Story Published:
May 28, 2009 at 5:37 PM CST
Story Updated:
May 28, 2009 at 11:05 PM CST
JACKSON, Miss. -- University of Missouri baseball coach Tim Jamieson is going to gamble at the Oxford Regional. University of Mississippi coach Mike Bianco is not.
Jamieson announced Thursday that he will not take the conventional approach and start ace Kyle Gibson in the second-seeded Tigers' first-round game Friday against No. 3 Western Kentucky University (39-18). Missouri (34-25) will instead send Nick Tepesch to the mound.
Bianco decided to keep his own ace, Scott Bittle, off the 25-man roster this weekend because of a shoulder injury. While Bittle has been tossing the ball with no pain, Bianco believes he's not ready to pitch from the mound. Bittle has been unavailable to the team since May 3, a stretch of nine games.
The top-seeded Rebels (40-17) open with Monmouth (32-23).
