FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
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.
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.
