Feb. 23, 2002
NEW ORLEANS, La. - The University of Missouri baseball team (3-2) meets Southern Illinois (2-2) today at 5 p.m. in the University of New Orleans Maestri Classic.
Probable: Drew Endicott (1-0) will be Missouri's starting pitcher. Endicott, a junior right-hander, led MU in innings last season.
MU/SIU Series: Missouri won the last meeting, 14-12, in 1999 and has a 14-11 lead.
SIU Notes: Besides being the alma mater of famous Missouri broadcasters (Mike Kelly - voice of MU football and men's basketball, and Sean Kelley - voice of MU baseball), Southern Illinois also has a storied baseball tradition. SIU enters today's contest with Jerel Deitering (1-0, 11 K) as the probable starting pitcher.
Who's Hot? With his second two-hit game of the season, Jody Roughton enters today's contest with a .545 batting average. In case you were wondering, Roughton's other three games were three-hit performances. Cody Ehlers, who had three hits, including a solo homer, Friday, is hitting .526 with a team-high three home runs and nine runs batted in. Ryan Rallo had two hits and two RBI Friday to push his season totals to .333.
Tough Break: Garrett Broshuis, a redshirt freshman right-handed pitcher, has become the MU pitcher of record in each of his three appearances. Broshuis, 1-1 with one save, suffered a loss Friday without surrendering a hit. In six innings of work, Broshuis has not given up one hit and struck out four batters.
Mr. K: Aaron Paterson, a senior left-handed pitcher, has struck out a team-high 10 batters in 7.2 innings. Paterson joined the Tigers this semester after spending last season at Iowa State before the Cyclones dropped their program after the 2001 season.
Ranked Teams: Prior to Missouri's 7-6, 10-inning loss to Notre Dame on Friday, the Tigers had been extremely successful against teams ranked in the Top 10. MU won series against No. 6 Pepperdine and No. 5 Nebraska last season. Notre Dame is one of 10 ranked (or receiving votes) opponents on the MU schedule this season. New Orleans also received votes in this week's Baseball Weekly/ESPN/ABCA Coaches poll.
Next Up: Missouri faces New Orleans Sunday at 1 p.m. The Tigers are scheduled to open the home season against Saint Louis Tuesday at 4 p.m.