Feb. 12, 2003
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TIGERS LOOK TO "ROASTT" OPPOSITION IN PHOENIX
The University of Missouri baseball program heads to the Valley of the Sun this weekend for four games - and an exhibition - in the Rawlings/Oakland A's Spring Training Tournament (ROASTT).
? ? ? The Tigers, fresh off a three-game series win (2 games to 1) at UNC Wilmington to open the 109th season of Missouri baseball last weekend, will play official games each day Thursday through Sunday (Cal Poly, Northwestern, BYU and the Wildcats again in succession), and will also play an exhibition game against the University of British Columbia on Friday morning.
? ? ? This is the second straight year that the Tigers are playing in the ROASTT; Mizzou swept Portland and split with Washington to go 3-1 in last year's tournament. The games were the first of the 2002 season for the Tigers.
"CHAL POLY" AMONG MIZZOU'S OPPOSITION
Thurday's opening game of the ROASTT will pit the Tigers against Cal Poly, which is where former Tiger pitching coach Chal Fanning now coaches after taking the Mustang pitching coach position this summer. Fanning was at MU for six seasons (1997-2002) and coached four pitchers who were named to Collegiate Baseball's Freshman All-America Team, including current Tiger sophomore Travis Wendte (Moore, Okla. / Moore HS).
PITCH THIS
Although the Tigers' bats were alive at UNC Wilmington as evidenced by their 20 runs and 31 hits in the three games, Mizzou's pitching staff registered several excellent performances.
? ? ? As a squad, the staff sported a 2.77 ERA in its 26 innings of work, allowing the Seahawks to bat just .219 against the Mizzou defense.
? ? ? In addition, four Tigers - Wendte, junior Andy Shipman (Bellevue, Neb. / Iowa Western CC), and freshmen Taylor Parker (Bellaire, Texas / Bellaire HS) and Matthew Stallings (Dallas, Texas / [Hurst] L.D. Bell HS) made shutout appearances on the Atlantic coast. Shipman pitched four solid innings on Friday in completion of Thursday's suspended game to earn his first save as a Tiger. Wendte pitched 3-1/3 innings on Sunday to earn his first save of the season. Parker and Stallings combined for two innings of effective relief in Friday's game-two loss.
TIGERS A HIT ON CAROLINA COAST
Mizzou got off to a swinging start last week at UNC Wilmington, bashing five home runs in its 12-1 season-opening win. That's the most round-trippers by a Tiger outfit in over two seasons, spanning back to the first round of the 2000 Big 12 Conference Tournament when MU hit a Big 12 Tournament record five against the Huskers.
? ? ? Junior transfer Jeremy Hernandez (Aptos, Calif. / Cabrillo JC) hit two two-run homers in the game, and freshman James Boone (Clinton, Okla. / Clinton HS) hit his first as a Tiger. Juniors Cody Ehlers (Stillwater, Okla. / Stillwater HS) and Ryan Rallo (Chesterfield, Mo. / CBC) hit their first of the season, and Rallo followed with a second round-tripper the next day against the Seahawks.
MIZZOU BREAKS SEASON-OPENER BAD LUCK
Last Thursday's 12-1 win at UNC Wilmington gave the Tigers their first win in a season-opener in four years, dating back to their 14-7 win against Lincoln to open the 1999 season. Since then, Mizzou had lost to Pepperdine (2000), tied San Jose State (2001), and lost against Portland (2002). The Tigers are 6-3-1 in their last 10 season openers.
UNCW MARKS EARLIEST START IN SCHOOL HISTORY
In addition to the first season-opening win in a while, the Feb. 6 contest against the Seahawks marked the earliest start in Mizzou's 109 seasons of baseball. The previous earliest start came two years ago, when the Tigers opened the 2000 season against San Jose State on Feb. 9. As recently as 1996, Mizzou didn't start its baseball season until Feb. 20 - two weeks after this year's start.
TRIO OF TIGERS STREAKING
Both junior shortstop Ian Kinsler (Tucson, Ariz. / Arizona State) and junior outfielder Lee Laskowski (St. Louis, Mo. / Clayton HS) have hit safely in each of the Tigers' first three games. In addition, although sophomore catcher Brent Lacy (Ellisville, Mo. / Lafayette HS) has not made a plate appearance this season, he carries an active two-game hitting streak over from the end of the 2002 season.
HOME SWEET HOME - TENFOLD
The Tigers open their home schedule on Tuesday, Feb. 25, with a 4 p.m. game against Central Methodist. That begins a massive 10-game homestand - the longest of the season for Mizzou - that stretches over 16 days into the second week of March. The homestand is anchored by weekend three-game series against Youngstown State (Feb. 28-Mar. 2) and Creighton (Mar. 7-9). In addition, Mizzou will host Lindenwood and Western Illinois for mid-week games.