Friday, April 27
Lexington, Ky.
6:30 p.m. (CT)
University of Missouri
at
Kentucky
@MizzouBaseball Heads to Kentucky for Crucial SEC East Series
4/26/2018 6:27:00 PM | Baseball
Mizzou will send Sikkema to the mound in opener Friday on SEC Network
- Mizzou Baseball, coming off a 4-1 homestand during which it earned a series win over No. 10 Vanderbilt and another RPI top-100 win over Missouri State, heads to No. 15 Kentucky for a big-time SEC East showdown this weekend. Both teams are currently tied with one another in the east standings at 8-10 in league play and have almost identical overall records. Friday's game will air live on SEC Network with Mike Couzens and Chris Burke on the call. The final two games of the series will be on SEC Network+.
- Mizzou has been hot lately, winning four of five coming into the Kentucky series. Mizzou will look to add more ranked wins to its NCAA Tournament resume this weekend. On the year, Mizzou is 8-7 against ranked teams, including a 5-6 mark in road contests. Kentucky is No. 15 in this week's coaches poll.
- Mizzou has 14 games remaining, all of which are against RPI top-100 teams, with the next seven games coming against RPI top 50 teams. Kentucky sits at No. 18 in this week's RPI.
- Mizzou has played 14 games vs. the RPI top-25, the fifth-most nationally. Mizzou is 7-7 in those games and the seven wins against RPI top-25 teams are the second-most nationally, trailing only Florida. Mizzou also has the 10th-most wins against RPI-top 50 teams with nine. Mizzou is coming off of an 8-2 win over Missouri State, who is No. 65 in the RPI this week. Mizzou swept the season series with Missouri State for the first time since 2012 with its win Tuesday.
- Mizzou played its 24th errorless game of the season Tuesday vs. Missouri State and is now fielding at a .983 clip, ranking second nationally. Mizzou ranked 194th nationally in fielding a year ago at .966, marking the nation's largest turnaround in that category this season. We researched all the way back to 2003 and could not find a Mizzou team that had 20+ errorless games in a single season. Mizzou is 24 in 41 tries this season.
- Mizzou held Missouri State to just two runs Tuesday, marking the 20th time in 41 games that Mizzou has limited its opponents to two or fewer runs. Mizzou has limited its opponents to three or fewer runs in 23 of 41 games as it has been one of the nation's elite in pitching and defense this season. Mizzou ranks fifth nationally in runs allowed per game at 3.34, trailing only top-ranked Florida among SEC teams.
- Mizzou ranks 12th nationally in ERA with a 3.10 mark. Coupled with its No. 2 national fielding percentage of .983, Mizzou is one of just two teams nationally to rank in the national top-15 in both pitching and fielding. Consensus No. 1Florida (14th in ERA and eighth in fielding) is the only other team. Mizzou's combined rank (second plus 12th) is 14, which we'll go ahead and call a national-best.
- Mizzou has held opponents off the board with an electric starting pitching rotation. Every Mizzou pitcher who has started multiple games this year has an ERA below 3.00. Mizzou's top four starters - T.J. Sikkema, Michael Plassmeyer, Tyler LaPlante and Bryce Montes De Oca - are a combined 16-9 with a 2.45 ERA and 218 strikeouts in 195.0 innings pitched while walking just 59. The four starters are holding opponents to .212 hitting and are averaging 10.1 strikeouts per nine and 3.7 strikeouts for every walk.
- Based on last week's weekend rotations, Mizzou is the only SEC school with all four starters below a 3.00 ERA.
- Mizzou will send Sikkema to the mound Friday and Plassmeyer Saturday. The Tigers are TBA Sunday as Montes De Oca continues to work his way back from a stiff neck suffered during the Alabama series.
PROJECTED STARTERS
- Friday: Sophomore LHP T.J. Sikkema (3-3, 2.64 ERA) vs. Junior RHP Sean Hjelle (5-3, 3.31 ERA)
- Saturday: Junior LHP Michael Plassmeyer (4-2, 2.48 ERA) vs. RHP Zach Haake (1-3, 7.62 ERA)
- Sunday: TBA vs. RHP Justin Lewis (7-2, 4.03 ERA)
Players Mentioned
In the NOW - Embrace the Opportunity
Monday, February 10
Inside Mizzou Athletics - Talkin' Baseball with Brock Lucas
Monday, February 03
Mizzou vs. LSU Series Highlights
Monday, April 22
Mizzou at Missouri State Highlights
Friday, April 19
