned the extension after leading the Gamecocks to the program’s first national championship earlier this year. The new deal runs through 2015 and will pay him $510, 000 annually.

• We also recently released a list of former college baseball players who are on the rosters of MLB Playoff teams. San Franciso Giants rookie Buster Posey is among those on the list. Each of the eight playoff teams has at least 16 former college guys on their active roster. Would you believe Kent State is tied with two other schools for the most players on the list? Click Here to see the full rundown.

• Florida and Ole Miss each released their schedules last week. The Rebels don’t have any eye-popping non-conference games, but the Gators host three games with Miami and also play four games against Florida State. The series is split with single games in Gainesville, Talahassee, Tampa, and Jacksonville. Florida and Ole Miss will also each host defending national champion South Carolina in SEC action.
  

  Cody Regis, Trevor Brown and Aaron Weimer were among UCLA players honored at Dodger Stadium (UCLA photo).

• The UCLA baseball team was recently honored at Dodger Stadium for its runner-up finish at the College World Series. The Bruins finished the 2010 season with the best record in school history at 51-17 before falling to South Carolina in the best-of-three CWS Championship Series. The Dodgers also announced the 2011 Dodgertown Classic, which will take place March 11-13 at Dodger Stadium. UCLA, USC, Georgia, and St. Mary’s (CA) will all participate.

• LSU has long been one of the most popular college baseball teams in the country, and it’s showing as well in the world of social media. According to sportsfangraph.com, LSU baseball ranks 29th in baseball social media followers. The Tiger’s combined Facebook and Twitter numbers total roughly 109,00o. The #29 ranking is tops among college baseball programs and comes in ahead of three MLB teams: the Pittsburgh Pirates, Arizona Diamondbacks and Washington Nationals. Sports Fan Graph tracks more than 84-million fans who follow teams on Facebook and more than 17-million who track teams on Twitter. The New York Yankees are the most followed baseball team with more than 4.5 million social media fans.

• Texas scrimmaged Texas State Sunday, and there were both old and new faces on the diamond for Augie Garrido’s Longhorns. Texas lost 9-0 in the 12-inning fall exhibition, but next season’s potential starting rotation pitched well. junior Taylor Jungmann, senior Cole Green and sophomore Hoby Miner combined to surrender just one hit and one walk over the first 6.0 innings. Jungmann fired two perfect innings, while Green gave-up the hit. Sophomore Keifer Nuncio and freshman Nathan Thornhill combined to give-up seven runs in the 10th and 11th innings. It is the fall, and the Longhorns had trouble trying to turn double plays in both of those innings that would have limited the Bobcat damage.

Ole Miss is the latest SEC school to release its 2011 college baseball schedule. The Rebels will open the new season by hosting a three game series with Wright State February 18-20. They continue their five game season opening homestand by hosting Memphis and Arkansas State in Oxford on Feb. 22 and 23, respectively.

CLICK HERE to see the complete 2011 Ole Miss schedule.

Mississippi opens SEC play by hosting Alabama March 1-3. Other home SEC series are against Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi State, and defending national champion South Carolina. The Rebels go on the road to play Tennessee, LSU, Auburn, Florida, and Arkansas in conference action.

Ole Miss will face Southern Mississippi in both Hattiesburg and Pearl, MS and will also travel to Pearl to play Mississippi State in a mid-week non-conference game. Games in Pearl will be played at Trustmark Park, which is the home of the AA Mississippi Braves.

The SEC Tournament is May 25-29 in Hoover, AL.

The place to find authentic college baseball caps is Dugouthats.com. The Dugout has been selling officially licensed gear during the College World Series in Omaha for 15 years, and now you can find all the same great gear online at Dugouthats.com. Whether it’s CWS apparel, or hats of your favorite teams like LSU, Texas, Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, UCLA, South Carolina, Miami and more you’ll find them at Dugouthats.com!

Milestones & Upsets Highlight The First Week Of 2010

Max Willett (UNM photo)

2…wins by unranked New Mexico at #1 Texas in Austin.  The Lobos lost the season-opener on Friday, but came back with 3-1 and 6-5 wins Saturday and Sunday.  The wins are the first ever for New Mexico over a #1 ranked team.  Texas topped every national poll heading into the season.

.636…batting average by Lobo Max Willett in the 3-game series.  He had a 1.615 OPS with two doubles and a triple.  Willett also had the game-winning RBI in Saturday’s win.

23…runs by Washington State in Sunday’s 23-o rout of Seattle-the most runs by a Cougar team since 1999.  15 different Cougars had at least one hit.

5…Wazzou pitchers who combined in the shutout.

1,001…Career wins by LSU head coach Paul Mainieri after his Tigers’ 3-game weekend sweep of Centenary.  Mainieri hit the 1,000 win mark with Saturday’s 25-8 victory.

1,000…Career wins by Ohio State head coach Bob Todd after his Buckeyes won three games over the weekend in Jacksonville, FL.  OSU pounded Richmond 20-9 Sunday to get Todd to the milestone.

Danny Hall (GT photo)

901…career wins for Georgia Tech’s Danny Hall after a weekend sweep of Missouri State.

36…runs scored by Canisius in a doubleheader sweep of Illinois-Chicago Saturday at the USA Baseball Complex in Cary, NC.  The Golden Griffins won the first game 20-4 and took the second game 16-10.

3…games Stanford won vs. 5th ranked Rice in Palo Alto.

11…runs Stanford scored in the 7th inning of game two of the series on Saturday.  The Cardinal was trailing 4-2 at the time.

5…pitchers Rice used during Stanford’s biggest inning in nearly two years.

265…wins at Cal State Fullerton’s Goodwin Field by Oregon (and former Fullerton) head coach George Horton after Friday’s upset of the 4th ranked Titans.

6-5…the score of Friday’s Louisiana-Monroe win over Ole Miss.  It was the Rebels’ first season-opening loss since 1981.

Paul Karmas (St. John's photo)

1 & 15…combined hits and strikeouts by St. John’s starting pitchers Bruce Kern (5 IP-0H-0BB-8K) and Nick Cenatiempo (4 IP-1 H-0R-BB-7) in Friday and Saturday wins over New Orleans.

3…home runs by Red Storm 1B Paul Karmas in Sunday’s 31-6 win over UNO.

5…total runs by West Virginia in weekend losses to #17 Coastal Carolina, Kentucky and Virginia Tech.

9 1/2…runs a game scored by the Mountaineers last year-which ranked 12th in the nation.

14,922…fans who saw #2 Virginia win two of three games over #11 East Carolina at ECU’s Clark-LeClair Stadium.  Friday’s opening day crowd of 5,012 is the largest in stadium history.  Saturday’s crowd of 5,136 marked the first time ECU ever had back-to-back attendance of more than 5.000.

14…combined pitchers used by the Cavaliers (6) and Pirates (8) in Sunday’s 14-11 UVA series-clinching win.

3 2/3…innings pitched by UVA starter Cody Winiarski.  It was the longest stint for any of the 14 hurlers.  Virginia had 19 hits while East Carolina totaled 11.

4:11…the total time of the 9-inning game.

4:39…time of Lamar’s 5-4 win in 17-innings over Maine.  The game is the longest in Lamar history.  The two teams had played a 2 hour and 27 minute 9-inning game prior to the marathon.

12…strikeouts in 6 innings by Georgia Tech’s Jed Bradley in Sunday’s 13-0 win over Missouri State.  The lefty allowed just four hits and retired 6 of the first 8 batters he faced via strikeout.

13…strikeouts in 6 innings by Arizona freshman Kurt Heyer.  Heyer allowed just three hits and fanned 13 of the 22 batters he faced in Sunday’s win over Utah Valley in his collegiate debut.

2,500…all-time wins for the Arizona baseball program after Heyer’s performance Sunday.

Kevin Tokarski (ISU photo)

8…straight wins by UC Irvine pitcher Daniel Bibona after his 10 strikeout performance in a 5-1 win over Loyola Marymount.

3…the magic number during opening weekend for Illinois State’s Kevin Tokarski.  The redshirt sophomore tripled on the Redbirds’ first pitch of 2010.  He stole 3 bases with 3 doubles in his team’s first three games of the season.   Tokarski was a 2008 Freshman All-American, but missed last season due to wrist surgery.

8,803…total attendance of TCU‘s season-opening 3-game sweep of 2009 NCAA participant Sam Houston State.  The mark is a single-series TCU record.

.800…batting average by Horned Frog freshman Josh Elander.  He was 8-for-10 with a team-high six RBIs to start his career.

1…hit allowed in 6 innings on the mound by Conference USA Preseason Pitcher of the Year Todd McInnis.  The Southern Mississippi hurler didn’t give-up a hit until there were two outs in the 5th inning of Friday’s win over Northwestern State.  He exited the game after he reached his 75 pitch limit.

10 of 10…Pac 10 Conference teams that finished opening weekend with a winning record.  The Pac 10 is the only BCS conference that claimed that distinction over the first three days of the 2010 season.

National Champ LSU And Arkansas Look For CWS Returns

2009 Eastern Division Champion:  Florida

2009 Western Division Champion:  LSU & Ole Miss Tied with 20-10 records

2009 SEC Tournament Champion:  LSU

Banner Year:  Teams outside the SEC often complain the conference gets too much respect when it comes to NCAA Tournament bids, but the SEC lived-up to its lofty status last year.  Eight SEC teams received NCAA bids in 2009, with half of them, LSU, Ole Miss, Florida, and Arkansas, advancing to at least a Super Regional.  Arkansas and LSU both made it to Omaha, while the Tigers winning the 2009 National Championship.

Big Crowds:  The SEC drew a record of nearly 1.9 million fans to its on-campus ballparks in 2009, the fourth year in a row to draw over 1.6 million. Seven SEC teams drew in excess of 100,000 fans to their parks in 2009. The SEC averaged a record 4,689 fans per game in 2009, the third straight year to exceed the 4,000 mark.

2010 SEC Western Division Preview

Alabama

2009 Record:  (37-21, 18-11)

Mascot:  Crimson Tide

Head Coach: Mitch Gaspard

Location:  Tuscaloosa, AL

Vitals:  .330 BA, 107 HR, 60 SB, .415 OBP, .971 Fld%…5.13 ERA, 4 CG, 11 SV, 487 K, 182 BB, .277 opp. BA

New Head Coach:  Mitch Gaspard took the reigns of the Alabama program after long time skipper Jim Wells

Ross Wilson (ESPN.com)

retired last summer.  Gaspard served two stints as an assistant to Wells, including the last two seasons as Alabama’s recruiting coordinator.  He was the head coach at Northwestern State from 2002-2007.  Prior to that he helped Wells take Alabama to the College World Series three times as a Crimson Tide assistant.

Solid Returns:  Preseason All-American 2B Ross Wilson (.353, 9 HR, 57 RBIs) is one of four returning players who started at least 49 games last year.  Senior Jake Smith (.359, 18 HR, 54 RBIs), Freshman All-American Taylor Dugas (.352, 13 SB) and Josh Rutledge (.305) are back as well, as is Clay Jones (.331, 7 HR, 39 RBIs), who started just 35 games last year.  The biggest loss to the line-up is OF Kent Matthes (.358, 28 HR, 81 RBIs), who tied for the NCAA home run lead.

Pitching Questions:  Alabama loses starters Austin Hyatt (8-3, 3.76 ERA) and Del Howell (5-3, 6.33 ERA).  Those two combined to make 26 starts & tossed three of the staff’s four complete games.  With nine starts last year soph. LHP Adam Morgan (4-2, 4.17 ERA) is the team’s most experience returning starter.  Redshirt soph. reliever Tyler White (1-0, 2.28 ERA, 2 SV) and Jr. Nathan Kilcrease (4-4, 4.11 ERA, 2 SV) are among the top returning relievers.

Arkansas

2009 Record:  (41-24, 14-15)

Mascot:  Razorbacks

Head Coach:  Dave Van Horn

Location:  Fayetteville, AR

Vitals:  .273 BA, 80 HR, 67 SB, .368 OBP, .968 Fld%…4.67 ERA, 1 CG, 16 SV, 511 K, 245 BB, .267 opp. BA

Andy Wilkins

All-American Trio:  Juniors Brett Eibner (.231, 12 HR, 54 RBIs) & Andy Wilkins (.319, 19 HR, 58 RBIs) and sophomore Zach Cox (.266, 13 HR, 39 RBIs) have all received preseason All-American recognition.  Arkansas, LSU and Texas are the only three schools in the country to have three players receive All-American recognition.  Cox was a Freshman All-American last year as well.

Two-Way Duo:  Eibner and Cox are pitchers as well.  Eibner (5-5, 5.00 ERA) tied a team-high with 17 starts last year with the staff’s only complete game.  Cox (5-1, 4.82 ERA, SV) mad all 14 of his appearances out of the bullpen.

Plenty More Pitching:  Senior Mike Bolsinger (6-4, 2.99 ERA, 2SV) is among the top returning pitchers to the Razorback staff.  He picked-up the only save at last year’s College World Series.  Drew Smyly (3-1, 4.66 ERA, 14 starts).  Dallas Keuchel (9-3, 3.92 ERA) and Stephen Richards (6-2, 2.19 ERA, 9 SV) are the biggest staff losses

Auburn

2009 Record:  (31-25, 11-19)

Mascot:  Tigers

Head Coach:  John Pawlowski

Location:  Auburn, AL

Vitals:  .286 BA, 103 HR, 40 SB, .381 OBP, .969 Fld%…6.12 ERA, 0 CG, 12 SV, 411 K, 228 BB, .321 opp. BA

Notable Drought:  Since going to the NCAA Tournament five times from 2000-2005 Auburn has missed the tourney the last four years.

Mound Presence:  Junior LHP Grant Dayton (2-6, 5.92 ERA) and soph. Jon Luke Jacobs (3-4, 5.74 ERA) are back to lead the weekend rotation.  They are expected to be joined by 6’7 lefty Cole Nelson, a junior college transfer who was drafted in the 48th round by Tampa Bay last year.  Austin Hubbard (3-3, 4.20 ERA, 12 SV) and Bradley Hendrix (7-3, 5.09 ERA) are back to lead the bullpen.  Hendrix’s 7 wins led the staff as did his 24 relief appearances.  Another juco transfer, Stephen Kohlscheen, helped lead Cowley College to last year’s Junior College World Series.

A Lot In The Line-Up:  Auburn returns seven of its top nine hitters from 2009.  Justin Hargett led the Tigers in average (.330) and on-base percentage (.426).  He’s joined by Brian Fletcher (.301, 17 HR, 54 RBIs), Casey McElroy (.286, 7 HR), Hunter Morris (.282, 12 HR), and Tony Caldwell (.281, 9 HR).

No Mummey…For Now:  Auburn recently announced that centerfielder Trent Mummey (.289, 15 HR) will miss at least a month with a severely sprained right ankle.  Mummey had 17 of Auburn’s 40 stolen bases last year.  He was also named to the SEC All-Defensive Team.   Junior college transfer Justin Fradejas will fill-in until he returns.

Desert Challenge:  The Tigers go to Tempe, AZ for a 3-game series with Arizona State March 12-14.

LSU

2009 Record:  (56-17, 20-10)

Mascot:  Tigers

Head Coach:  Paul Mainieri

Location:  Baton Rouge, LA

Vitals:  .315 BA, 107 HR, 114 SB, .405 OBP, .974 Fld%…4.02 ERA, 679 K, 186 BB, .257 opp. BA

Anthony Ranaudo (ESPN.com photo)

LSU Line-Up Losses:  The Tigers lose four of their top five batters from last year’s National Championship team.  D.J. LeMahieu (.350, 12 SB), Ryan Schimpf (.336, 22 HR, 70 RBIs, 18 SB), Sean Ochinko (.333, 9 HR), and Jared Mitchell (.327, 11 HR, 36 SB) are all gone.

Top Bats Back:  LSU still returns the like of Sr. Blake Dean (.328, 17 HR, 71 RBIs), Tyler Hanover (.321), SEC Tournament MVP Mikie Mahtook (.316, 7 HR), Leon Landry (.300, 12 HR), and slick fielding Austin Nola, who didn’t join the starting line-up until LSU’s 40th game of the season last year.  He did not commit an error at shortstop in 24 chances at the College World Series.

On The Hill:  While they lose top overall pitcher Louis Coleman (14-2, 2.93 ERA, 142 K), the Tigers return several top notch pitchers to carry the load.  The group is led by junior Anthony Ranaudo (12-3, 3.04, 159 K).  He’s joined by Austin Ross (6-8, 5.18 ERA), soph.closer Matty Ott (4-2, 2.68 ERA, 16 SV), Daniel Bradshaw (4-0, 3.04 ERA), Paul Bertuccini (2-0, 3.86 ERA, 3 SV), and Chris Matulis (6-2, 4.82 ERA).

On The Bayou:  LSU plays its first 21 games of the season in Louisiana.  The only road game is at Northwestern State in Natchitoches.

Mississippi

2009 Record:  (44-20-, 20-10)

Mascot:  Rebels

Head Coach:  Mike Bianco

Location:  Oxford, MS

Vitals:  .310 BA, 56 HR, 92 SB, .398 OBP, .970 Fld%…4.06 ERA, 4 CG, 17 SV, 623 K, 189 BB, .271 opp. BA

Dealing With Draft Losses:  After setting a school record with 20 wins in SEC play Ole Miss had 11 players drafted last year, including five underclassmen who signed pro contracts.  Jordan Henry (.343, 38 SB), Logan Power (.311, 7 HR, 20 doubles) and Kyle Henson (.338, 8 HR) are the top losses in the line-up.   Scott Bittle (5-2, 2.17 ERA), Phillip Irwin (8-3, 3.84 ERA), Brett Bukvich (9-3, 4.42 ERA), and Nathan Baker (4-3, 3.63 ERA) are all gone from the pitching staff.

Matt Smith (secsports.com)

Bats That Are Back:  The good news for the Rebles is three players shared the team lead with 8 home runs, and two of those players, Matt Smith (.336, 8 HR, 59 RBIs) and Matt Snyder (.298, 8 HR, 31 RBIs) are back this year.  Smith was the team RBI leader.  Snyder and his twin brother, Mike, are expected to share the corner infield spots.  Tim Ferguson (.358, 18 SB) and Zac Miller (.341) are among other top returnees to the line-up.

Mound Returnees:  Junior LHP Drew Pomeranz (8-4, 3.40 ERA) will lead the weekend rotation.  Closer Jake Morgan (4-1, 3.46 ERA, 9 saves) suffered an injury in the off-season, so David Goforth (1-1, 2.80 ERA, 3 SV) is expected to move into that role.   Senior Rory McKean (5-1, 4.53 ERA) is among a handful of other experience relievers who return.

Welcome Back?:  The Rebels will host a 3-game series with reigning Big East Champion Louisville March 12-14.  The Cardinals are coached by former Ole Miss assistant Dan McDonnell and have been to Super Regionals in two of the last three seasons.

Mississippi State

2009 Record:  (25-29, 9-20)

Mascot:  Bulldogs

Head Coach:  John Cohen

Location:  Starkville, MS

Vitals:  .298 BA, 61 HR, 72 SB, .398 OBP, .968 Fld%…6.57 ERA, 5 CG, 12 SV, 365 K, 246 BB, .304 opp. BA

Dogs Absent:  Since making NCAA Tournament appearances from 2003-2007, including the ’07 CWS, Mississippi State has missed the last two NCAA Tourneys.  In fact, the Bulldogs have not been to the SEC tournament for the last two years either.

Big Dogs Back:  1B Connor Powers (.301, 19 HR, 63 RBIs) and DH Ryan Duffy (.339, 10 HR, 33 RBIs) were MSU’s top home runs hitters last year, and they’re both back to lead the offense.  Jet Butler (.335) and Russ Sneed (.333, 9 HR, 43 RBIs) return as well.  Leading hitter Scott DeLoach (.353) and Grant Hogue (.315, 29 SB) are the biggest offensive losses.

Hard Working Dogs:   Nick Routt (5-3, 4.15 ERA, 4 CG) and Tyler Whitney (3-4, 5.18 ERA, CG), who accounted for 24 of the staff’s 54 starts and all five complete games last year, are both back.   The Bulldogs lose saves leader Chad Crosswhite (6 SV, 7.38 ERA).  Routt is expected to lead the rotation, while Whitney could move to the closer role.  Lefty junior college transfer Trey Johnson and freshman Chris Stratton could factor in the weekend rotation.  Johnson hit 19 HR as a two-way player last year at Blinn (TX) CC.

Special Delivery:  For the second straight year Mississippi State players hand delivered tickets in neighborhoods throughout Starkville to local fans who ordered 2010 season tickets.  Head coach John Cohen started the program when he was the head coach at Kentucky.

2010 SEC Western Division Predictions

Top Western Division Player:  Andy Wilkins – Arkansas

Top Western Division Pitcher:  Anthony Ranaudo – LSU

Western Division Champion:  LSU

CLICK HERE to see the Eastern Division Preview & Predictions

2010 SEC Baseball Overall Predictions

SEC Player of the Year:  Preston Tucker – Florida

SEC Pitcher of the Year:  Anthony Ranaudo – LSU

Overall SEC Champion:  South Carolina

Tigers’ Schedule highlighted by 29 home games at FedExPark

Memphis Head Coach Daron Schoenrock

Schoenrock stated. “Conference USA weekend series’ are very tough and our non-conference schedule is designed to prepare the team for these weekends. Strength of schedule is a huge factor in developing the RPI necessary to make the NCAA Regionals. I look forward to seeing the 2010 Tiger team attack this schedule and the challenges that await us.”

Complete 2010 Memphis Schedule

With a more experienced club, Schoenrock has ramped up the competition for the upcoming season. In its 56-game schedule, Memphis will play 20 games against 2009 NCAA Regional participants, 14 contests versus five clubs that won either their respective regular season or conference tournament titles, 11 games against NCAA Regional champs and three against one College World Series qualifier.

With FedExPark set to open in February, Memphis will get the 2010 season underway, at home, with a three-game set against in-state rival and Sun Belt Tournament champs Middle Tennessee State–one of the Tiger’s seven opponents that advanced to NCAA postseason play in 2009. The MTSU series is just one of four weekends in which Memphis will host an NCAA Regional foe. The Tigers will also host 2009 Ohio Valley Tournament champ Tennessee Tech (Mar. 19-21), 2009 C-USA Tournament winner Rice (Mar. 26-28) and 2009 C-USA regular season title holders East Carolina (Apr. 9-11) at the new ballpark.

Memphis will welcome C-USA opponents Tulane (Apr. 23-25) and UAB (May 7-9) to its new home, while making weekend trips to Marshall (Apr. 2-3), Houston (Apr. 16-18), UCF (Apr. 30- May 2) and College World Series participant Southern Miss (May 20-22).

As is customary for the Tigers, they will participate in the Service Academies Spring Classic at Millington’s USA Stadium. There Memphis will take on Toledo, Pittsburgh and Bradley on Feb 26-28, respectively.

The Tiger’s non-conference slate is highlighted by a pair tilts versus NCAA Regional champions Ole Miss. Memphis will travel to Oxford, Miss. for a March 2 meeting, before hosting the Rebels in the annual clash at AutoZone Park on April 13. In efforts to boost its RPI late in the year, Memphis will travel to Big 12 member, Oklahoma for a three-game weekend, May 14-16. The U of M will make home-and-home trips with Louisiana-Monroe and Arkansas State. Other non-league sets include a two-game series’ at Dallas Baptist (Mar. 12-13) and against South Alabama (Mar. 16-17).

For the second-straight season, the Tigers will make the short drive to Jackson, Tenn., to play Austin Peay at Pringles Park, home of the Seattle Mariners Class AA affiliate West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx.

Memphis will play single road games at UT-Martin (Feb.23), at Mississippi State (Mar. 24). The Tigers will host single home contests against Portland (Mar. 8), UCA (May 11) and Murray State (May 12).

(Release)

Diamond Rebels To Play 34 Home In 2010 Season

OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss baseball team will play 34 home dates in the 2010 baseball season head coach Mike Bianco announced on Wednesday, as the Rebels look to defend their 2009 Southeastern Conference Championship and earn a ninth berth in the NCAA Tournament over the last 10 seasons.

Full 2010 Ole Miss Schedule

The Rebels’ schedule will feature home SEC weekends against Florida, Tennessee, LSU, Arkansas and Auburn, while Ole Miss will go on the road to face Kentucky, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi State and Alabama. Vanderbilt rotates off the Rebels’ schedule in favor of the Tennessee Volunteers this season.

“As always, we’re playing a challenging schedule, but one that I think really will be of interest to fans of Ole Miss baseball,” said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco. “In addition to the SEC schedule, we’re going on the road to face Tulane and will bring Louisville here to Oxford – both teams who have been to the NCAA Tournament several times in the past few seasons.

“We try to schedule a good mix of teams that will be exciting for our fans,” Bianco continued. “We also want a schedule that will prepare us for conference play and another post-season appearance as we work towards our ultimate goal of continuing to bring championships to Ole Miss and advance to the College World Series.”

In addition to the 30 Southeastern Conference games, Ole Miss will also play a weekend series on the road against Tulane and will also welcome the Louisville Cardinals to Oxford for a weekend series. Eight of the teams on the schedule participated in the NCAA Tournament a year ago, comprising 23 games on the Rebels’ schedule.

Ole Miss opens the 2010 season with eight consecutive home dates, including weekend series’ against Louisiana-Monroe and Oakland before hitting the road to face the Green Wave. The Rebels will then play a pair of mid-week games against Austin Peay before welcoming Louisville and former Ole Miss assistant Dan McDonnell back to Swayze Field for a weekend series.

The Rebels then kick-off Southeastern Conference play the next weekend on the road at Kentucky. Two straight home weekends then await the Rebels with series against Eastern Division foes Florida and Tennessee before returning to the road for weekend contests at Georgia and South Carolina.

The second half of the conference season kicks off with the Rebels hosting LSU before taking to the road for a series against in-state rival Mississippi State. Ole Miss closes out the season against Arkansas at home before traveling to play Alabama and facing Auburn at home in the final series of the year.

Ole Miss also plays mid-week contests against Southern Miss at Trustmark Park and in Oxford, while also continuing the Governor’s Cup series against Mississippi State at Trustmark Park.

The Rebels open the 2010 season on Friday, February 19 against Louisiana-Monroe in a three-game series at Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field.

(Press Release)