March 24, 2009

MIZZOU vs. ILLINOIS-CHICAGO
MARCH 24-25, 2009 • COLUMBIA, MO.

FIRST PITCH
Missouri will close out a six-game home stand with a pair of midweek games against Illinois-Chicago. Game one of the two-game series is set for 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Fans can take advantage of the "All-You-Can-Eat" section in the right field bleachers of Taylor Stadium on Tuesday night. The "All-You-Can-Eat" passes are $5 (in addition to the price of a ticket) and can be purchased at the stadium on game day. Game two of the series is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Wednesday. Tickets for Wednesday's game are available for just $1. The Tigers are 11-11 on the year after taking two-of-three against Texas A&M last weekend. Following this week's two-game set with UIC, Missouri will travel to Stillwater, Okla. for a three-game series against Oklahoma State. Game one of the weekend will get underway at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. The second game is Saturday at 2 p.m with the finale set for Sunday at 1 p.m.

GIBSON REPEATS AS BIG 12 PITCHER OF THE WEEK
On Monday, Mizzou junior Kyle Gibson was named the Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Week for the second-consecutive week. He is the first pitcher to claim back-to-back Big 12 Pitcher of the Week honors since Texas' Kyle McCulloch in 2006. Gibson picked up a complete game victory over Texas A&M last Friday night, as he struck out a career-high 16 batters in the Tigers' 3-2 win. He gave up just two runs on five hits to the Aggies and his only walk allowed on the night was an intentional pass in the eighth inning. Gibson retired the first 10 batters to the plate and 18 of the first 19 he faced. A week earlier, Gibson was named the NCBWA National Pitcher of the Week, in addition to Big 12 Pitcher of the Week after picking up his first career shutout in MU's series opener with Texas on March 14. Gibson struck out 11 batters and gave up six hits in nine innings pitched, as the Tigers defeated Texas, 2-0. The complete-game was the first nine-inning complete game for Gibson, who has had two seven-inning complete games in his career. Gibson has an ERA of 1.15 on the year, which is third best in the Big 12. He leads the conference with 54 strikeouts on the year in 39.0 innings pitched. He has struck out 40 in his last three starts.

MIZZOU ADDS JOHNNY WHOLESTAFF TO THE ROSTER
Missouri has utilized a pitcher-by-committee strategy in five games this season and found it to be a success. In those five games, Mizzou is 4-1 and has a team ERA of 1.43. Opposing batters are hitting .205 against the Tigers in the pitcher-by-committee games. The first time the Tigers used the staff pitching plan was against Arizona State on Feb. 24. Eight pitchers each pitched one inning against ASU, allowing just three runs on five hits. The Tigers used nine pitchers, again employing one pitcher an inning, against Western Illinois on March 4 and shutout the Leathernecks 8-0, giving up just five hits. A week later nine pitchers each turned in one inning on the mound as Mizzou defeated Western Illinois, 18-4. Mizzou utilized a season-high 11 pitchers against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville on March 18, defeating the Cougars 4-1. Last Saturday, Missouri employed the strategy for the first time in a Big 12 Conference game. Nine pitchers teamed up to defeat Texas A&M, 6-2. Each pitcher worked exactly one inning on the mound against the Aggies. Six pitchers (Brad Buehler, Ryan Clubb, Greg Folgia, Ryan Gargano, Kelly Fick and Andrew Mueller) have pitched in at least four of the five games and have not allowed an earned run in those games.

TEPESCH TURNS IN CAREER-LONG OUTING AT TEXAS
Sophomore Nick Tepesch set a new career-high in innings pitched in three consecutive outings March 1-15. He pitched 6.1 innings against Arizona State on March 1, giving up just one run on six hits and striking out a career-best eight. The following week, Tepesch picked up his first win of the season as turned in 6.2 innings pitched against Ball State, setting a new career high with 12 strikeouts. On March 15 at Texas, Tepesch pitched eight innings, allowing two runs on seven hits and striking out four. He left the game with the lead, but took a no decision. Tepesch has struck out 38 batters in 30.2 innings pitched this season.

LOLLIS LEADS THE TIGERS AT THE PLATE
Through the first month of the season, senior Ryan Lollis has been one the Tigers' most consistent performer. Lollis is hitting .291 and has a team-best 17 RBI. He has recorded a hit in 16 of the 21 games he played in this season. He has had two three-hit games (against Gonzaga on Feb. 22 and against Western Illinois on March 4). Lollis had an eight-game hitting streak from Feb. 22-March 6. He has three doubles, two triples and had a home run against Gonzaga. On March 4, Lollis drove in three runs, going 3-for-4 against Western Illinois. He also scored three runs against WIU. Lollis was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in last June's Major League Baseball Draft, but passed up a chance to turn professional to return to MU.

HICKS MOVES UP MISSOURI'S ALL-TIME SAVES LIST
Senior Scooter Hicks picked up saves in three-straight appearances, March 1-8. His three saves on the season give him 14 for his career, which places him in a tie for fourth place all-time at Missouri. Hicks is tied with Jeff Cornell (1976-78) on the all-time career saves list at MU and is two behind third-place Travis Wendte (2002-06). Scott Black holds the MU record with 19 career saves (1987-90). Hicks had six saves in his first year at Missouri (2007), which tied for 10th on MU's single season saves list. He recorded five last year.

SENNE IS A HIT FOR MIZZOU
Junior Aaron Senne is hitting .289 on the season, third best on the team. Senne opened the season with a hit in each of the first four games of the year and had a seven-game hitting streak from Feb. 27-March 7. He leads the team with five doubles on the year. Last season, Senne led the Tigers with a .347 batting average, with 13 home runs and 14 doubles.

TIGER PITCHERS SET CAREER MARKS AGAINST BALL STATE
Missouri had two pitchers set new career highs in strikeouts in the four-game series with Ball State, March 6-8. Junior Kyle Gibson struck out 13 in the series opener. [Gibson set a new career best with 16 Ks against Texas A&M on March 20.] Gibson's previous career best was 11 against Toledo last March. In game four, sophomore Nick Tepesch struck out a career-high 12, picking up his first win of the season. It was the second straight Sunday in which Tepesch set a new career best after he struck out eight against Arizona State on March 1. In addition, senior Ian Berger matched his career high with nine strikeouts against Ball State in game two of a March 7 doubleheader.

FRESHMEN STEP UP FOR MIZZOU
Heading into the week, freshman Conner Mach is hitting a team-best .375 and has 10 RBI. He has played in 14 games, starting 13 times for the Tigers. Mach was 7-for-13 (.538) against Ball State, March 6-8, playing in three of the four games against BSU. Of his seven hits, three were doubles and he hit a home run, his first of his career. He was 6-for-9 in the March 7 doubleheader, then was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer in the series finale. Fellow freshman Ryan Gebhart is hitting .250, having played in 13 games for MU this year, starting seven times. In his first career start on March 6 against Ball State, Gebhart drove in the Tigers' first two runs of the game on a bases loaded single to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead. Another freshman, Ben Turner has played in 12 games already this year, starting four times. On the pitching side, Mizzou has seen contributions out of the bullpen from freshmen Jeff Emens (nine appearances), Ryan Clubb (seven appearances) and Brian Carr (four appearances).

JAMIESON MOVES INTO SECOND PLACE ON MU'S ALL-TIME WINS LIST
With Missouri's win over Arizona State on March 1, Head Coach Tim Jamieson moved into second place on Mizzou's all-time wins list. Jamieson is 491-340-2 in his 15th year as the Tigers' head coach. His 491 wins put him ahead of legendary former head coach John "Hi" Simmons. Simmons compiled a record of 481-294-3 from 1937-1973, while Gene McArtor is the all-time winningest coach at Missouri with a record of 733-430-3 from 1974-1994. Jamieson, who served as an assistant coach under McArtor from 1988-94, has led the Tigers to seven NCAA Regionals, including each of the last six and is a two-time Conference Coach of the Year. Last fall, the University of Missouri extended Jamieson's contract, keeping him in the MU dugout through at least the 2013 season. With the retirement of Texas Tech's Larry Hays last summer, Jamieson and Baylor coach Steve Smith are now the longest tenured coaches in the Big 12 Conference, as each is in his 15th year as head coach of the respective programs.

TIGERS ON TV
Mizzou's April 4 game against Oklahoma will be televised by the Mizzou Sports Network. The game can be seen on FS Midwest, except in Kansas City where it will air on MetroSports. KOMU Sports Director Chris Gervino and former Mizzou Baseball Coach Gene McArtor will serve as the broadcast team for the game.

ON THE AIR
Once again this year, KTGR 1580-AM is the radio home of the Tigers. All of Mizzou's regular season and postseason games will air on KTGR 1580-AM in Columbia. The games can also be heard online at KTGR.com. Tex Little is in his 19th season of calling Tiger Baseball and is joined in the booth by Hudson Guthrie, who returns for his second year as part of the Tigers' broadcast team.

UP NEXT
This weekend, Mizzou will be in Stillwater, Okla. for a three-game series against Oklahoma State. Game one of the weekend is 6:30 p.m. on Friday, with games to follow on 2 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday. Following the weekend, the Tigers return to Taylor Stadium for a pair of games against Minnesota next week.