April 25, 2002

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COLUMBIA, Mo. - Missouri, on a four-game win streak after defeating Saint Louis 10-0 in the third annual wood bat game, meets No. 19/19 Texas A&M in a three-game Big 12 Conference series. Here's a look at the games:
*MU at Texas A&M, Friday, 7 p.m., Olsen Field, College Station, Texas
*MU at Texas A&M, Saturday, 2 p.m. doubleheader, Olsen Field, College Station, Texas

Records: Missouri is 20-19 (7-10 Big 12) while Texas A&M is 31-16 (10-8).

Probable Starters: Here's a best guess of Missouri's starting pitcher rotation: Garrett Broshuis (Fr., RHP, 3-4), Friday, Justin James (Fr., RHP, 2-2), Saturday's game one, and Abel Newton (Fr., RHP, 3-3), Saturday's game two. Texas A&M is expected to start Justin Moore (So., RHP, 5-1), Friday, Khalid Ballouli (Jr., RHP, 4-2), Saturday's game one, and Ryan Warpinski (So., RHP, 2-3), Saturday's game two.

Last Time Out: The Tigers pounded 16 hits in recording the 10-0 win over Saint Louis on Tuesday (4/23). Jody Roughton and Cody Ehlers each had three hits while Jayce Tingler, Lee Laskowski, Mick Weiss and Brent Lacy had two hits each. Derek Roper recorded the win by facing 15 batters in five innings. Matt Hobbs, Drew Endicott, Garrett Bauer and Aaron Paterson each worked a scoreless inning of relief. The shutout was Missouri's first since a 10-0 blanking of Arkansas State on March 27, 2001. Hobbs threw a complete game shutout in that contest.

MU/Texas A&M Series: The Missouri/Texas A&M series started in 1967 and the Aggies lead the series, 24-14-1. Missouri holds an 8-7 edge in the series since the formation of the Big 12 Conference in 1997.

Last MU/Texas A&M Series: Missouri's Ryan Stegall homered in each game, including in his final collegiate at bat, but Texas A&M won the series, 2-1, in Columbia. Stegall also had a no-hitter through five innings of work as MU won the finale, 8-5.

Texas A&M Notes: The Aggies enter the series with a three-game losing streak. Texas A&M lost two games against Baylor before dropping a 7-4 decision on Tuesday night to No. 2 Rice. Head coach Mark Johnson has a 755-357-2 mark in 18 seasons.

Scoring Onslaught: Missouri has scored 10-or-more runs in its past six games. In those games, MU is hitting. 383 and has hit nine home runs. Missouri also scored 10-or-more runs in six-straight games to open the 1986 season but the school record is eight games in the 1988 campaign.

Big 12 Player of the Week: For the second time in as many years, Missouri has had back-to-back Phillips 66/Big 12 Players of the Week. Mick Weiss was named Big 12 Player of the Week on April 22 after going 10-for-19 with 10 runs batted in. Lee Laskowski was named Big 12 Player of the Week on April 15 after hitting .500 and driving in nine runs from April 8-14. Laskowski and Jayce Tingler were back-to-back Big 12 Players of the Week March 19 and March 26, respectively, 2001.

Who's Hot? In the Tigers' last five games, Cody Ehlers and Mick Weiss lead the charge. Ehlers is hitting .545 while Weiss is hitting .522 with seven doubles and 12 runs batted in. Jody Roughton is hitting .440 and also has driven in 12 runs. In his last five games, Jayce Tingler is hitting .389 and has scored 13 runs. He was nine walks and was hit by one pitch to have an on base percentage of .607.

Heating Up: After seeing his average dip to .257 on March 22, Mick Weiss has been on a tear. Weiss has collected 28 hits in his last 71 at bats for a .394 average. He also has hit nine doubles and six home runs during that stretch.

The Hit Man: Sophomore Lee Laskowski continues to serve as one of the Tigers' top hitters. He has 21 multi-hit games this season and carries a .388 batting average into this weekend's contests.

The Hit Parade: In 27 of its 39 games this season, Missouri has had 10 or more hits. In 2001, MU had 29 games with 10 or more hits.

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 17 innings of work (11 appearances), he has struck out 17 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 Texas A&M's pitching rotation is set now, Missouri will see a right-handed starter each game. Against right-handed pitching, the Tigers are hitting .320 compared to a .301 mark against left-handed pitching. Missouri is hitting .315 overall this season.

Against Ranked Teams: This weekend's series marks the fourth time in the last five Big 12 series that Missouri will face a nationally ranked foe. MU is 5-4 in those nine games. The Tigers are 6-12 against ranked opponents this season.

Tough Schedule: According to this week's rankings by www.boydsworld.com, Missouri has played the nation's seventh-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.

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.
MU wins MU losses
2-run 11th vs. Portland (2/15) 1-run 10th vs. Notre Dame (2/22)
4-run 9th vs. Washington (2/17) 5-run 9th vs. New Orleans (2/24)
2-run 12th vs. Washington (4/6) 1-run 12th vs. Oklahoma (3/8)
2-run 9th vs. Washington (4/7) 1-run 9th vs. Oklahoma (3/9)

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 not quite 50 percent (.493, 34-of-69) of the time when leading off an inning. Other top Tigers are: Lee Laskowski, .593 (16-of-27), Brent Lacy, .562 (9-of-16), Cody Ehlers, .562 (18-of-32), Luke Cassis, .553 (21-of-38), and Jody Roughton, .541 (20-of-37).

Big 12 Leaders: In games through April 23, Missouri is tied for third with its .315 batting average for all games. The Tigers' pitching staff strikes out an average of 7.88 batters per nine innings, good enough for second place among the Big 12 schools. Lee Laskowski ranks fourth with his .388 batting average while Cody Ehlers is sixth at .378. Jayce Tingler ranks 12th at .354 while Jody Roughton is 15th at .345. Tingler ranks second with 55 runs scored but is first with 1.41 runs scored per game. He also ranks fifth in on base percentage (.475), sixth in walks (28) and eighth in stolen bases (12). Roughton ranks third with 45 runs batted and is tied for fifth with 14 doubles. Weiss ranks tied for third with 15 doubles and he is ninth with a .631 slugging percentage. Ehlers ranks tied for sixth with nine home runs. He is also sixth in slugging percentage (.650) and ninth in on base percentage (.458). Laskowski ranks eighth with 59 hits and he is seventh in on base percentage (.461). Aaron Paterson is tied for second with 21 pitching appearances while Travis Wendte is fourth with five saves.

Big Inning Barrage: The Tigers have scored 53 runs during the second inning this season. Here's a look at the Tigers' biggest innings (by inning only)
*1st - 6, vs. Missouri Baptist, 3/5
*2nd - 9, vs. William Woods, 3/6
*3rd - 4 vs. Arkansas, 3/19, vs. Texas Tech, 3/31 (1), and vs. Saint Louis, 4/17
*4th - 7 vs. Portland, 2/16
*5th - 4 vs. Washington, 4/5
*6th - 3, four times, last vs. Kansas, 4/21 (1)
*7th - 6 vs. Nebraska, 4/14
*8th - 5 vs. Nebraska, 4/12
*9th - 5 vs. Arkansas State, 3/13 and Texas Tech, 3/31 (2)

The Streak: Jayce Tingler enters this week's action with a 15-game hit streak. Tingler also had a 15-game hit streak during the 2000 season. He also has had a 14-game hit streak in 2002. He is hitting .368 during the 15-game streak. Tingler also has scored a run in his last six games and nine of the last 10.

The Streak II: Mick Weiss has an eight-game hit streak going into Friday's game. Weiss is hitting .441 during the streak.

Tough With Two: Ryan Rallo remains the Tigers' top producer when batting with two outs. Rallo is hitting .500 (14-of-28). Jody Roughton and Cody Ehlers have driven in 20 and 18 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.

He's Back! Sophomore outfielder Ryan Rallo returned to action in Tuesday's 10-0 win over Saint Louis. He got one hit, a two-out double, and drove in two runs in his first action since suffering his second concussion of the season on April 2.

Ouch! Tiger catcher Brian Desch is also on the "disabled list" after suffering a concussion. Desch has not cleared for competition. Ryan Rothford has missed the past 10 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's next stolen base will tie him with Dave Silvestri (1986-88) for fourth place on MU's all-time career chart with 47 stolen bases. Tingler, who enters the week with 46 career swipes, could also crack the program's all-time Top 10 charts this season in walks, hits and runs scored. He is one walk shy of tying for 10th place in that career category. Here's a look at where Tingler stands and who is for 10th:
Walks - Tingler, 115 10th, Jon Williams, 116
Hits - Tingler, 172 10th, Curt Brown, 210
Runs - Tingler, 148 10th, Greg Cypret, 156

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).

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

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 246-184-1. Missouri is 104-110 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 35 home runs in 2002.

Next: The Tigers, who close the season with 11 of their remaining 12 games at home, face Western Illinois in a two-game, non-conference series at Taylor Stadium/Simmons Field. Missouri and the Leathernecks will play at 6:30 p.m. on April 30 and at 3 p.m. on May 1. The Tigers return to Big 12 Conference play against nationally ranked Oklahoma State on May 3.