March 11, 2002
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The University of Missouri baseball team begins its 10-game homestand this week with games scheduled against:
*Arkansas State, 6:30 p.m., Tuesday
*Arkansas State, 3 p.m., Wednesday
*18/19 Texas, 6:30 p.m., Friday
*18/19 Texas, 2 p.m., Saturday
*18/19 Texas, 1 p.m., Sunday
Probable Starters: Missouri could use either Garrett Broshuis (1-2) or Matt Hobbs (0-2) as Tuesday's starting pitcher. No word has been made regarding Wednesday or on the weekend rotation.
MU/ASU Series: Missouri, which defeated Arkansas State 10-0 and 9-4 in 10 innings last season at Jonesboro, Ark., leads the series, 16-6.
ASU Notes: Arkansas State enters the series with a 6-9 mark after winning one of three games from Northern Iowa. Brock Buckingham leads the Indians with a .433 batting average. Head coach Bill Bethea had 13 letterwinners return from 2001 and he added 24 newcomers for 2002.
In 2001 vs. Arkansas State: Matt Hobbs threw a complete game shutout in the first contest. Ryan Stegall hit a two-run homer and Wes Fewell had two hits and two runs batted in to back Hobbs' performance on the mound. In the second game, Missouri erupted for five runs in the 10th inning with six hits and taking advantage of two ASU errors. Luke Cassis had a two-run single in the frame. Cassis had two hits and three RBI for the game.
MU/UT Series: Texas won two of three games last season against Missouri and leads the series, 11-10. The first meeting between the two schools came in 1905 with Missouri recording a 6-0 win.
In 2001 vs. Texas: Missouri suffered a 9-2 loss in the opener before recording a 10-6 win in game two. The Tigers plated a run in the first inning before scoring six times in the second inning and recording the win. However in game three, Texas took advantage of four errors in the first three innings as it built an 8-0 lead on the way to a 13-0 victory. UT scored seven runs in the third inning, all unearned.
Texas Notes: The Longhorns, ranked 18th by Collegiate Baseball, are 16-6 overall but 2-4 in Big 12 play.
Who's Hot? Cody Ehlers has hit seven home runs this season and is hitting .420 with 18 runs batted in ... Jayce Tingler has collected a hit in his past 12 games ... Tingler had his 12th three-hit game in his career against Oklahoma on March 9 and has now collected two or more hits in eight games this season.
Who's Hot II? Three Tigers, Ryan Rallo, Jody Roughton and Mick Weiss each had three hits against Oklahoma on March 10. Rallo and Roughton each had four RBI in that contest. The most runs any Missouri player has driven in a game this season are four and Rallo and Roughton each have turned the trick twice. Cody Ehlers, Chris Julo and Kurt Propst also have had four RBI in a game.
Hits: Chris Julo had five hits in Missouri's 20-4 win over William Woods (Mo.) on March 6. Julo's performance were the most hits any MU player has had in a game since J.R. Warner had five hits against Centenary on Feb. 2, 2000.
Hit Men: As a team, Missouri is hitting .326. Cody Ehlers leads the regulars with a .420 batting average. Jody Roughton is hitting .411 while Jayce Tingler and Lee Laskowski are hitting .379 and .365, respectively.
Streaks: After going hitless against Washington to open the season, Jayce Tingler has a 12-game hit streak going into this week's games. Tingler's longest career streak is 15 games during the 2000 season, his freshman campaign. He had an 11-game streak in 2001.
It's My Birthday: The Tigers celebrate several birthdays on game days this season. Here's a list of who's already had birthdays and who's next:
Feb. 15 - Tyrone Roberson (DNP in MU's 6-4 win over Portland)
Feb. 16 - Mick Weiss (0x4, 2 runs scored in MU's 11-7 win over Portland)
March 2 - Matt Hobbs (game with Youngstown State canceled due to weather)
March 10 - W.T. Hoover (DNP vs. Oklahoma) and Ryan Rothford (DNP vs. OU)
March 30 - Drew Endicott (MU vs. Texas Tech)
Among Big 12's Best: In the last report, Cody Ehlers leads the Big 12 Conference in slugging percentage with a mark of 1.071. Ehlers is third in the lead in hitting while Jody Roughton ranks fourth. Lee Laskowski is 15th. As a team, MU's .325 batting average ranks fourth. Ehlers' four home runs tie him for second place in the Big 12 while his on-base percentage of .516 ranks sixth.
Preseason Talk: Jayce Tingler was named the Big 12 Conference's best baserunner by Baseball America while Abel Newton was named one of the league's top newcomers.
Top Class: Missouri had one of the nation's top recruiting classes this past year, according to Collegiate Baseball in its annual compilation of top recruiting classes. Missouri was listed in the "other top classes" category.
Coaching Staff: Head coach Tim Jamieson is in his eighth season with an overall mark of 232-172-1 and a record of 97-103 in Big 12/Big 8 play. He recorded his 200th career victory with a 9-8 win over Wichita State on March 7, 2001. A University of New Orleans graduate, Jamieson was an assistant coach for the Tigers for six seasons before taking over the top spot. He led the Tigers to the 1996 Big 8 regular season crown and a berth in the Midwest Regional. Jamieson is assisted by Chal Fanning (pitching coach, sixth season), Evan Pratte (hitting coach/infield, fifth season) and Chris Smith (outfield, second season). The Tigers have had 19 players enter professional baseball during Jamieson's tenure. Jamieson's milestone victories:
*1 - Missouri 12, Lincoln 2 - Feb. 27, 1995
*50 - Missouri 8, Nebraska 2 - April 24, 1996
*100 - Missouri 3, Eastern Michigan 0 - March 14, 1998
*150 - Missouri 5, Oklahoma 2 - April 17, 1999
*200 - Missouri 9, Wichita State 8 - March 7, 2001
30 Wins Again: In 2001, Missouri recorded its sixth-straight season with 30 or more victories and its 15th such season in the past 17 years.
Injury Report: Ryan Rothford broke a bone in his middle finger of his left hand during practice the week of Feb. 4. He saw his first action of the 2002 season Wednesday with an at-bat against William Woods.
Success: The Tigers opened the 2002 season ranked 36th among all NCAA Division I teams with 1,774 wins. In its 106 seasons of baseball, MU has won 60.5 percent of its games.
Broadcasts: The Tigers' games this season are carried on KWWC (90.5 FM) as well as on www.mutigers.com. Sean Kelley is in his fourth season as the play-by-play announcer.
Home Runs for Kids: Again this season, the Tigers have teamed with the University of Missouri Children's Hospital to develop a special program called "Home Runs for Kids." The program is geared to raise money for sick children at the Children's Hospital at University Hospital and Clinics. The fund-raising program will recruit baseball fans, individuals, businesses, clubs and organizations, to pledge 25 cents to $10 or more for every home run the Tigers hit this season. All of the money raised by the "Home Run for Kids" program will be used locally to fund equipment, research and programs for patients at Children's Hospital. The Tigers have hit 18 home runs in 2002.