March 7, 2002
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The University of Missouri baseball team meets the Oklahoma Sooners in a three-game Big 12 Conference series.
Missouri (6-4) will play:
*Oklahoma, 3 p.m., Friday
*Oklahoma, 1 p.m., Saturday
*Oklahoma, 1 p.m., Sunday
400th Game: Missouri's 10-4 win over Missouri Baptist on Tuesday was the 400th game at MU for head coach Tim Jamieson. The Tigers are 232-169-1 under Jamieson, who is in his eighth season.
Oklahoma: The Sooners are 8-4 this season. Charlie Frasier and Chris Jakubauskas each have hit four home runs and driven in 15 runs while Luke Alexander is hitting a team-high .424. Rocky Cherry, Buddy Blair and Evan Greusel each have two wins. As a team, OU is hitting .330 and has a 3.70 earned run average.
OU Series: Oklahoma swept last season's series in Columbia and leads, 128-91.
Last Season: The Sooners picked up wins of 6-0, 13-9 and 9-6 at Taylor Stadium/Simmons Field. OU hit six home runs in the series, three by All-American Greg Dobbs.
Great Start: Missouri enters the series with a .342 batting average and have six starters hitting .320 or better. Cody Ehlers (So., Stillwater, Okla.) is hitting. .486 with six home runs and 15 RBI. Lee Laskowski (So., Clayton, Mo.) is hitting .425 and has a 10-game hit streak.
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 begins his eighth season with an overall mark of 232-169-1 and a record of 97-100 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 open 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 14 home runs in 2002.
Who's Next? Missouri opens a 10-game homestand with two games against Arkansas State on March 12 and 13.