April 10, 2008
MIZZOU vs. TEXAS
APRIL 11-13, 2008 • COLUMBIA, MO
First Pitch:
Friday, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, 2 p.m.
Sunday, 1 p.m.
Series History: UT leads 21-18
Last Year: MU took 2-of-3 in Austin
Stadium: Taylor Stadium
Capacity: 2,200
Radio: KTGR 1580-AM
Live Audio: KTGR.com
Live Stats: mutigers.com
Live Video: mutigers.com
COMPLETE GAMENOTES
FIRST PITCH
The teams picked to finish No. 1 and No. 2 in the Big 12 Preseason Coaches' Poll will meet this weekend at Taylor Stadium. Game one of the three-game series between Mizzou and Texas will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. The series continues at 2 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.
The Longhorns were the preseason pick to win the league with MU picked second.
MU-UT SERIES HISTORY
Missouri took two-of-three from Texas last season in Austin and have won five of the last six meetings and six of the last eight.
UT holds a 21-18 advantage in the series.
The first MU-UT matchups took place in 1905, when the two teams split a pair of games.
In 1963, Missouri and Texas met at the College World Series, with MU taking a 3-2 victory in that contest.
MIZZOU HOLDS EIGHTH SPOT IN BASEBALL AMERICA POLL
Mizzou is ranked No. 8 in this week's Baseball America poll, released on Monday.
The Tigers climbed to No. 2 in the March 24th poll, its highest ever mark.
MU finds itself ranked 12th in the NCBWA poll and the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' poll and is 16th in Collegiate Baseball's Top 30.
MIZZOU WELCOMES BACK BIG EIGHT CHAMPS OF 1962-65
This weekend, Mizzou welcomes back members of the 1962-1965 baseball teams. These four teams all claimed Big Eight titles and the Tigers made three College World Series appearance under legendary Head Coach John "Hi" Simmons during that time.
The 1962-65 teams will be part of an on-field recognition prior to the start of Saturday's game.
LAST TIME OUT
No. 8 Missouri defeated Missouri State by a score of 8-4 on Wednesday in Springfield, Mo. in a game that was called after six innings as heavy rain began to fall.
Freshman Jonah Schmidt hit his first home run as a Tiger and had a career-high three hits and three RBI in the MU win. He finished the night 3-for-4 and scored twice.
Missouri State (19-11) score twice in the bottom of the first inning on one hit, a pair of walks and a Tiger error. The score remained 2-0 in favor of the Bears heading to the fourth, before Missouri scored eight runs over the next three innings.
Mizzou (23-8) took the lead with a three-run top of the fourth inning. The Tigers got RBI doubles by Schmidt and sophomore Greg Folgia, sandwiched around a sacrifice fly from freshman Andrew Thigpen. Folgia had a pair of doubles on Wednesday, finishing 2-for-3 in the game.
Schmidt hit his first collegiate home run in the fifth inning, a two-run shot which easily cleared the fence in left field to give the Tigers a 5-2 lead.
Senior Jacob Priday also hit a towering homer on Wednesday, connecting on a three-run home run in the sixth inning. It was his team-leading seventh of the season and the 40th of his career, which moves him within two of second place on the MU home run record lists and five away from tying the school record.
The Bears scored a run in the bottom of the fifth and one in the sixth. Play was suspended in the top of the seventh inning and after a delay of 20 minutes the game was called.
LAST YEAR VS. TEXAS
In game one of the series, the Tigers scored a run in the top of the 11th inning on an error when the UT catcher overthrew the pitcher on a throw back to the mound. With Brock Bond at the plate, Preston Clark's throw back to Randy Boone sailed into centerfield, allowing Kurt Calvert to score from third with the go-ahead run. Then, in the bottom of the 11th, Ryan Lollis threw Clay Van Hook out at home for the final out of the game, as Van Hook was trying to score the tying run.
Texas evened the series by taking a 5-1 win in game two, snapping MU's four-game winning streak over the Longhorns. The Tigers had just three hits in the game, with two of the three coming from John McKee. MU avoided the shutout by plating a run in the top of the ninth.
Missouri claimed the series win by taking a 5-4 contest on Sunday, behind a two-home run performance from Trevor Coleman.
Coleman, a native of Drippings Springs, Texas, homered in the second and sixth innings to lead MU to its ninth series win of the season.
SOMETHING TO CROW ABOUT
Junior Aaron Crow, a preseason All-American, has a string of 42.2 scoreless innings pitched and has not allowed a run in Big12 Conference play this year after recording his third shutout of the season last Friday against Oklahoma State. He has won all seven of his starts and has a Big 12 leading ERA of 0.69.
The NCAA record for the longest scoreless inning streak is not found in the record books. To the best of our knowledge, below are the longest streaks on record.
Scorelss Innings Streaks
Todd Helton (Tennessee)- 47.2 innings (1994)
Ben McDonald (LSU)- 44.2 innings (1989)
Pat Vindette (Creighton)- 43.2 innings (2007)
Eddie Bane (Arizona St.)- 43.0 innings (1972)
Aaron Crow (Missouri)- 42.2 innings (2008)
Division II Record
Kyle Jones (SIUE)- 54.0 innings (2006)
Division III Record
Joey Serfass (E. Conn. St.)-47.0 innings (2003)
He holds a commanding lead in the Big 12 Conference in strikeouts with 67, which is 17 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.
On March 28, Crow turned in eight scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and striking out nine against Texas Tech.
Last Friday, he recorded his third complete game shutout of the season, striking out seven against Oklahoma State to improve to 7-0.
He earned his second Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Week honor on Monday.
BERGER, WELL DONE
Junior Ian Berger has a 0.81 ERA, which is second in the Big 12 Conference, trailing only teammate Aaron Crow (0.69).
Berger is 3-1 on the year after being saddled with his first loss of the season last Saturday against Oklahoma State.
Berger had a string of 26.1 scoreless innings snapped against Texas Tech on March 29. He struck out six and gave up just one run on four hits in eight inning pitched against TTU.
He has started six times this season, earning wins against San Diego State, Toledo and Baylor. Berger 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, 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.
Berger has a career record of 8-2 at MU.
PRIDAY CONTINUES TO CLIMB MU'S RECORDS LIST
Jacob Priday has been very impressive in his senior season, hitting .347, which is 12th best in the Big 12. Among his 33 hits are seven 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 seven home runs on the year give him 40 for his career, which places him in third place on the MU all-time home runs. 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 209 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 six and 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). Last Friday, Crow picked up his third shutout of the year against Oklahoma State.
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.
Currently, Senne leads the Tigers in batting average (.356) and RBI (37) and is second with six home runs.
CALVERT MAKING AN IMPACT
Senior Kurt Calvert is third on the squad with a .320 batting average heading into the weekend.
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 32-for-100. 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-11 in stolen bases.
PLAYING THE `D'
Missouri is tied for second the Big 12 Conference with a .970 fielding percentage. The Tigers have had 11 games this season in which they did not commit an error and have had one or fewer errors in 22 of their 31 games.
SHARING THE SAVES
The Tigers have 10 saves as a team this year, with six 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 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 and last Wednesday, junior Rick Zagone picked up his first career save against Missouri State.
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 37 hits, which is second on the team, and is hitting .330.
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 31 games of the season, the Tigers have been hit by a pitch 59 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 106 hit-by-pitches.
Senior Lee Fischer leads the team with 10 HBPs, while junior Kyle Mach has been hit by eight pitches and sophomore Aaron Senne has 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 PICKED SECOND IN BIG 12 POLL
The Big 12 Conference baseball coaches have picked Mizzou to finish second in the league, according to the 2008 Big 12 Preseason Poll. The Tigers garnered 71 points, including one first-place vote, finishing behind only Texas, who received 80 points, including eight first-place votes.
The ranking is the highest for the Tigers since the start of the Big 12 Conference in 1997. Their previous best came in 2006, when the coaches voted Missouri third.
Last season, MU was selected eighth in the preseason poll, but ended the year second.
UP NEXT
Missouri will host William Woods at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Taylor Stadium. Following that, the Tigers will play nine-straight games away from home, starting with a three-game series at Oklahoma next weekend.
