April 4, 2008
MIZZOU vs. OKLAHOMA STATE
APRIL 4-6, 2008 • COLUMBIA, MO
First Pitch:
Friday, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, 4 p.m.
Sunday, 1 p.m.
Series History: OSU leads 129-77
Last Year: MU swept series in Stillwater
Stadium: Taylor Stadium (2,200)
TV: MSN (Saturday only)
Radio: KTGR 1580-AM
Live Audio: KTGR.com
Live Video: mutigers.com
Live Gametracker: mutigers.com
COMPLETE GAMENOTES
FIRST PITCH
No. 4 Mizzou will host Oklahoma State in a three-game Big 12 Conference series this weekend at Taylor Stadium. Game one of the weekend is set for 6:30 p.m. on Friday, with the second game getting underway at 4 p.m. on Saturday and the finale to start at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Missouri enters the series with a 21-6 overall record and is 4-2 in Big 12 Conference play.
OSU, who is ranked No. 23 in the NCBWA Top 30, is 18-8 on the year and 4-5 in the league.
MU-OSU SERIES HISTORY
Oklahoma State leads the all-time series with Mizzou, 129-77, but the Tigers have won the last six meetings and seven of the last nine matchups.
Last year, Missouri swept the three-game series in Stillwater and then defeated the Cowboys, 13-1, at the Big 12 Tournament.
Two seasons ago, the last time MU and OSU met in Columbia, the Tigers took two-of-three from Oklahoma State. Mizzou also took a win over OSU at the Big 12 Tournament in 2006.
MIZZOU ON TV
Two of the Tigers' 2008 games have been selected to be televised.
The Mizzou Sports Network will air the middle game of this weekend's series against Oklahoma State.
The game can be seen on FSN Midwest and MetroSports.
Missouri's series finale at Texas A&M on April 27 will be broadcast on FSN as part of the network's television contract with the Big 12 Conference. That game will start at 1 p.m. in College Station, Texas.
The possibility does remain for networks to add more games to the television schedule.
MIZZOU HOLDS FOURTH SPOT IN BASEBALL AMERICA POLL
Mizzou is ranked No. 4 in this week's Baseball America poll, released on Monday.
The Tigers climbed to No. 2 in last week's poll, its highest ever mark.
MU finds itself ranked 12th in Collegiate Baseball's Top 30, No. 7 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll and 17th in the NCBWA poll.
LAST TIME OUT
Missouri split in its two midweek games, dropping a 5-3 contest to Western Illinois on Tuesday, before taking a 10-2 win over Lincoln on Wednesday.
LAST YEAR VS. OSU
Mizzou closed out the 2007 regular season, by picking up a three-game sweep over Oklahoma State in Stillwater.
In the series opener, MU hit three home runs and Aaron Crow recorded a season-high nine strikeouts in a 9-6 win. Crow allowed three runs on six hits in seven innings pitched.
Scooter Hicks did not allow a hit or a run in the final 1.1 innings to pick up his fourth save of the year.
Evan Frey and Trevor Coleman each had three-hit games and Frey's first hit was a home run to lead off the game.
The Tigers clinched second place in the Big 12 Conference with an 8-5 win on Saturday. Missouri had six batters record at least two hits, including Gary Arndt who was 3-for-5.
Kyle Gibson pitched two innings in relief and earned the win to improve to 7-3 on the year, while Hicks picked up his fifth save with a scoreless ninth inning.
Mizzou closed out the sweep with a 7-4 win on Sunday. Ian Berger picked up the win as he struck out five in six inning of work. Stephan Holst, Ryan Gargano and Greg Folgia each turned in a scoreless inning out of the bullpen for the Tigers.
It was MU's second conference sweep of the season and gave the Tigers 19 Big 12 wins, the most for a Missouri team in league play since the 1996 team won 20 in the final year of the Big Eight Conference.
SOMETHING TO CROW ABOUT
Junior Aaron Crow, a preseason All-American, has a string of 33.2 scoreless innings pitched and has not allowed a run in Big12 Conference play this year. He has won all six of his starts and has an ERA of 0.84.
He holds a commanding lead in the Big 12 Conference in strikeouts with 60, which is 14 Ks ahead of second place.
On March 14, Crow struck out a career-high 15 batters against Toledo, bettering his previous best of 10 set just two weeks prior against Cal.
Only two Toledo batters advanced beyond first base, as Crow allowed seven hits and did not walk a batter.
Starting with the final out of the fourth inning and continuing through the eighth inning, Crow struck out 11 of the 15 batters he faced, including striking out the side in the eighth. He threw 107 pitches, 87 of which were strikes.
He recorded a second-straight complete-game shutout with a 10-strikeout performance against Baylor on March 21
Crow was selected as the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week and the NCBWA National Pitcher of the Week following that performance.
Last Friday, Crow turned in eight scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and striking out nine against Texas Tech.
BERGER, WELL DONE
Junior Ian Berger leads the Tigers and the Big 12 Conference with a 0.47 ERA heading into the week. Berger is 3-0 on the year and has allowed just two earned runs in 38.1 innings pitched this season.
Berger had a string of 26.1 scoreless innings snapped last Friday against Texas Tech. He struck out six and gave up just one run on four hits in eight inning pitched against TTU.
He has allowed just three earned runs in his last eight appearances dating back to last season, a span of 46.1 innings.
Berger has started five times this season, earning wins against San Diego State, Toledo and Baylor. He allowed just one run on six hits in seven innings pitched against San Diego State, to pick up his first win of the year.
He pitched eight scoreless innings against Toledo, allowing just four hits to earn his second victory.
Berger struck out eight against Baylor last Saturday, allowing just one hit in seven innings. A double by BU's second batter of the game was the lone hit for the Bears on the afternoon. Following the double, Berger retired the next 10 batters he faced and 14 of the next 15.
Along with his team-best ERA, he leads the squad with an opposing batting average of .145.
He has a career record of 8-1 at MU.
PRIDAY CONTINUES TO CLIMB MU'S RECORDS LIST
Jacob Priday has been very impressive in his senior season, hitting .358, which is ninth best in the Big 12. Among his 29 hits are five home runs and eight doubles.
Priday missed five games from March 8-15 with an abdominal injury, but returned to the lineup on March 16 against Toledo.
His five home runs on the year give him 38 for his career, which places him in a tie for third on the MU all-time home runs list with Griffin Moore (1997-98). The school record is 45 (Mike Rogers, 1984-87).
Priday is also moving up the charts in the RBI category. He enters the week having driven in 205 career runs, which is second all-time at Mizzou. The record is 222 (Ryan Fry, 1995-98).
SHUT `EM DOWN
The Missouri pitching staff recorded four shutouts in 2007. Already this season, the Tigers have five. MU has twice claimed back-to-back shutouts in 2008.
Junior Aaron Crow picked up complete game shutouts in back-to-back starts against Toledo (March 14) and Baylor (March 21) and teamed with freshman Nick Tepesch to shutout Texas Tech (March 28).
Junior Ian Berger and sophomore Greg Folgia teamed up to shutout Toledo in game two of that series. Berger then combined with Tepesch to record a shutout in game two of the Baylor series.
14-GAME WINNING STREAK TIES FOURTH LONGEST AT MIZZOU
From March 2 through March25, Missouri won 14-straight games, matching the fourth-longest winning streak in school history. The Tigers also won 14 in a row in 2007 and 1985.
The record is a pair of 16-game winning streaks in 1981 and 1917. In 2005, the Tigers put together are 15-game streak.
2008 SQUAD TIED FOR QUICKEST TO 20 WINS
Missouri's 20-3 start to the season matched their best record ever after 23 games. Mizzou has won 20 of its first 23 games twice before (1964, 1982).
SENNE DELIVERS BIG IN RETURN TO MINNESOTA
It was quite a homecoming for Mizzou sophomore Aaron Senne on March 25 as No. 2 Missouri defeated Minnesota 17-8 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
Senne, a native of Rochester, Minn., tied a school record with eight RBI, hit two home runs and had a career-high four hits in his return to his home state.
With a large contingent of family and friends in attendance, Senne was 4-for-4 with eight runs driven in and two runs scored. He took over the team lead with six home runs.
In his first at-bat, Senne connected on a two-run homer to right centerfield to give the Tigers the early 2-0 lead. He singled in each of his next two at-bats, driving in runs on both hits.
MU sent 15 batters to the plate in the sixth inning, with three of the nine runs scoring on Senne's second home run of the night and his sixth of the season. Senne's drove in his eighth run of the game when he was hit-by-a-pitch with the bases loaded in his second trip to the plate in the sixth inning.
Senne's eight RBI matches Marcus Adler's eight RBI game against Evansville in 1986. Senne has driven in at least five runs in a game three times this season.
It was his second two-home run game this season, as he also hit two against Indiana State on March 9.
Senne leads the Tigers with 36 RBI on the year, which ranks third in the Big 12 Conference.
CALVERT MAKING AN IMPACT
Senior Kurt Calvert leads the Tigers with a .365 batting average heading into this weekend's series.
Calvert earned the starting spot in centerfield after a strong fall and preseason. In his first two years at MU, Calvert played in 41 games, starting just four times.
This season, Calvert is 31-for-85. He has three triples, which is third most in the Big 12 and has hit his first three career home runs this year. He is also 9-for-10 in stolen bases.
PLAYING THE `D'
Missouri is leading the Big 12 Conference with a .971 fielding percentage. The Tigers have had 10 games this season in which they did not commit an error and have had one or fewer errors in 20 of their 27 games.
SHARING THE SAVES
The Tigers have nine saves as a team this year, with five pitchers earning those seven saves. Mizzou had four pitchers earn saves all of last season.
Freshman Nick Tepesch picked up the save against Texas Tech last Friday to extend his team lead in saves to four, which ranks seventh in the conference.
Junior Scooter Hicks has two saves on the season, which gives him eight for his career.
Freshmen Kelly Fick, sophomore Ryan Allen and junior Ryan Gargano have also recorded a save this season.
FOLGIA DOES IT ALL
Sophomore Greg Folgia had just two hits in 18 at-bats as a freshman last year. But in 2008, Folgia has a team-high 33 hits with a .333 batting average.
He had a 10-game hitting streak snapped on March 19 against South Dakota State. The streak was the longest by a Tiger since Brock Bond hit safely in 11-straight games May 12-June 2, 2007.
In the first game of the South Dakota State series, Folgia was in the lineup as the pitcher/designated hitter. He earned the win on the mound, as he struck out seven in five scoreless innings pitched. He struck out the first five batters of the game and did not walk a batter.
Meanwhile, at the plate in that game, Folgia was 3-for-5, with an RBI and three runs scored.
TIGERS TAME THE BEARS
Missouri recorded an impressive sweep of then-No. 14 Baylor March 21-23 at Taylor Stadium. The Tigers did not allow an earned run in the series and outscored the Bears 22-2.
Junior Aaron Crow threw his second-straight shutout to open the series, as the Tigers defeated Baylor, 7-0 on Friday. Crow struck out 10, while allowing just three hits.
On Saturday, junior Ian Berger followed Crow's lead, by pitching seven shutout innings, allowing just one hit as the Tigers shutout the Bears again, 3-0. Berger struck out eight and lowered his season ERA to 0.30. Freshman Nick Tepesch pitched a perfect final two innings to pick up his third save of the year.
MU completed the three-game sweep with a 12-2 run-rule victory on Sunday. Sophomore Kyle Gibson allowed just two unearned runs and struck out nine, earning his fifth win of the year.
Along with the 0.00 ERA for the weekend, the Tigers struck out 28 batters and Baylor only managed a .098 batting average in the series.
The sweep was the first by either team in the all-time series.
TAKING THE FIREPOWER OUT OF THE ROCKETS
Mizzou had three-straight starting pitchers record career highs in strikeouts against Toledo on March 14-16.
The weekend started with junior Aaron Crow striking out 15 in the series opener.
The following day, junior Ian Berger fanned a career-best nine in eight shutout innings. With the wins in the first two games against Toledo, Missouri recorded back-to-back shutouts for the first time since sweeping a doubleheader with Youngstown State last year by scores of 11-0 and 11-0.
On Sunday, sophomore Kyle Gibson's 11 strikeouts set a new career high for him, while he allowed just one run on four hits in eight innings.
TAKING A HIT
Through the first 27 games of the season, the Tigers have been hit by a pitch 54 times.
Missouri was hit by 22 pitches in the first week alone, averaging 5.5 HBPs per game through the first four games. The Tigers had three-straight games from Feb. 23-25 in which six batters were hit by pitches.
The school record for hit-by-pitches in a year is 108, set in 2005. MU came close to breaking that record last year, with 107 HBPs.
If it were to keep up the current pace, Missouri would finish the regular season with 125 hit-by-pitches.
Senior Lee Fischer leads the team with 10 HBPs, while sophomore Aaron Senne and junior Kyle Mach have seven hit-by-pitches. Senne was hit four times against Minnesota on March 26.
Brock Bond holds the MU record for hit-by-pitches in a season, with 25 in 2007.
TIGERS MAKE IT FIVE-STRAIGHT NCAA TOURNAMENTS
Mizzou is one of just 18 schools in the nation that has advanced to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last five seasons. Only two Big 12 schools (MU and Texas) can make that claim.
The Tigers have made NCAA Regionals in each of the last five seasons and last year hosted the school's first-ever Regional.
In 2006, Mizzou advanced to the Super Regionals for the first time in school history.
ALL-ACCESS
Video webcast for all Missouri Baseball home games in 2008 will be available at mutigers.com as part of Mizzou All-Access.
All-Access is the Tiger fans home to live and archived games for Mizzou Athletics, along with coaches' shows, press conferences and much more. For more information, visit mutigers.com and click on the All-Access icon.
ON THE AIR
Once again, KTGR 1580-AM will be 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 18th season of calling Tiger Baseball and is joined in the booth by Hudson Guthrie, who is in his first year on the Tiger broadcast team.
TIGERS FOR TIGERS
Mizzou Athletics is teaming up with Auburn and Clemson Universities to save and protect wild tigers. You can help support "Tigers for Tigers" by making a donation to the World Wildlife Fund. For more information visit tigers.missouri.edu. Help Mizzou with the "Tigers for Tigers" challenge and save the tigers species.
UP NEXT
Next Wednesday, Mizzou will travel to Springfield, Mo. for a matchup with Missouri State at 7 p.m. at Hammons Field.
Next weekend, the Tiger will host the Tigers will host Texas in a three-game conference series at Taylor Stadium, starting at 6:30 p.m. on Friday.
