March 26, 2009

MIZZOU at OKLAHOMA STATE
MARCH 28-30, 2009 • STILLWATER, OKLA.

COMPLETE GAMENOTES

FIRST PITCH
Mizzou travels to Stillwater, Okla. this weekend for a three-game series against Oklahoma State. The schedule for this weekend has been adjusted due to the forecast of inclement weather. The series will now be played Saturday-Monday, with game one set for 2 p.m. on Saturday. Game two will take place at 2 p.m. on Sunday, with the finale planned for Monday at 1 p.m. The Tigers enter the series with a 12-12 record and are 3-3 in Big 12 play, while OSU is 17-7 on the year and has a 1-2 mark in the conference. Following the trip to Stillwater, the Tigers will take on Saint Louis University next Wednesday at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Next weekend, Missouri returns to Taylor Stadium to host Oklahoma in a three-game series.

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 on March 20, 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 and is second nationally 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 six games this season and found it to be a success. In those six games, Mizzou is 5-1 and has a team ERA of 2.55. Opposing batters are hitting .218 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. On March 21, 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. Last Wednesday, Mizzou matched its season high with 11 pitchers used as the Tigers defeated UI-Chicago. Four pitchers (Brad Buehler, Ryan Clubb, Ryan Gargano and Kelly Fick) have pitched in at least five of the six 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 .307 and has a team-best 20 RBI. He has recorded a hit in six of the last seven games heading into the series with OSU. He has had two three-hit games this season (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 four doubles and three triples. His three triples are tied for the most in the Big 12 this season. Lollis has two home runs on the year, hitting his first against Gonzaga on Feb. 22. He hit a two-run home run against UI-Chicago on Wednesday, going 2-for-4 with three RBI in that game. 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.

FOLGIA IS MISSOURI'S UTILITY MAN
Junior Greg Folgia is third on the team with a .306 average with three home runs and three RBI. Folgia had two hits in each of the Tigers ` two games against UI-Chicago this past week, including a four-RBI game on Wednesday. Folgia homered and tripled in that game to set a new career high with the four RBI. He has had a pair of four-game hitting streaks and carries a three-game hitting streak heading into the OSU series. Folgia has had three hits in three games this year. Folgia has started both in left field and at first base for the Tigers this season and also has made nine appearances on the mound out of the bullpen.

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 had a season-high three hits on Wednesday against UI-Chicago, going 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored. He is hitting .301 on the season, which is fourth 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 six doubles on the year. Last season, Senne led the Tigers with a .347 batting average, with 13 home runs and 14 doubles.

FRESHMEN STEP UP FOR MIZZOU
Heading into the week, freshman Conner Mach is hitting a team-best .353 and has 10 RBI. He has played in 15 games, starting 14 times for the Tigers. He had at least one hit in each of the first eight games he played in for Missouri. 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 .281, having played in 15 games for MU this year, starting eight 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 (10 appearances), Ryan Clubb (eight 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 492-341-2 in his 15th year as the Tigers' head coach. His 492 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 TO PLAY IN BOTH OF MISSOURI'S MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL STADIUMS IN 2009
Among the highlights of the Tigers' 2009 schedule are games to be played at both of the Major League Baseball stadiums in the state of Missouri. On April 1, Mizzou will take on Saint Louis University at Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals. Game time for the Tigers-Billikens matchup is set for 7:15 p.m. Three weeks later, MU will return to Kauffman Stadium, the home of the Kansas City Royals, to face Kansas at 6:30 p.m. on April 22. This will mark the third year that Missouri and Kansas have been scheduled to meet at Kauffman Stadium, however the 2007 game was cancelled due to rain. The game is considered a non-conference contest and will be played in addition to the three-game conference series between the two teams May 8-10 in Columbia.

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

UP NEXT
Next Wednesday, Missouri will take on Saint Louis University at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. First pitch is set for 7:15 p.m. For tickets, visit the St. Louis Cardinals' website (stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com). Following that game, the Tigers will return to Taylor Stadium to host Oklahoma in a three-game set that will open at 6:30 p.m. on April 3.