The #20 University of Kentucky baseball team handled Wright State on Wednesday night, cruising to an 11-1 victory to wrap up their ‘preseason’ schedule. The  Wildcats (14-3) now look ahead to SEC play, where they host #19 Ole Miss this weekend.

The Rebels (13-4) have had a good season so far, and feature seven everyday players with batting averages of .319 or better. Ole Miss also has one of the best pitching prospects in the nation on its staff in junior LHP Drew Pomeranz.  A second-team All-SEC selection last year, Pomeranz made a name for himself in the 2009 NCAA Regionals. The 6-5, 230-pound southpaw went eight innings in an opening-round win against Monmouth, allowing only five hits and striking out ten. After just two days rest, Pomeranz returned to the bump against Western Kentucky, tossing a complete-game gem with a career-high 16 strikeouts. His 2009 totals of 95 1/3 innings, 124 strikeouts and just 37 walks certainly raised some eyebrows.

In four starts this season, the southpaw has a 2-0 record with a 1.54 ERA and a staggering 40 strikeouts in just 23 1/3 innings. The native Tennessean has held opponents to a .198 batting average in 2010.

Projected Starters:

Friday (6:30pm): Kentucky- Logan Darnell (3-0, 2.17 ERA); Mississippi- Drew Pomeranz (2-0, 1.54 ERA)

Pomeranz leads the SEC in strikeouts (40), and logged 12 against #8 Louisville last weekend. Darnell has been just as impressive, and in his last 21 innings, he’s allowed just one run on 15 hits and 15 strikeouts.

Saturday (1pm): Kentucky- Taylor Rogers (3-0, 4.30 ERA); Mississippi- Aaron Barrett (4-0, 1.80 ERA)

Barrett has 30 strikeouts in 25 innings this year, and has allowed only 15 hits and a .190 opponent average. Freshman Rogers will be making his first career SEC start.

Sunday (1pm)– Kentucky- Alex Meyer (3-2, 7.29 ERA); Mississippi- Matt Tracy (1-1, 3.38 ERA)

Meyer went five innings and allowed just one run last Sunday vs. IPFW. On the same day, Tracy gave up ten hits and seven runs against #8 Louisville.

 On the air: The series will be broadcast live on the Big Blue Sports Network (radio). Fans in Lexington can hear them on Friday and Sunday WLAP 630-AM and in Louisville live on WKJK 1080-AM. Saturday’s game can be heard in Lexington on WGVN 1580-AM. All games will be broadcast on UKathletics.com as well.

Head Coach Gary Henderson: “Ole Miss is going to have one of the best starting pitchers in the country (Drew Pomeranz) and one of the best pitching staffs in the conference. They will be extremely tough. They are going to bring a lot of returning position players to Lexington, a group with experience. They are going to have tremendous depth in the pitching staff and they have high-end pitching.”

Breakdown: Through 17 games, both Kentucky and Ole Miss have comparable statistics. The Cats seem to hit and run a little better, while the Rebels have an advantage in pitching and defense. Look for a trio of close games this weekend at the Cliff.

Showdown: Darnell and Pomeranz figure to display one of the best showdowns on the mound that college baseball has seen this season. What may decide the series, however, will be how each team’s closers perform. UK’s Matt Little has been spectacular this season, boasting a 0.59 ERA with 21 strikeouts in 15 innings. The Rebels’ David Goforth has been nearly as impressive, with a 1.08 ERA to go with his three saves.

Lowdown: While it’s not likely both will be in any particular game at the same time, the importance of getting clean, shut down innings from Little and Goforth will be paramount to each team’s success. Quick outs late in the game can result in large momentum swings and perhaps multiple appearances over the weekend for both.

Each of UK’s starters will be tested in different ways. Darnell will have to go blow-for-blow with one of the nation’s best in Pomeranz, and will have an opportunity to make a name for himself on the national scene. Freshman Taylor Rogers will have plenty of eyes on him for his first career SEC start. Alex Meyer responded well from a nightmare outing vs. Evansville last Sunday, hurling five innings of one-run ball against IPFW. If the big righty can last five or more innings, UK will have a clear advantage in what very well could be a series-deciding Sunday tilt.

Kentucky has lost five consecutive games in this series, but has won the last two sets played in Lexington. Last weekend, Ole Miss lost a home series to #8 Louisville.