April 19, 2002

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Missouri, after splitting its two non-conference games this week, plays Kansas in a home-and-home Big 12 Conference series. This season marks the second-straight season that the two schools are playing the home-and-home series. Here's a look at the games:
*MU vs. Kansas, Friday, 6:30 p.m., Taylor Stadium/Simmons Field
*MU at Kansas, Saturday, 7 p.m., Hoglund Ballpark, Lawrence, Kan.
*MU at Kansas, Sunday, 2 p.m., Hoglund Ballpark, Lawrence, Kan.

Friday's game will be shown live on the Internet. If you wish to watch, please go to www.mutigers.com and follow the links. The games will also be shown on TV on a tape-delayed basis. The schedule varies depending on the cable system (Mediacom or Charter).

Records: Missouri is 17-19 (5-10 Big 12) this season while Kansas is 16-18 (3-12).

Probable Starters: Here's a best guess of Missouri's starting pitcher rotation: Garrett Broshuis (Fr., RHP, 2-4), Friday, Justin James (Fr., RHP, 1-2), Saturday, and Abel Newton (Fr., RHP, 3-3), Sunday. Kansas is expected to start Jeff Davis (Sr., RHP, 5-1), Friday, Dan Olson (Sr., RHP, 3-3), Saturday, and Jake Wright (Sr., RHP, 2-3), Sunday.

Last Time Out: The Tigers used six extra-base hits among their 15 hits as they recorded an 11-4 win over Saint Louis on Wednesday night at Taylor Stadium/Simmons Field. Jody Roughton had three hits and drove in three runs. He was one of six Tigers to have two-or-more hits in the contest. Derek Roper picked up the win while Abel Newton, Justin James and Travis Wendte each threw a scoreless inning in relief.

MU/Kansas Series: The Missouri/Kansas series started in 1901 with a 6-3 Missouri victory. The Tigers hold a 196-113-2 edge in the series. MU won the best-of-three conference series, 2-1, in 2001. Kansas won the opener, 7-4, in Lawrence while the Tigers won 8-2 and 1-0 in Columbia.

Last MU/KU Series: Missouri rallied to win the series after dropping the first game. Mick Weiss had two hits and drove in two runs as the Tigers won game two, 8-2. In the series finale, Luke Cassis drove in the game's lone run with a seventh-inning double.

Kansas Notes: The Jayhawks, who opened the season with a 10-0 run and a 33rd-place ranking by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, have recorded wins over Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech this season - all in Friday night games. Kansas also has seen its opponents record eight wins in its last at bat this season. Head coach Bobby Randall is in his sixth season at Kansas and has a 160-202 mark. Randall was the head coach at Iowa State before taking the KU position prior to the 1996 season.

The Hit Man: Sophomore outfielder Lee Laskowski continues to rack up the hits. Since becoming an offensive threat for the Tigers during the 2001 season, Laskowski has been one tough out. Despite appearing in only 38 games in 2001, he had 12 multi-hit games. He has already bettered that mark in 36 games this season, having 19 multi-hit efforts in 2002. Laskowski has gotten at least one hit in 18 of his past 20 games (19 starts). In 11 of those 18 games, he has at least two hits.

The Hit Parade: In 24 of its 36 games this season, Missouri has had 10 or more hits. In 2001, MU had 29 games with 10 or more hits.

Who's Hot? In the Tigers' last five games, Lee Laskowski is hitting .474 (9-of-19) with nine runs batted in. Chris Julo is hitting .455 (5-of-11) with three extra-base hits. Jayce Tingler is hitting .375 (6-of-16) and scored a team-high seven runs. He has also walked seven times and been hit by two pitches during that stretch. Cody Ehlers is hitting .381 (8-of-21) with three doubles and one home run.

The Closer: Travis Wendte continues to be impressive out of the Tigers' bullpen. Wendte has recorded a win and a save in both the series against Washington and Nebraska. In his last 15 innings of work (10 appearances), he has struck out 15 batters and allowed only one run. For the season, Wendte has allowed only one inherited baserunner to score. Wendte has struck out four batters on four separate occasions this season.

Versus Left/Right: The way Kansas' pitching rotation is set now, Missouri will see a right-handed starter each game. Against right-handed pitching, the Tigers are hitting .308 compared to a .301 mark against left-handed pitching. Missouri is hitting .306 overall as a team this season.

Don't Leave Early: Missouri has had eight games decided in the last at bat by either team. MU is 4-4 in those games.

Setting The Table: While Jayce Tingler is the Tigers' leadoff man this season, Missouri has a number of people who are successful reaching base when leading off an inning. Tingler reaches base 50 percent of the time (31-of-62) when leading off an inning. Other top Tigers are: Lee Laskowski, .577 (15-of-26), Brent Lacy, .571 (8-of-14), Cody Ehlers, .567 (17-of-30), Luke Cassis, .541 (20-of-37), and Jody Roughton, .529 (18-of-34).

Big 12 Leaders: Lee Laskowski ranks fourth in the Big 12 with his .379 batting average. Cody Ehlers is 10th at .364 while Jayce Tingler is 14th at .351. Tingler is fourth in runs (46) and on base percentage (.470) and seventh in walks (24) Jody Roughton is tied for fifth with 13 doubles. Ehers is tied for fifth with nine home runs and is also fifth in slugging percentage (.659). Laskowski is also ninth in on base percentage (.454). Aaron Paterson is tied for the league lead with 20 appearances while Travis Wendte is fourth in saves (5) and appearances (17). Abel Newton is eighth with 48 strikeouts.

Tough With Two: Ryan Rallo remains the Tigers' top producer when batting with two outs. Rallo is hitting .500 (13-of-26). Cody Ehlers and Jody Roughton have driven in 18 and 16 runs, respectively, when batting in that situation.

Pinch Hit Heroes: Depending on the situation, count on Bo Davis or W.T.Hoover to come through while serving as a pinch hitter. Davis is hitting .667 as a pinch hitter while Hoover is hitting .417 (5-of-12) in that role.

Ouch! For the second time this season, outfielder Ryan Rallo has suffered a concussion. Rallo, a sophomore outfielder, suffered a concussion against Southeast Missouri (4/2) in a collision at first base. Rallo's first concussion was when he hit the wall while making a catch (and starting a double play) against New Orleans on Feb. 23. Rallo has missed the past series and his timeline on returning to the Tiger lineup is unknown at this time. Tiger catcher Brian Desch is also on the "disabled list" after suffering a concussion. Desch and Rallo have started practicing but are not cleared for competition. Ryan Rothford has missed the past eight games after re-injuring the middle finger on his left hand. No word has been made regarding the return of either Desch or Rothford.

Off And Running: Jayce Tingler has stolen 44 bases in his career to rank fifth all-time on that career chart. Dave Silvestri (1986-88) ranks fourth with 47. Tingler could crack the program's all-time Top 10 charts this season in walks, hits and runs scored. Here's a look at where Tingler stands and who is 10th:
Walks - Tingler, 111 10th, Jon Williams, 116
Hits - Tingler, 167 10th, Curt Brown, 210
Runs - Tingler, 139 10th, Greg Cypret, 156

Attendance: Missouri drew a Taylor Stadium/Simmons Field record crowd of 1,508 fans in the April 13 game against Nebraska.

Tough Schedule: According to this week's rankings by www.boydsworld.com, Missouri has played the nation's ninth-toughest schedule. The Tigers should remain among those leaders as they have series against nationally ranked Texas A&M and Oklahoma State remaining on their Big 12 Conference schedule.

Big 12 Records: Matt Hobbs set a Big 12 Conference record when he struck out seven straight batters over a two-game stretch. Hobbs struck out the final four batters he faced against Harris-Stowe (3/26) before whiffing the side in the seventh inning against Texas Tech (3/29). Hobbs and Derek Roper teamed to strike out nine consecutive batters against Harris-Stowe (3/26).

Five 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.

Coaching Staff: Head coach Tim Jamieson, who is in his eighth season, has guided the Tigers to an overall record of 243-184-1. Missouri is 102-110 in Big 12/Big 8 play during his reign. He recorded his 200th career victory with a 9-8 win over Wichita State on March 7, 2001. He picked up his 100th career conference win with the 7-1 victory against Texas Tech (3/31 - game two). 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

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 by the same publication.

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 30 home runs in 2002.

Next: Missouri will play Saint Louis in the annual wood bat game at T.R. Hughes Ballpark in O'Fallon, Mo., on April 23. The Tigers return to Big 12 Conference play at Texas A&M on April 26-27.