April 11, 2001

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Columbia, Mo. -- The University of Missouri baseball team (20-14-1, 7-11 Big 12) will play the University of Texas (26-15, 13-5 Big 12) in Austin in a Big 12 Conference weekend series. Texas is ranked 20th in this week's Collegiate Baseball poll. The Longhorns are also ranked 24th by Baseball America and 25th in both the Baseball Weekly/ESPN Coaches and National Collegiate Baseball Writers polls.

Missouri's wood bat game against Saint Louis on Tuesday was rained out in the fifth inning. Since the game was not an official game (less than five innings), no statistics will be retained. In case you are wondering, Saint Louis led 4-3 in the bottom of the fifth inning. However, the Tigers had the bases loaded at the time when the weather forced the game to be stopped.

Upcoming Schedule: Missouri's upcoming action is as follows:
*Friday, 6:30 p.m. - Texas - Disch/Falk Field, Austin, Texas
*Saturday, 2 p.m. - Texas - Disch/Falk Field, Austin, Texas
*Sunday, 1 p.m. - Texas - Disch/Falk Field, Austin, Texas

This Weekend's Outlook: Similar to the all-time series (tied at nine), this weekend's series will be hotly contested between two teams which look very similar on paper. Missouri and Texas are also looking to rebound from losing last weekend's conference series after entering those games on streaks of success.

Probable Starters: Missouri has not made an official announcement regarding the starting pitchers for this weekend. Here is my best guess following Tuesday's contest against Saint Louis. Friday - Mitch Kiler (Sr., LHP, 1-3, 5.92 ERA)
Saturday - Drew Endicott (So., RHP, 2-5, 5.60 ERA) or
Logan Dale (Sr., RHP, 2-2, 3.19 ERA) or
Shaun Marcum (Fr., RHP, 2-1, 5.17 ERA)
Sunday - Matt Hobbs (Jr., LHP, 6-2, 3.76 ERA)

Kiler, a senior from Shawnee, Kan., scattered seven hits over seven innings to defeat Nebraska (3/24).

Dale, from Kansas City, Mo., struck out eight batters in five and two-thirds innings in a start against Missouri Valley (3/13). Dale struck out five of the eight batters he faced against Saint Louis (4/10) before the game was rained out in the fifth. Again, due to it not being an official game, that performance will not count in his statistics. In his career, Dale has started twice against the Longhorns and suffered a pair of losses.

Endicott, from Carthage, Mo., struck out a career-best eight batters against Oklahoma State on Feb. 24. After allowing five hits and four runs in the first inning of his last start (vs. Oklahoma, 4/6), Endicott scattered four hits and one run over the next five innings.

Marcum, a true freshman from Excelsior Springs, Mo., limited Nebraska (3/25) to five hits and two runs while throwing his first-ever collegiate complete game in the 3-2 win. He threw seven scoreless innings against Kansas (3/11), allowing only three hits.

Hobbs, from Alta Loma, Calif., has won his past four midweek starts and has seen action in a relief role in Big 12 games. He leads the team with 37 strikeouts and had a streak of 19 and one-third scoreless innings as a starter snapped in win over Southeast Missouri (4/3). He had a five-hit, complete game shutout win over Arkansas State (3/27) and tied his career high with eight strikeouts.

Missouri-Texas Series: The series is tied, 9-9. The two teams first met in 1905 in Texas. The Longhorns won game one, 6-0, before the Tigers recorded a 7-2 victory. The teams met against in 1914 in Columbia with MU winning game one, 2-0, and Texas won game two, 5-4. The two schools did not meet again until the 1963 College World Series when MU won 3-2. Since the formation of the Big 12 Conference in 1997, each team has won two series. Missouri is 3-5 all-time in Austin. In Big 12 action, the Tigers won the 1997 series, 2-1, but lost the 1999 series, 3-0. Missouri is 5-4 all-time in Columbia. MU won the 1998 series, 2-1, but lost the 2000 series, 2-1. The two schools also met in the 1999 Big 12 Tournament with the Tigers recording a 5-4 win in 11 innings.

Texas Notes: Like the Tigers, Texas was riding a hot streak prior to this past weekend's games. Texas, which had won 10 straight contests, lost two of the three games at Nebraska. The Longhorns suffered a 13-4 loss to Southwest Texas State Tuesday night after giving up a 10-run first inning and a total of 12 runs in the first two frames. Shortstop Omar Quintanilla is hitting .367 with 18 doubles and 31 runs batted in. Outfielder/catcher Ryan Hubele also has 18 doubles. Texas has hit 93 doubles this season. Justin Simmons improved to 5-1 (2.05 ERA) with the complete game win over Nebraska.

The Longhorns sent the following pitching rotation to the mound last weekend against Nebraska:
Friday - Gerrit Simpson (Jr., RHP, 3-2, 2.44 ERA, 77 K)
Saturday - Albert Montes (Jr., RHP, 6-3, 2.28 ERA, 68 K)
Sunday - Justin Simmons (Fr., LHP, 5-1, 2.05 ERA, 29 K)

Head coach Augie Garrido is in his fifth season and has posted a record of 160-116-1 during that time. In 33 seasons as a collegiate coach, Garrido's teams are 1,310-637-8.

Texas is 19-9 this season at Disch/Falk Field.

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