Thursday, February 23
Corpus Christi, Texas
6:30 PM
University of Missouri
at
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
@MizzouBaseball Takes Three-Game Win Streak to Kleberg Bank College Classic
2/21/2017 3:51:00 PM | Baseball
Houck, Toelken, Plassmeyer and Carter get the weekend nods on the mound
| Mizzou Brings Three-Game Win Streak to Texas | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OPPONENT | LOCATION | DAY | TIME | Listen | STATS |
| at Texas A&M CC | Chapman Field - Corpus Christi, Texas | Thursday, Feb. 23 | 6:30 p.m. CT | KTGR | Stats |
| Houston | Whataburger Field - Corpus Christi, Texas | Friday, Feb. 24 | 2:00 p.m. CT | KTGR | Stats |
| Texas A&M CC | Whataburger Field - Corpus Christi, Texas | Saturday, Feb. 25 | 6:00 p.m. CT | KTGR | Stats |
| Illinois | Whataburger Field - Corpus Christi, Texas | Sunday, Feb. 26 | 11:00 a.m. CT | KTGR | Stats |
- Mizzou Baseball will take a three-game winning streak to Corpus Christi, Texas, for the Kleberg Bank College Classic at Whataburger Field this weekend. The Tigers will play a stand-alone game, separate from the tournament Thursday night at Chapman Field on the campus of Texas A&M Corpus Christi at 6:30 p.m. before taking part in the three-game tournament. Mizzou will then open the tournament Friday against Houston at 2 p.m. at Whataburger Field. The Tigers and Islanders will play again Saturday at 6 p.m. and Mizzou closes the tournament Sunday at 11 a.m. against Illinois. All four games will air on KTGR 100.5 FM/105.1 FM/1580 AM in the Mid-Missouri area with Tex Little and Matt Michael on the call. The broadcast will also be available on KTGR.com and fans can also watch both games against Texas A&M Corpus Christi live on the Islanders' website.
- With this weekend being the final non-conference road weekend for the Tigers, it is important to note the success that Mizzou has had in such games in recent memory. Dating back the 2015 season, which was the first time Mizzou played in the Kelberg Bank College Classic, Mizzou is 17-4 in the opening two road weekends of the season. That includes last weekend's 3-1 mark over Eastern Michigan in Fort Myers. Of the 17 wins, three came at the Kleberg Bank College Classic in 2015 as Mizzou went 3-0, winning the tournament.
- In addition to having an entirely new coaching staff this season in year one under head coach Steve Bieser, Mizzou played eight first-year position players last weekend while five first-year pitchers made their Mizzou debuts, good for a grand total of 13 first-year players seeing the field.
- Thursday's matchup with Texas A&M Corpus Christi will be Mizzou's first true road contest of the season. Mizzou has won its last two true road openers, defeating Florida International, 7-6, a year ago while defeating Georgia at Foley Field, 5-1, in 2015. The last true road opener that Mizzou lost was a 3-2 decision at McNeese State in 2014.
- As Mizzou enters week two of the 2017 season, it does so as one of the best offenses statistically in the nation. Mizzou hit .389 last weekend and posted 56 hits over the first four games, averaging 14 per game. Mizzou ranks fourth nationally in batting (.389), fourth in hits (56), fifth in walks (28) and seventh in runs (42). Mizzou also ranks first, second or third in 11 of the major 14 offensive categories among SEC teams after the first weekend of play. Offense was a staple of head coach Steve Bieser's teams over his last three seasons at SEMO. His team ranked in the top 10 nationally in most offensive categories during his final three seasons, during which they won three consecutive OVC Championships. A staple of his offense is his 'pitch recognition' program. After week one, it is clear that Mizzou's offense is buying into Bieser's offensive philosophies.
- Another key cog to Mizzou's success last weekend was the performance of the bullpen. Much like the offense, the bullpen was supposed to be an area of concern this season, but it was lights out during weekend one. Eight Mizzou relievers combined to throw 17.1 innings, scattering just 13 hits while allowing just five earned runs and striking out 22 in that span. Those numbers are good for a 2.60 ERA and an incredible 11.4 strikeouts per nine inning average. Seven of the eight relievers used allowed one or fewer earned runs while four allowed zero. Freshman T.J. Sikkema struck out a bullpen-high eight batters, including four looking, last weekend.
Pitching Matchups
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Thursday:
RHP Tanner Houck (0-1, 6.35 ERA) vs. RHP Devin Skapura (0-0, 4.76 ERA) -
Friday:
RHP Andy Toelken (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. LHP Seth Romero (1-0, 1.50 ERA) -
Saturday:
LHP Michael Plassmeyer (1-0, 3.60 ERA) vs. RHP Chris Cooper (0-0, 6.00 ERA) -
Sunday:
RHP Liam Carter (1-0, 3.60 ERA) vs. RHP Ty Weber (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Offensive Explodes
- Mizzou's offense was dynamic last weekend during a 3-1 weekend, batting a league-best .389. First-year head coach Steve Bieser and his coaching staff have introduced a new pitch recognition program with this year's team, and if the first weekend is any indication, the team is starting to see the results.
- While at SEMO, Bieser's teams consistently ranked in the top-10 offensively and after one weekend of play, Mizzou ranks first, second or third in the SEC in 11 of the major 14 offensive categories, leading the league in hitting (.389) and doubles (12). It took Mizzou eight games to crush that many doubles a season ago.
- The offensive production is a bit of a surprise to anyone who has followed the team closely over the last several seasons. Playing similar competition last season in the opening weekend, Mizzou hit just .213 as a team and Mizzou's offense never peaked any higher than .287 last year. Considering Mizzou lost its top three hitters from a season ago and its top returning hitter - Brian Sharp - hit just .252 a year ago, the offensive outburst comes as a bit of a surprise, but it can be directly correlated to Bieser's approach to offense.
- Mizzou had just 12 players tally multi-hit games last season and the Tigers already have 11 with multi-hit games.
It took Mizzou seven games to get to the 56-hit mark a season ago. In fact, looking back through the records, the 56 hits are the most by a Mizzou team since at least the 'Gorilla Ball' era in 1998. The next-closest mark in the span was 53 in 2002. - Below is a look at where Mizzou ranks in offensive production among SEC schools following week one:
1st - Batting - .389
1st - Doubles - 12
1st - Total Bases - 80
1st - Walks - 28
1st - HBP - 8
1st - ABs - 144
2nd - Runs - 42
2nd - RBI - 38
2nd - OBP - .495
2nd - Triples - 3
3rd - Slugging - .556
More Offensive Notables From Last Week
- Mizzou's 27 runs in game two of the series against EMU were the most by a Tiger team since 2010 when they hung 28 on Arkansas-Pine Bluff on March 24 of that year.
- Mizzou's seven doubles in that game are the most by a Mizzou team since 2007.
- Mizzou's 22 hits in that game were the most since 2008.
- Junior C Brett Bond scored five runs, making him the first Tiger since 2008 to score five runs in a game.
- Mizzou's 17 extra-base hits last weekend are most than they had in the final 11 games combined last season. It took Mizzou nine games a season ago to pass the 17 extra-base hit mark.
- 12 Mizzou players (nine who met the minimum ABs) hit better than .300 last weekend.
15 First Year Players
- When Mizzou takes the field Friday vs. Eastern Michigan, it will do so with 15 first-year players on its roster (8 freshmen and 7 junior college transfers). Additionally, Mizzou has just two four-year players and just one lone senior on its 2017 roster, making the Tigers one of the youngest teams in the SEC. OF Kirby McGuire is the team's only senior but has joined the program last season as he has been with the program just one year. Mizzou has just two players - RS juniors Cole Bartlett and Ryan Lee.
- Looking deeper at the numbers, Mizzou has 34 players on its roster as it breaks camp for the season opener. Of the 34, 24 are first- or second-year players at Mizzou. Mizzou is one of only two SEC schools with just one senior on the roster. Below is a breakdown of the SEC schools:
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School First Year Players Seniors Mizzou 15 1 Georgia 17 1 Ole Miss 17 2 Vanderbilt 14 2 Florida 13 2 Mississippi State 16 3 South Carolina 16 4 Alabama 12 4 Texas A&M 16 5 Arkansas 18 6 Tennessee 17 7 Kentucky 13 7 LSU 13 9 Auburn 20 9
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- A key spot for the Tigers that will feature the most turnaround from a year ago is the infield. All four spots - first base, second base, third base and shortstop - have first-year starters at those positions heading into the opening weekend of play. Of the four players starting along the infield, only one was even with program last year and that is sophomore Brian Sharp. He moves to first base to try and fill the void left by Zach Lavy who was one of the best all-around first basemen in the country last year. Sharp primarily played at third base a year ago.
First-Year Player Impact
- While we detail Mizzou's youth in depth above, a huge factor to the team's success this season will ultimately prove to be the success that the first-year players have on the program. Should they continue the production from week one, Mizzou could see plenty of success.
- Offensively, Mizzou had eight first-year players get an at-bat last weekend. Those eight players combined to go 18-for-29 (.358) with 18 runs, 19 RBI, five doubles, a homer and 15 walks.
- On the mound, five Mizzou newcomers appeared in a game over the weekend. The combined to throw 12.1 innings, allowing just two earned runs (1.46 ERA) with 15 strikeouts
For all the latest on Mizzou Baseball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter (@MizzouBaseball) and like the team on Facebook and Instagram (Mizzou Baseball and missouri_baseball, respectively).
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