Courtesy: University of Mississippi
FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
While the Ole Miss Baseball team won’t hit the diamond to compete for a championship until next February, the Rebels will hit field to compete for a different set of bragging rights this weekend with the 2008 Fall World Series.
Thursday, the Red and Blue teams will face off in a best of three series to determine the winner of the annual fall event for the Rebels. All games will be played at Oxford High School and fans are welcome to come out for the event, but asked to be mindful of the fact that school will be in session for Oxford High. Admission is free.
The squad will be divided into two teams and will face-off up to three times this weekend. The first game begins at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday with the second game being held at the same time on Friday. Sunday’s game, if necessary, will begin at 1:00 p.m.
While there are a lot of new faces on the diamond this season who will be experiencing the Fall World Series for the first time, leading the two squads are a pair of savvy veterans who have been through their share of fall contests.
Serving as captain of the Blue is senior southpaw Brett Bukvich, while leading the Red will be junior right-hander Wade Broyles. Unlike past seasons where a member of the coaching staff managed each team, this year will find each team under the management of its respective captain.
Both captains are confident heading into the weekend and expect big performances out of their teams.
“It’s going to be a good weekend,” Broyles said. “These games are a big tradition and it’s going to be fun. We had a great draft and got a good team with some power arms and some really good bats. We’re going to be aggressive, steal a few bases, pick people off, hit the ball and win some games.
“It looks like it should be a tight contest, but we’re going to make it seem not as close and try to take this thing in two victories. I think good pitching beats good hitting any day, so we’ll be just fine with our roster.”
Bukvich echoed the excitement felt by Broyles, but felt that his team would come out on top thanks to the experience on his bench.
“I’m excited about this weekend,” Bukvich said of the Series. “We have a lot of guys with experience and a really strong bullpen. We’re going to open up with Nathan Baker on the mound in the first game, but I’m keeping my lineup a little closer to the vest. We have a lot of pop in the bats and are ready to get out there and compete.
“We’re planning on taking this thing in two games. It’s a David vs. Goliath kind of matchup this weekend, but Goliath is going to take this one.”
RED TEAM ROSTER BLUE TEAM ROSTER
Captian – Wade Broyles Captain – Brett Bukvich
Kyle Barbeck Nathan Baker
Aaron Barrett Scott Bittle
Brett Basham Chris Corrigan
Evan Button Scott Haltom
Tim Ferguson Kyle Henson
David Goforth Michael Hubbard
Taylor Hashman Rory McKean
Jordan Henry Zach Miller
Taylor Hightower Jake Morgan
Brett Huber Kevin Mort
Phillip Irwin David Phillips
Cullan Kight Drew Pomeranz
David Kindred Logan Power
Michael Park Matt Smith
Zach Rutland Matt Snyder
Kyle Thornton Michael Snyder
Matt Tracy Cliff Vaughn
Jeremy Travis Blair Wright
Logan Williams
