Junior Kyle Mach
 
Junior Kyle Mach
  
 
Baseball Season Preview -- Part III: The 2008 Infielders and Catchers

Mizzou infield will take on a new look in 2008.

Feb. 18, 2008

The following is the third part in a five-part series previewing the 2008 Mizzou Baseball season. Today, we take a look at the Tigers' infielders and catchers for the upcoming season.

AROUND THE HORN
Junior Kyle Mach is the lone returning starter in the Tigers' infield and will again take his spot at third base. Mach became one of the most consistent bats in the Mizzou lineup last year, finishing with a .294 average, which is second best among the 2008 returners.

Sophomore Greg Folgia spent most of his freshman campaign as part of the MU pitching staff, but will see more time in the field in 2008, earning the preseason starting nod at second base. Folgia will continue to pitch for the Tigers in addition to his role in the field and at the plate.

Senior Lee Fischer is in his second year at Missouri after transferring in prior to the 2007 season. He played in 34 games for the Tigers a year ago and is very solid in the field and continues to improve at the plate.

Junior Steven Gray is new to the Mizzou roster, after transferring from Scottsdale Community College this season. Gray and senior Dan Pietroburgo will compete for the starting spot at first base.

Gray was an NJCAA All-American leading Scottsdale CC to the Division II World Series. He hit .333 with 10 home runs and 61 RBI last season.

Pietroburgo has spent his career catching for MU and will continue to see time behind the plate, but is challenging for playing time at first base as well.

A strong group of freshmen infielders join the Tigers this season as Rex Meyr, T.J. Scheiber and Andrew Thigpen will all compete for playing time as they enter the 2008 campaign.

 

 

BEHIND THE PLATE
The 2007 Big 12 Freshman of the Year and Freshman All-American, Trevor Coleman returns for his second season as Missouri's catcher. Coleman took over the everyday catching duties for Mizzou last year and hit .282 with nine home runs.

Pietroburgo enters his fifth season with the Tigers, playing in 67 games over his career at MU. He is also in the mix to play at first base for Missouri this season as he continues to earn more playing time.

Freshmen Ryan Ampleman and Cole Mazurek have added depth at the catcher spot for the Tigers this season.



2008 Season Preview
Saturday, Feb. 16 -- PART 1- 2007 Season in Review
Sunday, Feb. 17 -- PART 2- The 2008 Pitching Staff
Monday, Feb. 18 -- PART 3- The 2008 Infielders and Catchers
Tuesday, Feb. 19 -- PART 4- The 2008 Outfielders
Wednesday, Feb. 20 -- PART 5- The 2008 Schedule

Missouri's Season Ends After Lost to WKU

05/31/2009 - Baseball

Mizzou saw its season come to an end after an 11-6 loss to Western Kentucky on Sunday in the NCAA Oxford Regional. Playing in its seventh-straight NCAA Regional, Missouri finished with a 1-2 record in Oxford. Both of the Tigers' losses this weekend came against Western Kentucky.

Gibson Leads Mizzou to Shutout of Monmouth

05/30/2009 - Baseball

Junior Kyle Gibson tied the school record for strikeouts in a season after he struck out eight in eight scoreless innings pitched in a 9-0 Missouri win over Monmouth on Saturday in the NCAA Oxford Regional. Gibson now has 131 strikeouts on the year, tying the MU record set by Max Scherzer in 2005.

Missouri Drops NCAA Opener

05/29/2009 - Baseball

Opening play in its seventh-straight NCAA Regional, the Missouri baseball team fell to Western Kentucky by a score of 11-5 on Friday in Oxford, Miss. It was the first loss for the Tigers in an NCAA Regional opener since 2006.

Gibson Named Golden Spikes Semifinalist

05/26/2009 - Baseball

Missouri junior Kyle Gibson has been named a semifinalist for the 2009 USA Golden Spikes Award. This year will mark the 32nd consecutive year that the award has been presented to the nation's premier amateur baseball player. Gibson is 10-3 on the year. He leads the Big 12 Conference and is third nationally with 123 strikeouts on the season.

Tigers Set for NCAA Regional

05/29/2009 - Baseball

For the seventh-consecutive season, the Missouri baseball team has been selected to the NCAA Tournament and will compete in the NCAA Regional in Oxford, Miss. this weekend. The Tigers are the No. 2 seed in the Oxford Regional, with host school Ole Miss earning the top spot. Mizzou will open against No. 3 seeded Western Kentucky at 3 p.m. on Friday, while Ole Miss will face the fourth-seed Monmouth at 7 p.m. on Friday.