University of Missouri
Kentucky
@MizzouBaseball Closes Regular Season at Kentucky
5/18/2016 10:09:00 AM | Baseball
Mizzou looks to secure SEC Tournament berth in Lexington
| OPPONENT | LOCATION | DAY // TIME | LIVE STATS |
|---|---|---|---|
| at Kentucky | Cliff Hagan Stadium | Thursday, May 19 // 5:30 p.m. | Stats |
| at Kentucky | Cliff Hagan Stadium | Friday, May 20 // 5:30 p.m. | Stats |
| at Kentucky | Cliff Hagan Stadium | Saturday, May 21 // 12 p.m. | Stats |
- Mizzou Baseball will close the regular season this weekend as it heads to SEC East foe Kentucky for a three-game series, beginning Thursday (May 19) at Cliff Hagan Stadium in Lexington. All three games will air on SEC Network+ and will be on KTGR 100.5 FM.
- This weekend's series obviously will have huge SEC Tournament implications as Mizzou is one of four or five teams battling for the last several spots in the annual event - the top 12 teams qualify for the field. If the tournament started today, Mizzou with its 8-19 SEC record, would be the 11-seed in the annual tournament, beating out Auburn (8-19) due to a head-to-head series win for the 12th and final spot. Both Tennessee and Arkansas, teams that Mizzou has defeated in weekend series, would not make the field at 13th and 14th heading into the weekend. However, those two teams are just a game back of Mizzou in the 11th spot. Below is a look at the series that each team has this weekend. If Mizzou wins two games, Tennessee, Arkansas and Auburn would need to sweep their series to catch Mizzou and on down the list (if Mizzou wins one, UT, Arkansas, Auburn would need to win two, etc.). What Mizzou will need to avoid is finishing in a three-way tie for the 12th and final spot as a variety of tiebreakers would come into play.
- 11. Missouri - at Kentucky
- 12. Auburn - at Vanderbilt
- 13. Tennessee - at Georgia
- 14. Arkansas - at Mississippi State
- Mizzou leads the all-time series with Kentucky, 5-4, after dropping last year's series with the Wildcats in Columbia. Mizzou won its first two SEC series over Kentucky in 2013 and 2014 before falling last season. Mizzou lost the opener with UK, 1-0, behind a complete game shutout by Zack Brown, who allowed just four hits with five strikeouts while out-dueling Mizzou's Reggie McClain, who tossed 8.0 innings, allowing eight hits and two walks with just one earned run. Mizzou won 6-3 in the second game behind Tanner Houck (7.0 inning, five hits, nine strikeouts, two earned runs). Mizzou then lost the rubber game, 8-2, as Kyle Cody tossed 7.0 innings of shutout baseball, scattering just three hits with eight strikeouts and two walks.
McClain, Lavy Shine on Senior Night
Senior night is always special, but for two Mizzou seniors who have been stalwarts over their time in black and gold, senior night was even more special than normal. RHP Reggie McClain got the start in game two of a senior day doubleheader in what was almost a must-win spot for Mizzou. All he did was turn in possibly the best start of his career, all against his former team - Georgia. He tossed his first ever complete game shutout against an SEC team, scattering just three hits and a walk with a career-high 12 Ks in a dominant performance. What was even more impressive is that UGA starter Connor Jones matched him until a sixth-inning solo homer by Mizzou's Jake Ring. The breathing room in the game was provided by fellow senior and McClain's roommate 1B Zach Lavy. With the bases loaded, Lavy launched a fastball over the fence in right center for his first career grand slam and eight homer of the season. It was Mizzou's first grand slam since March 30, 2010, when Eric Garcia hit one against Purdue. That was a span of 365 games and 2,237 days. McClain, now with a 5-0 lead, responded by striking out the side in the ninth and actually struck out the final four batters he faced in the start.
Mizzou Limits Walks
Heading into the Kentucky series, Mizzou has been sensational at limiting walks this season. In fact, Mizzou averages just 2.68 walks per nine innings, a mark that ranks second in the SEC and 11th nationally. The only SEC team to have a better walks per nine average is No. 1 Florida, which averages just 2.35 per contest. Knowing that Mizzou has limited its walks this year, it is also not surprising to see that Mizzou ranks 13th nationally in strikeout-walk ratio (2.87). Remarkably, that mark ranks fifth in the SEC, which speaks to the quality and depth of the pitching in the SEC. Senior RHP Reggie McClain is a key reason for Mizzou's high national rank in both categories. He is fifth nationally and leads the SEC in both categories. He is walking less than one batter per nine innings at 0.87 and owns a 9.56 strikeout-walk ratio.
Coach J Approaches Milestone
As Mizzou enters the weekend, Mizzou head coach Tim Jamieson is closing in a milestone. With 697 career wins (all at Mizzou), the Tiger skipper is just three away from reaching 700 career wins. Once Coach Jamieson reaches 700 career wins, he will be just 33 wins shy of tying legendary Mizzou head coach Gene McArtor for the most wins of any Mizzou Baseball head coach (McArtor had 733 wins from 1974-1994). Coach Jamieson succeeded McArtor in 1995 and has won 696. What is even more amazing about Mizzou's coaching history is that the Tigers have had just three coaches since 1937 as John 'Hi' Simmons - who Mizzou's field is field is named after - coached 35 years before McArtor took over in 1974.
Up Next
Depending on what happens this weekend, Mizzou will head to Hoover, Ala., for the SEC Tournament, which begins May 24 at Hoover Met. Mizzou would currently be the No. 11 seed at 8-19 in league play, tied with Auburn with the head-to-head win. The top 12 teams in the SEC earn a spot to the tournament. Tex Little and Trevor Coleman will have the call on KTGR should the Tigers advance. For all the latest on Mizzou Baseball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter @MizzouBaseball.
