Feb. 19, 2007

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The wait is finally over for the 2007 Memphis Tigers baseball team. Head Coach Daron Schoenrock and his crew will get the season underway Tuesday afternoon, when they take on the 11th-ranked Ole Miss Rebels in Oxford, Miss. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. at Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field.

Memphis, who has won five-straight season-opening games, will undertake one if its stiffest season-opening tests in recent history. The Tigers have won both season-opening games under Schoenrock, and have not lost a season-opener since a 6-4 loss to UT-Martin in 2000.

The Tigers come into Tuesday's game with potential for the 2007 season. Memphis brings back seven position starters from last year's team that made a 19-game improvement in 2006. The Tigers finished the season with a 32-28 record and a .315 batting average--good for 30th in the country. Memphis returns 20 letterwinners from last year's squad that advanced to the C-USA Tournament for the first time since 2001. Senior first baseman Adam Amar's anchors the Memphis offense. The preseason All-American hit a league-best .395 batting average in 2006.

Sophomore righthander Scott McGregor with get the ball for Memphis in game one. As a freshman, the Liberty Township, Ohio native led the U of M pitching staff with a 7-3 record. McGregor earned All-Freshman and Second Team All-Conference USA honors a year ago.

While Tuesday's game will be the season-opener for Memphis, the Rebels come into the midweek contest with five games under their belt. Ole Miss (4-1) has gotten the 2007 season off to a fast start with wins in each of its first three matchups, and a 2-1 series win over No. 21 Evansville over the weekend. The midweek tilt is game six of a 10-game season-opening homestand for the Rebels.

Head coach Mike Bianco returns 17 letterwinners, including four starters, the designated hitter and six pitchers from last years squad that finished 44-22 and came one game away from an appearance in the College World Series. The 2006 Rebels also won the SEC Tournament.

Ole Miss will send freshman southpaw and Cordova High School product, Nathan Baker to the hill for his first collegiate start. Baker made his first collegiate appearance on Saturday, and was solid, fanning three and allowing just two hits in three innings of work. Baker and the UM pitching staff have a 1.60 ERA in the early season and have limited opponents to a .185 average.

Ranked as high as 11th by NCBWA, the Rebels are hitting .325 as a team, but more impressively have struck out just nine times in 163 at-bats. Sophomore Logan Power leads the attack with a .444 clip and a team-best eight hits and two doubles. Third Team All-American and Team USA member Zack Cozart has struggled early on, batting just .136.

Memphis is 52-86-1 all-time against Ole Miss. The Rebels have bested the Tigers in six-straight games. The Tigers took a 5-4 lead into the bottom of the ninth, but Cozart came up with a three-run, walk-off homerun with one out in the final frame to give the Rebels a 7-5 victory.