By Alex Lake | The Daily Mississippian
Ole Miss faces its toughest competition outside of the SEC when the Rebels host the Louisville Cardinals for a three game series tonight at 6:30 p.m.
Ole Miss is set to face their toughest competition this weekend outside of the Southeastern Conference. No. 18 Ole Miss (11-2) will welcome the No. 8 team this weekend when the Louisville Cardinals (12-0) come to Oxford for a threegame series, beginning tonight at 6:30.
A familiar face will also make a return trip to Oxford when Cardinals head coach Dan McDonnell faces his former boss and friend, head coach Mike Bianco.
McDonnell was hired by Bianco before the 2001 season and spent six seasons in Oxford before leaving to become Louisville’s 18th head baseball coach. Since the hire, the Cardinals have enjoyed instant success with McDonnell at the helm.
“I’m very proud of what he’s done there. It’s been really remarkable when you look at the record and the success instantly but also continued,” Bianco said.
McDonnell’s success, Bianco noted, came after only 353 days as the new head coach. He had his team playing at the shrine of college baseball, Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb. The Cardinals have also won back-to-back Big East tournament championships and their first regular season championship in 2009. Bianco is not the only person that will remember his former assistant coach. Second baseman Zach Miller, a redshirt senior, came to Ole Miss in 2006 after McDonnell recruited him from his high school in Germantown, Tenn.
“He definitely persuaded me to come here. He is a great recruiter and he was real enthusiastic about everything he does, whether it was coach, recruiting or being a friend off the field,” Miller said.
McDonnell worked with the infield in his years at Ole Miss. He was also the recruiting coordinator that recruited Colorado Rockies RF Seth Smith and former Rebel great, Steven Head. UM’s recruiting had four top-20 classes in the six years McDonnell was in Oxford.
“I remember him working a lot with the fielders. He was a good infield coach and a head coach. He knows what he is doing. It is exciting to play Louisville. They are a good ball team to play, and it gets us ready for SEC,” Miller said.
Miller has led the Rebels in RBI this season. The senior is third in Southeastern Conference with 20 RBI on the year.
While the past five years have been very successful for Louisville.
This year’s team may be just as good or better. The Cardinals will enter Oxford-University Stadium with an unblemished record at 12-0.
Louisville has enjoyed solid pitching from their staff this season with an overall 2.54 earned run average (ERA). RHP Thomas Royse will take mound Friday for the Cardinals with an ERA of 0.50 giving up only one run in 18 complete innings striking out 19 batters, over one per inning.
Louisville’s bats have not been too bad either. Through 12 games, the Cardinals are batting .331 as a team. Second baseman Adam Duvall is leading the team batting .400 with 10 doubles and 10 RBI on the year. Ole Miss will send their preseason All-American LHP Drew Pomanerz (2-0) Friday night after a solid performance last week against Tulane pitching 6.0 innings giving up six hits with only one run earned. The Rebels will be without their starting first baseman in Matt Snyder as he recovers from injury.
Games are scheduled for Saturday at 1:30 p.m. and Sunday at 12:30 p.m. at Swayze Field.
