Thursday, May 17
Columbia, Mo.
6:30 p.m.
University of Missouri
vs
Tennessee
@MizzouBaseball Hosts Tennessee With Postseason Fate On the Line
5/16/2018 3:56:00 PM | Baseball
Mizzou needs two of three over the Vols to continue season.
- Mizzou Baseball closes its 2018 regular season with arguably its biggest weekend series of the year, facing off against SEC East foe Tennessee with both its SEC Tournament and NCAA Regional fates at stake. Game one will be Thursday at 6:30 p.m. with sophomore LHP T.J. Sikkema on the hill. Junior lefty Michael Plassmeyer gets the ball Friday at 6:30 p.m. and junior southpaw Tyler LaPlante, coming off a career-best outing last time out, will go Saturday at 2 p.m. All three games will air live on SEC Network+ and KTGR in the Mid-Missouri area.
- Heading into this weekend's series, Mizzou is one game behind Tennessee in the SEC standings and must win two of three games to qualify for next week's SEC Tournament. Mizzou can finish as high as eighth in the SEC standings with a sweep, which would be huge for Mizzou's NCAA Regional hopes. With every team having three games remaining, it is hard to have scenarios for every finish, but making the SEC Tournament is almost as simple as winning the series over Tennessee. Below are the scenarios that Mizzou needs this weekend to clinch a spot in Hoover, coming straight from the league office:
Missouri would be in with:
1. A sweep
- OR -
2. Winning two of three and not being in a three-way tie with Tennessee and Texas A&M. - That being said, Mizzou will be keeping a watchful eye on South Carolina and Texas A&M's series in College Station. The only way Mizzou, Tennessee and Texas A&M can be in a three-way tie is if Mizzou wins two of three and South Carolina sweeps Texas A&M.
- This weekend is a homecoming for Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello, who is in his first season with the Vols. Vitello is a Mizzou graduate (2002) and was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator from 2003-2010 under former head coach Tim Jamieson. Vitello went to NCAA Regionals every year from 2003-09 during his time with the program. Vitello spent 2011-13 at TCU and 2014-17 at Arkansas as well.
- Mizzou leads the all-time series with the Vols, 10-5, and swept last season's series in Knoxville. The Tigers allowed just two runs over the three games, winning 5-0, 2-0 and 8-2 before heading to Hoover, Ala., for the SEC Tournament. Mizzou has won eight straight games over Tennessee in the all-time series, dating back to 2015. Mizzou won the final two games in Knoxville in 2015 and has swept the last two season series.
- Mizzou is coming off of an 8-7 win over Indiana State Tuesday night at Taylor Stadium. That wrapped up a perfect 12-0 midweek schedule, marking the first time since the turn of the century that Mizzou went undefeated in midweek games. Mizzou is 29-2 in home nonconference games under second-year head coach Steve Bieser and finished its 2018 nonconference schedule with a 22-3 record, including a14-0 mark at home.
- We'll go into more detail on Mizzou's complete NCAA Tournament résumé later in the notes, but the Tigers have several impressive notes that the committee will have to look at with great interest. Mizzou has played 31 games vs. RP top-50 teams this season, the second-most in the nation behind only No. 1 Florida. Mizzou's 14 wins vs. RPI top-50 teams are the seventh-most nationally. The Tigers also have the nation's No. 32 RPI heading into the weekend.
PROJECTED STARTERS
- Thursday: Sophomore LHP T.J. Sikkema (3-5, 3.66 ERA) vs. TBA
- Friday: Junior LHP Michael Plassmeyer (5-3, 3.17 ERA) vs. RHP Sean Hunley (6-3, 2.78 ERA)
- Saturday: Junior LHP Tyler LaPlante (4-3, 2.67 ERA) vs. RHP Will Neely (4-1, 3.94 ERA)
- #32 in the RPI
- Can still finish as high as eighth in the SEC, the nation's No. 1 conference
- 31 games vs. RPI Top-50 – Second-Most Nationally
- 14 wins vs. RPI Top-50 – Seventh-Most Nationally
- 22-3 nonconference mark
- Undefeated in Midweek, including wins at
- No. 24 Miami (59 RPI)
- vs. No. 20 Wichita State (31 RPI)
- at No. 19 Missouri State (42 RPI)
- vs. Missouri State (42 RPI)
- at Iowa (No. 49 RPI at time of game)
- A win Tuesday completed Mizzou's first undefeated midweek (12-0) this century
- Strength of Schedule: #55
- Played 17 of last 20 games vs. teams either ranked or receiving votes
- 37 of 52 games vs. RPI top-100
- 13 wins over this week's projected D1Baseball.com Field of 64
- Played 25 of last 27 games vs. RPI top 64 or better (13-14) in that span
- Played most of those without injured Kameron Misner, team's top hitter
- Mizzou is a different team with Kameron Misner in the lineup, who should be ready to go for postseason
- Record with Misner (RPI): 24-12 (28 RPI)
- Record w/o Misner (RPI): 8-8 (No. 32 RPI)
- Head-to-head series wins over other NCAA Tournament SEC bubble teams:
- Mississippi State (2-1)
- Vanderbilt (2-1)
- Mizzou's RPI is in line with every 13-17 SEC team that has made the tournament
- 2013 Texas A&M: #34 RPI
- 2015 Auburn: #22 RPI
- So, if Mizzou wins three this weekend to get to 13-17 in SEC play, the precedent is there to include Mizzou in the SEC Tournament
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
