University of Missouri
Seton Hall
#15 @MizzouBaseball Set for Opening Day vs. Seton Hall
2/15/2016 10:05:00 AM | Baseball
| GAME | LOCATION | DAY // TIME | LIVE STATS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seton Hall | Fort Myers, Fla. | Friday, Feb. 19 // 1 p.m. (CT) | Stats |
| Seton Hall | Fort Myers, Fla. | Saturday, Feb. 20 // Noon (CT) | Stats |
| Seton Hall | Fort Myers, Fla. | Saturday, Feb. 20 // 3:30 (CT) | Stats |
| Seton Hall | Fort Myers, Fla. | Sunday // Noon (CT) | Stats |
Setting the Stage
- Mizzou Baseball is set to kick off its 125th season this weekend with a four-game series against Seton Hall in Fort Myers, Fla., at City of Palms Field, the old spring training facility for the Boston Red Sox.
- Mizzou is 13-7-1 in season openers under head coach Tim Jamieson and 75-38-2 all-time in openers. Mizzou has also won nine of the last 13 openers, dating back to 2003.
- Playing at a neutral site this weekend is good news for Mizzou as it went 10-3 in such contests in 2015.
- Mizzou is ranked as high as No. 15 nationally in the major polls, checking in at No. 15 in PerfectGame.com's poll. It is Mizzou's highest preseason ranking since 2009 when Baseball America ranked Mizzou No. 10 in the preseason.
- Mizzou is 2-0 all-time against Seton Hall. The first meeting came in the 1964 College World Series with Mizzou claiming a 3-1 win. The last meeting came in 1981 with coach Gene McArtor's Tigers claiming a 12-8 victory.
Mizzou Ranked
Mizzou Baseball checked in at No. 15 nationally in PerfectGame.com's Preseason Top 25 Poll, announced Jan. 13 by the national baseball publication. It is Mizzou's highest preseason ranking since 2009 when it checked in at No. 10 nationally in the Baseball America poll. Mizzou also checked in at No. 34 in the initial Collegiate Baseball Preseason Top-40, as announced by the national baseball newspaper on Dec. 21. The Tigers are coming off of a 30-28 season in which they finished third in the SEC East while ranking as high as No. 14 nationally. Mizzou returns five position starters and its top two weekend pitchers, including consensus Freshman All-American Tanner Houck.
Houck, Howard Play With Team USA
Mizzou Baseball's Ryan Howard and Tanner Houck wrapped up impressive stints with the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team (CNT) last summer. Overall, the team went 9-8 against some of the world's best competition and Howard and Houck were key in many of those nine wins. Below is a look:
- SS Ryan Howard – Howard hit .310 in the 17-game tour with four doubles, a homer, six runs and three RBI. He started 16 of the 17 games at short and committed just three errors while playing some of the nation's top competition. He homered in Team USA's July 4, 11-1 win over Cuba, also notching a double in that win. Howard was incredibly consistent as well, hitting .313 against lefties and .310 against righties during the summer and hit a blistering .345 with runners on base and .286 with runners in scoring position. When leading off an inning he reached base at a .455 clip as well. Just as he did with Mizzou last spring, Howard was incredible with two outs, hitting .370 on the summer while ranking third on the team in two-out RBIs. Howard had five multi-hit games, second-best on the team, and at one point put together a 13-game streak in which he reached base safely, also second-best of the team.
- SP Tanner Houck – Houck was one of the headliners on a loaded Team USA pitching staff and the Tiger sophomore-to-be led the CNT in inning pitched (16.2), strikeouts (14) and walked just one batter in four appearances (three starts) while compiling a 2.16 ERA, second-best on the team among players with multiple starts. He started a team-high three games and threw 4.0 perfect innings in a combined no-hitter against Cuba on July 1. Houck limited batters to .213 hitting and allowed just one double in 16.2 innings. His WHIP for the summer was a tremendous 0.96. He was also sensational against lefties, allowing just two hits all summer (.143 average) and allowed just five two-out hits all summer. His 0.54 walks per nine led the team as did his 14-1 strikeout-walk ratio. Houck earned USA Baseball's International Performance of the Year for his four perfect inning in the combined no-hitter vs. Cuba, as announced by USA Baseball on Feb. 3.
Houck Is Top 2017 Draft Prospect
Mizzou Baseball sophomore righty Tanner Houck was tabbed as the No. 1 prospect for the 2017 Major League Baseball Draft according to PerfectGame.com, as the website released its annual rankings on Dec. 2. Houck, a consensus Freshman All-American in 2015, was also dubbed as the top-rated collegiate prospect in the 2017 draft by Baseball America earlier this season.
Houck put together one of the best freshman seasons in Mizzou baseball history. His eight wins are the most by a Tiger freshman since Kyle Gibson (a former first-round draft pick) in 2007 and his 100.2 innings are the most ever by a Tiger freshman under Tim Jamieson. At the end of the regular season, he had thrown more innings than any other freshman in the country. He compiled a 3.49 ERA on the season, striking out 91 batters over 100.2 innings while walking just 12 in 15 starts as a freshman.
Howard, Ring Among Top 300 Prospects
D1Baseball.com released its list of the top 300 prospects for the 2016 MLB Draft in college baseball prior to the start of the season. Two Mizzou players made their way to the list and those two players - SS Ryan Howard and CF Jake Ring - figure to be the cornerstone of Mizzou's offense. Howard checked in at No. 97 while Ring rated as No. 217 on the list. Howard hit a team-best .308 last season and led the team in hits (69), at-bats (224) and total bases (97). He will be looked at as one of the SEC's top shortstops this season. Ring had a breakout sophomore season in which he hit .282 while leading the team in doubles (15) and extra-base hits (22) and runs. He hit with tremendous power in the fall and will be a huge factor at the top of the lineup in 2016.
Howard Tabbed Best INF Arm in SEC
Mizzou SS Ryan Howard is primed for a breakout season and should be one of the most talked-about players as he ushers in a new crop of talented SEC shortstops following last year's group that largely departed to the MLB Draft. Baseball America tabbed Howard as the best infield arm among infielders in the SEC, quite an honor considering the talent level in the league. Howard fielded at .972 last season at the infield's toughest position and committed just seven errors at short. The seven errors by Howard are the fewest by a Mizzou starting shortstop in the last decade.
Houck Preseason All-American
Mizzou Baseball sophomore righty Tanner Houck has been named a Preseason All-American by D1Baseball.com and PerfectGame.com as announced in January. Houck, who was a consensus Freshman All-American a year ago, landed on D1Baseball's and PerfectGame's All-America Third Team. Houck is Mizzou's first Preseason All-American since Kyle Gibson and Trevor Coleman earned the distinction in 2009.
McClain, Houck Honored By PerfectGame.com
Mizzou Baseball starting pitchers Tanner Houck and Reggie McClain were both honored by PerfectGame.com as the national baseball publication released its top collegiate players by class this week. Houck checked in as the No. 1 college sophomore nationally while McClain was rated as the eighth-best college senior. Mizzou joins just Florida, Kentucky and LSU as the only SEC schools to bring back both its 2015 Friday and Saturday starters.
Shane Benes Healthy
Heading into the season, Mizzou will get a hefty boost to its offense as slugger Shane Benes is fully healthy after recovering from a pair of ACL tears over his senior year of high school and during his freshman year fall at Mizzou. Benes missed the first 39 games of 2015 but made an impact when finally being inserted into the starting lineup. He hit a triple off the wall in his first at-bat and slugged seven extra-base hits in 71 at-bats last season (seven of his 16 hits were for extra bases) including two homers and four doubles. Benes is the son of former No. 1 overall draft pick Andy Benes, who had a long major league career, most notably with the St. Louis Cardinals. Benes is penciled in at third base and is one of the top prospects to watch for the 2017 draft. He has the most power potential of any player on the Mizzou roster.
Doherty, Hunt Play Multiple Sports
Mizzou Baseball will feature a pair of multiple-sport performers on its 2016 roster in OF Marquise Doherty and RHP Tyler Hunt. Both players also played football at Mizzou in the fall. Doherty, a freshman, redshirted in the fall with the football team while Hunt had a tremendous senior season, earning the nickname 'The Human First Down' from the Mizzou faithful. This is the first season with the baseball program for both players. Hunt had 185 yards on 42 carries with 203 yards on six catches and had Mizzou's three longest plays from scrimmage in the fall. He was a standout pitcher in high school as well. Doherty was the top overall recruit in the state of Missouri coming out of high school on the diamond and has scouts drooling over his five-tool skill set. He is a running back with Barry Odom's football team. Mizzou is the only team in the SEC with two baseball/football players. Alabama and South Carolina each have one.
Howard Tabbed Best INF Arm in SEC
Mizzou SS Ryan Howard is primed for a breakout season and should be one of the most talked-about players as he ushers in a new crop of talented SEC shortstops following last year's group that largely departed to the MLB Draft. Baseball America tabbed Howard as the best infield arm among infielders in the SEC, quite an honor considering the talent level in the league. Howard fielded at .972 last season at the infield's toughest position and committed just seven errors at short. The seven errors by Howard are the fewest by a Mizzou starting shortstop in the last decade.
Ring Breaks Out in 2015
Mizzou CF Jake Ring enjoyed a breakout season in 2015 and looks to carry that momentum into 2016 after putting together a tremendous fall. In 2015, Ring recorded a team-best 22 extra base hits after posting just three (three doubles) as a freshman.
He reset career-highs in batting (.282), runs (39), doubles (15), triples (three), homers (four) and stolen bases (eight). His .282 average was up from .203 as the Tigers' everyday starting center fielder in 2014. Ring finished the year with the highest on-base percentage on the team after drawing 30 walks in 220 at bats and he reached base safely in 20-consecutive games. He also had 17 multi-hit games, good for second on the team while tying for team-lead in triples with three. His 15 doubles were the most by a Tiger in a single season since 2012. Ring will be looked at as a catalyst at the top of the order in 2016.
Quick Hits
- Mizzou hit 41 homers on the season, the most by a Tiger team since the change of the bats prior to the 2011 season. The 41 homers are even more impressive when considering Mizzou had just 25 in the last two seasons combined before 2015. Mizzou hit 28 homers in SEC games, the third-most in the league.
- Mizzou's staff ERA of 3.68 in 2015 was the program's best since 2006 when the team finished with a 3.36 mark.
- Houck and McClain became the first Tiger pitchers to each toss more than 100 innings since 2007. Mizzou was the only SEC school to use the same weekend rotation in all 10 SEC series this season.
Mizzou Televised
15 Mizzou Baseball will have 10 of its games in 2016 featured on national television through the Southeastern Conference's television deal with ESPN, as announced by the SEC on Thursday (Jan. 14). In addition to Mizzou's 10 games on the ESPN family of networks, Mizzou's game at Florida on March 18 will be featured as part of a four-hour Bases Loaded special on SEC Network, a show that will feature a compilation of all seven SEC games taking place on opening night of league action. Seven of Mizzou's 10 televised games will air on SEC Network while the remaining three will air live on ESPNU. In addition to Mizzou's televised games through the ESPN deal, every game at Taylor Stadium will be streamed on SEC Network-Plus with the exception of Mizzou's March 5 doubleheader vs. UIC. All SEC games at opposing schools will be on SEC Network-Plus as well.
On the Air
Once again, KTGR ESPN Radio is the radio home of the Tigers, with all of the games being broadcast on 103.1-FM, 100.5-FM and 1580-AM. The games can also be heard online at KTGR.com. Tex Little is in his 26th season of calling Tiger Baseball and is joined in the booth by Mizzou graduate assistant coach Trevor Coleman as an analyst. Coleman is one of the most recognizable names and faces from some of the most winningest teams in program history as he was a standout for Tim Jamieson and the Tigers from 2007-09. Coleman was the team's catcher and one of the top hitters during his time with Mizzou, amassing a 116-66 overall record over his three seasons. He helped the 2007 team win 42 games and host the NCAA Regional round at Taylor Stadium. He again helped the Tigers to 39 wins and a Regional the following year in 2008.
Coleman was the 2007 Big 12 Freshman of the Year and a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American after hitting .282 in 49 games, tallying nine homers, 11 doubles and 42 RBI. He then hit .295 in 2008 and .260 in 2009 before being drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the ninth round of the 2009 First Year Player Draft.
Mizzou Helping Puppies
The Mizzou Baseball team has partnered with the Puppies With Purpose program again for the 2016 season in an effort to help raise money for Columbia service dogs. The initiative, dubbed "K's for K9's," will allow fans to pledge a donation amount to be paid per strikeout during the 2016 season.
"I'm a dog lover," head coach Tim Jamieson said. "I've read more and more about dogs and actually researched whether or not there were places in Missouri that train dogs for this purpose and ironically find out that there's one in Columbia and one on Mizzou's campus. So it seemed like it was a really good fit and I introduced it to our players and they are really excited about it."
Mizzou Adds Jerry Zulli, JC Field
Mizzou Baseball head coach Tim Jamieson has announced the hiring of Jerry Zulli and J.C. Field, a Mizzou standout from 2005-06, as the program's assistant coach and volunteer assistant coach, respectively.
Jerry Zulli is one of college baseball's rising coaching stars, and joins Mizzou as the program's new assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. Zulli (pronounced ZOO-lee) will comes to Mizzou after an incredibly successful stint as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at South Alabama, where he was the key architect to three top-50 recruiting classes, one 40-win season and two Sun Belt Conference Championships. Zulli brings to Mizzou the reputation of being a tireless recruiter. In three of his four seasons at South Alabama, he put together top-50 recruiting classes, including a 2013 recruiting class that ranked 29th overall by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. That class was a key contributor to last season's South Alabama team that won 37 games and the Sun Belt Conference Championship, the program's second in three years. He has forged recruiting ties all across the SEC footprint after assistant coaching stints at South Alabama, Memphis and Middle Georgia College and routinely turned in top-rated recruiting classes despite battling SEC schools for the same prospects.
Field is an up-and-coming coach with a résumé that includes coaching stints at North Dakota and Southeast Missouri. He joins Mizzou after spending the last seven seasons at North Dakota, including the last two as the program's associate head coach. At UND, Field oversaw the team's hitters, catchers and outfielders while leading the team's west coast recruiting efforts.
Up Next
Mizzou will be back in action on Wednesday with a midweek date at Florida International in Miami as Mizzou will stay in The Sunshine State for the entire week before hosting Hofstra next weekend. Mizzou's game with FIU, a regional team from a year ago, will be played at 3 p.m. and Tex Little and Trevor Coleman will have the call. For all the latest on Mizzou Baseball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter @MizzouBaseball.
