Tigers Open Conference Play
2/23/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 23, 2000
Tigers Open Big 12 Conference Play
Having won four of their last six games, the Missouri Tigers (4-4) hit the road for the third straight weekend to open the Big 12 Conference schedule with a three-game set at Texas Tech (7-6). Friday's game begins at 4 p.m., while the Saturday and Sunday contests both start at 1 p.m. The Tigers begin at five-game homestand at Taylor Stadium at Simmons Field on Tues., Feb. 29, hosting the Western Illinois Leathernecks at 7 p.m. The series concludes on Wed., March 1, at 3 p.m. The Texas Longhorns come to Columbia March 3-4-5.
Series Records
Missouri trails the series with the Texas Tech Red Raiders, 8-5. MU leads Western Illinois, 10-3.
Conference Opening Series
This is the second straight season in which Missouri has opened Big 12 Conference play in the state of Texas. Last year, Mizzou was swept by the Texas Longhorns, in Austin, 9-6, 14-2 and 14-2 in just MU's fifth, sixth and seventh games of the season - and the Tigers' first games against Division I opponents. Since the start of the Big 12 in 1997, MU is 6-3 in its first conference series. The Tigers swept Kansas State to open league play in both 1997 and '98, before dropping three last year to Texas. The first time Missouri has faced a Southern Division opponent since '97, MU is 3-6. MU took two-of-three from Texas A&M in '97, and dropped two-of-three against the Aggies in '98, and was swept by Texas last season. Missouri has an all-time Big 12 Conference record of 46-39 while Texas Tech is 59-26 in league play the last three seasons.
Last Year vs. Texas Tech
In the regular season, last year, Missouri hosted Texas Tech at Simmons Field in early March, and won the opener, 7-0, on a 3-hit shutout by Jody Harris. But the Red Raiders came back with a vengeance in the next two games, limiting the Tigers to four hits in each and beating MU 8-1 and 13-0. In Oklahoma City, though, at the Big 12 Tournament, the Tigers exacted some revenge. In a 12-inning elimination game, Missouri sent the Red Raiders packing with an 8-7 victory.
Missouri's Pitching Rotation
Coach Tim Jamieson has not decided on the order of his starters for this weekend's Big 12 series at Texas Tech. But the three men who combined to win three games on the recent trip to Louisiana will get the call.
? Logan Dale, 6-5, 219, Jr., RHP, KC - 1-1, 3.14 ERA, threw 2-hitter in last outing.
? Jon Harris, 6-1, 192, Jr., RHP, KC - 1-0, 2.57 ERA, 4-hitter w/ 8 Ks vs. Nicholls St.
? Pete Sansone, 6-0, 188, Jr., RHP, Ballwin - 1-0, 1.69 ERA, beat Centenary on Sun.
Cajun Food Agrees With The Tigers
Missouri went 3-1 on its trip last week to Natchitoches, La., beating Nicholls State (3-2), Northwestern State (2-1) and Centenary (10-2) and losing to upstart Arkansas-Little Rock (9-3). The Tigers rode their pitching and some timely hitting to the three wins. MU opponents hit just .160 against the Tigers, who posted a team ERA on the trip of 2.50. Missouri pitchers rolled up 33 strikeouts against 17 walks. At the plate, sophomore third baseman Landon Brandes provided the margin of victory against Northwestern State with a dramatic, two-run, ninth-inning home run that produced a 2-1 victory. Junior outfielder J.R. Warner sparked an 11-hit MU attack on Sunday with a 5-for-5 performance that included two doubles.
Logan Dale Is Big 12 "Pitcher of the Week"
Junior righthander Logan Dale today was named the Big 12 Conference "Pitcher of the Week" for the masterful, two-hit effort he gave in Mizzou's 2-1 victory over Northwestern State on Saturday. He struckout seven NSU batters in eight innings, walked four, and allowed just one unearned run. He also snuffed two possible big innings for the Demons. He pitched out of a bases-loaded, nobody out jam in the first and retired three in a row in the sixth with a runner on third base.
Bullpen Has Been Security Blanket For Mizzou
Head Coach Tim Jamieson and pitching coach Chal Fanning have used their bullpen for a total of 30.2 innings so far in 2000, with good results. Mizzou's bullpen brigade has posted a 2.93 earned run average while allowing 23 hits and 12 runs (10 earned), with 42 strikeouts and 19 walks. Closer Ryan Stegall recorded two saves in Louisiana
Mizzou's "Junior" Finds His Stroke
All the rage in the baseball world is the talk of "Junior" Griffey and his trade to the Cincinnati Reds. But the buzz in the Missouri baseball world is the performance Sunday by Mizzou's own "Junior" - outfielder J.R. Warner. The junior from St. Louis (Priory HS) went 5-for-5 on Sunday to propel the Tigers to a 10-2 victory over Centenary. He had two doubles and four RBI and jumped his season batting average from .208 to .345. Warner was the Tigers' hottest hitter on its Louisiana trip, going 8-for-18 (.444), and stealing a base.
Harris, Sansone Earn First Wins As Tigers
A pair of junior righthanders, Jon Harris and Pete Sansone, each earned their first victories last week. Harris, who transferred from Maplewoods Community College in Kansas City, threw a four-hitter over seven innings as MU beat Nicholls State, 3-2. He had eight strikeouts and two walks. Sansone, a transfer from St. Louis University, got Sunday's victory. He had a perfect game until their were two outs in the fourth inning. He went seven innings and allowed just one unearned run and two hits, while fanning six and walking no one.
Stegall Doing Double Duty
Sophomore shortstop Ryan Stegall, a Freshman All-American a year ago, took a .455 average with him to Louisiana. In the Tigers' first three games, four of his five hits went for extra bases - two doubles, a triple and a home run, and in his first 11 at bats, he scored eight times. He hit just .214 on the trip, but made his biggest contributions on the pitching mound, closing a pair of one-run games for his first two career saves. In six career pitching performances, he's allowed only three batters to reach base.
Jamieson Still Looking For a DH
Tim Jamieson continues to experiment with the designated hitter position in the Mizzou lineup. Through eight games, he has used five different players as the DH and they are a cumulative 2-for-28 (.071). The first DH to get a hit was Mick Weiss, who singled on Sunday against Centenary. Wes Fewell went 1-for-4 as the DH on Tuesday against Lincoln. Others who've been the Tigers extra hitter have been W.T. Hoover, Jon Williams and Ryan Rallo.
Prepping For The Law
The Tigers face a tough chore this week, playing the always tough Texas Tech Red Raiders on their own Dan Law Field (capacity 5,614) in Lubbock. "Their fans are tenacious in their support of Texas Tech," MU Coach Tim Jamieson says. "It's really a tough place to play." One reason it's tough is the nature of the field itself. Dan Law features an artificial-surface infield and a natural grass outfield. The Tigers got used to that situation this past week, though, in Natchitoches, La. Northwestern State's Brown-Stroud Field features the same combination of Astroturf and grass. Texas Tech snapped a four-game losing streak on Tuesday with a 14-11 victory at New Mexico.
Tigers ... Quickly
Missouri was 6-for-6 stealing bases this season, until Landon Brandes and Luke Cassis were cut down stealing on Tuesday against Lincoln ... Freshman outfielder Jayce Tingler got his first start as a Tiger on Sunday, in centerfield. He hit in the leadoff position and went 2-for-4 and scored three runs. "We may need to find a spot in the lineup for him," Jamieson said. "He just battles and battles and battles at the plate." Tingler started in left on Tuesday ... Missouri has scored first in only one of its four victories and that was in its most recent win - Sunday over Centenary ... The Tigers hit into five double plays on Friday in their loss to Arkansas-Little Rock, and Mick Weiss had the dubious distinction of hitting into three of those ... Missouri currently boasts of seven pitchers with earned run averages of less than 4.0, and five of those are below 3.0 ... Catcher Ryan Pickett was honored at Monday night's basketball game against Oklahoma State as one of Mizzou's three Bank of America Community Champions.
Next For Mizzou
The Tigers have a two-game series with Western Illinois on Tuesday and Wednesday, February 29 and March 1, at Taylor Stadium. Game 1 has a 7 p.m. start time while the second game begins at 3 p.m. Then the Texas Longhorns come to town for a three-game set, March 3-4-5.
