Friday, February 16
Miami, Fla.
6 p.m. (CT)
University of Missouri
at
Florida International
@MizzouBaseball Set For Opening Day at Florida International
2/14/2018 10:34:00 AM | Baseball
Tigers will play what should be a highly competitive opening series
- Mizzou Baseball opens year No. 2 under the direction of head coach Steve Bieser with a three-game series from Friday-Sunday at Conference USA foe Florida International in Miami, Fla. Mizzou's opening night first pitch is set for 6 p.m. (CT) Friday night (Feb. 16).
- Mizzou is coming off a 36-23 mark a season ago, Mizzou's winningest campaign since 2008 as the Tigers thrived under then first-year head coach Bieser. He became the winningest first-year head coach in Mizzou Baseball history and is among elite coaching company after hitting the 36-win mark a year ago. In fact, only 13 active Division I coaches have won at least 36 games in each of the last four seasons - Mizzou's Bieser is one of them, albeit with three of those seasons being his final three at SEMO.
- Mizzou is opening its schedule with a true road tilt for the first time since 2013 when it dropped a 5-2 decision at Southern Miss. That, similar to this weekend's tilt with FIU, was a three-game series.
- 2018 marks the 124th season of Mizzou Baseball and its sixth as a member of the Southeastern Conference. Looking at the numbers, Mizzou is 76-39-2 in season openers all time (seven years have incomplete game-by-game records). The Tigers have won 10 of the last 15 season openers, but had a streak of three straight openinng-day wins snapped last season by Eastern Michigan in a 6-2 loss. Mizzou rebounded to win its next 20 games for the second-longest winning streak in school history.
- This season marks the third consecutive season that Mizzou will open its season in the state of Florida. The three-game FIU series is the first of eight scheduled contests for Mizzou - three at FIU, one at Miami and four in Fort Myers vs. Northeastern.
- Over the last two seasons in its season-opening road trips to Florida, Mizzou has put together a 10-3 mark, including a 3-1 record a year ago in Fort Myers. Mizzou last played in Miami against Florida International, a 7-6 win in 2016. Mizzou is 4-0 all-time against Florida International.
- Mizzou vs. FIU is one of the most intriguing opening-weekend matchups in all of college baseball. The Tigers are opening against a team that won at least 30 games the year prior for the first time since 2014 (at Southern Miss). According to Justin Perline of Baseball America and Trackman Baseball, Mizzou and FIU is the second-most even matchup in all of college baseball during the opening weekend, with Mizzou having a 51 percent chance to win the series.
- The Tigers turned in their best staff ERA (3.67) since 2006 - a staff that featured the likes of future MLB All-Stars Max Scherzer and Aaron Crow. The Tigers return 56 percent of their innings pitched and strikeouts from a year ago. Mizzou also returns its wins leader, saves leader and opposing batting average leader.
- Mizzou slugged 52 homers as a team last season, its most in a season since the NCAA changed the bats for the 2011 season. The Tiger offense brings back 39 of those 52 homers (75 percent), including team-leaders Trey Harris (12) and Brett Bond (10). This season marks the first time since 2009 that Mizzou brings back at least two players who had double-digit homers the year prior. In 2009, those players were Aaron Senne (13 in 2008) and Steve Gray (10 in 2008).
PROJECTED ROTATION (2017 STATS)
- Friday: RHP Bryce Montes De Oca (4-5, 4.28 ERA) vs. RHP Tyler Myrick (6-2, 3.73 ERA)
- Saturday: LHP Michael Plassmeyer (5-1, 4.83 ERA) vs. LHP Logan Allen (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
- Sunday: RHP Andy Toelken (5-3, 2.82 ERA) vs. RHP Nick MacDonald (7-3, 4.29 ERA)
THREE TABBED TOP SENIORS
- Three Tigers were named to PerfectGame.org's Top 50 College Seniors List, announced Jan. 22. Among the three Tigers listed, two rank in the national top four as RS junior Bryce Montes De Oca and senior C Brett Bond, check in at No. 2 and No. 4, respectively. Senior OF Trey Harris ranks No. 32 on the list.
- Mizzou and Texas A&M are the only teams with two players ranked in the Top 10 while the Tigers are the only team in the nation with three players ranked in the Top 50. Rankings are based on the players' professional potential relative to the MLB Draft.
- Montes De Oca, a physical and imposing pitcher who can touch triple digits with his fastball, will be looked at as one of the anchors of Mizzou's pitching staff in 2018. He went 4-5 with a 4.28 ERA in his first season as a starter as a redshirt sophomore in 2017. He makes the list of seniors as he is in his fourth year with the program after earning a redshirt in 2016. His .205 opponent batting average was the team's second-best mark last season while he struck out 61 batters in 61.0 innings of work. His 15 extra-base hits allowed were the team's second-fewest last season. Montes De Oca was drafted in the 15th round by the Nationals last season, but he elected to return for his RS junior season.
- Bond has been one of the most productive and consistent hitters over his three seasons in black and gold. He is coming off a career-best year during which he hit .307 with 13 doubles, 10 homers and 45 RBI, all career-best marks. He also slugged a career-best .507 and scored a career-high 41 runs as Mizzou's everyday catcher. Bond is a .274 career hitter and his 22 career homers are just seven shy of cracking the all-time Mizzou Top-10. He was drafted in the 23rd round by the Astros before electing to return for his senior season.
- Harris has been one of the most electrifying players in college baseball over the last three seasons and finally showed off his pure power potential in a career year at the plate in 2017. Harris slugged a team-best 12 homers last year while hitting a career-best .268 with 48 RBI, a team-best. His .508 slugging percentage was also a team-best as he added eight doubles to his 12 homers.
WHAT MIZZOU BRINGS BACK IN 2018
- Mizzou brings back quite a bit of firepower, both at the plate and on the mound, in 2018. In fact, Mizzou returns its team-leader in 14 categories (listed below):
- Hits - Brett Bond - 66
- Runs - Brett Bond - 41
- HR - Trey Harris - 12
- 2Bs - Brett Bond - 13
- 3Bs - Connor Brumfield/Chris Cornelius - 3
- RBI - Trey Harris - 48
- OBP - Trey Harris - .388
- Slugging - Trey Harris - .508
- TBs - Brett Bond - 109
- Steals - Kameron Misner - 17
- ERA - T.J. Sikkema - 2.72
- Opponent BA - T.J. Sikkema - .186
- Wins - T.J. Sikkema - 8
- Saves - T.J. Sikkema - 4
- Keep in mind, Mizzou won its most games since 2008 a year ago and brings back all of that production.
- The Tigers also turned in their best staff ERA (3.67) since 2006 - a staff that featured the likes of future MLB All-Stars Max Scherzer and Aaron Crow. The Tigers return 56 percent of their innings pitched and strikeouts from a year ago. Mizzou also hit 52 homers, its most since 2010 when the NCAA changed the bats, and returns 75 percent of those on this year's roster.
- Both Mizzou's Bond and Harris had 10+ homers a year ago (Harris with 12, Bond with 10). This year marks the first year since 2009 that Mizzou has brought back a pair of players with 10+ homers the previous season (Aaron Senne/Steve Gray - 10 -13 in 2008).
SIKKEMA A PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN
- Mizzou Baseball sophomore LHP T.J. Sikkema is a Preseason Second-Team All-American, announced Jan. 9 by PerfectGame.org. This marks the first time in his career that he has earned Preseason All-America status. Sikkema is coming off a tremendous freshman season during which he went 8-2 in 22 appearances, compiling a 2.72 ERA with four saves. His 0.88 WHIP was second among all freshmen nationally, while his 5.90 hits per nine innings was the nation's 18th-best mark. Sikkema was twice named SEC Freshman of the Week last year and was an All-SEC Freshman Team selection. His eight wins are tied for the most-ever by a Mizzou true freshman. He led the SEC in WHIP and hits allowed per nine innings.
BIESER AMONG COLLEGE BASEBALL'S ELITE
- Mizzou head coach Steve Bieser is coming off a 36-23 season in his first year at the helm of the Mizzou program. That made him the winningest first-year head coach in school history and also placed him among the elite of elite in the college baseball coaching ranks. Dating back to his final three years at SEMO, Bieser has now won at least 36 games in each of the last four seasons. He is one of just 13 active Division I coaches to be able to boast that feat. Below is a look at the company he is in:
- Steve Bieser - Mizzou
- Monte Lee - Clemson
- Dan Heefner - Dallas Baptist
- Kevin O'Sullivan - Florida
- Mike Martin - Florida State
- Todd Whiting - Houston
- Dan McDonnell - Louisville
- Paul Mainieri - LSU
- Matt Riser - SELA
- Jim Schlossnagle - TCU
- Rob Childress - Texas A&M
- Tim Corbin - Vanderbilt
- Brian O'Connor - Virginia
- Bieser is one of just five SEC head coaches on the list as well. The SEC leads all conferences with five coaches on the list as it again proves to be the nation's best college baseball league.
ALL-SEC PRESEASON
- Mizzou Baseball standout sophomore 1B Kameron Misner is a Second-Team All-SEC selection, announced Feb. 8 by the Southeastern Conference. The team was selected by the league's 14 coaches. Misner is the first Mizzou position player to earn Preseason All-SEC honors since SS Ryan Howard did so in 2016. Misner was a Freshman All-American in 2017.
- An outfielder a year ago, Misner will make the transition to first base this season. Last year, he was a middle-of-the-order threat for Mizzou all year as a freshman, turning in one of the best seasons for a true freshman hitter in recent memory. He hit seven homers, the most home runs by a Mizzou freshman since Trevor Coleman in 2007. In addition, his .282 average on the year was the best for a Mizzou freshman since Brett Bond (St. Louis, Mo.) hit .294 in 2015. He joined classmate Chris Cornelius (St. Louis, Mo.) as the first Mizzou freshmen to drive in more than 30 runs in a season since 2010.
- Misner added 12 doubles and one triple while driving in 34 runs and scoring 39. He stole a team-high 17 bases on the year, a mark that ranked fourth in the SEC after the SEC Tournament
MIZZOU BASEBALL LEADS SEC IN GSR'S
- A big mark of Mizzou head coach Steve Bieser's mantra is academic success, and the Tigers have thrived in that area over the last year. In fact, Mizzou compiled a cumulative team GPA of 3.00 and led the entire SEC in graduation success rate (97). The GSR was developed by the NCAA with the entering freshmen class of 1995 to more accurately assess student-athlete's academic performance. The rate holds institutions accountable for transfer students, unlike the federal graduation rate. The GSR also accounts for midyear enrollees and is calculated for every sport.
- With an overall school-record Graduation Success Rate (GSR) score of 91, Mizzou student-athletes continue to excel in the classroom as well as competition, ranking third in the SEC as an entire department.
BOND, HARRIS CLOSING IN ON MIZZOU CAREER MARKS
- Mizzou seniors Brett Bond and Trey Harris rank among the top seniors in college baseball this season and highlight a potent Mizzou offense returning to the diamond in 2018. Both have been fixtures in the middle of the Mizzou order over their first three years with the program. As one might expect, each is moving in on all-time career top-10 marks at Mizzou. Below is a look:
- Bond - 7 homers shy of career top 10
- Bond - 56 RBI shy of career top 10
- Harris - 12 homers shy of career top 10
- Harris - 48 RBI shy of career top 10
- Harris - 5 steals away from career top 10
Players Mentioned
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