March 16, 2004

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After a seven-game road trip, in which Missouri went 5-1-1, the Tigers return to Taylor Stadium/Simmons Field at 4 p.m. on Wednesday to face Illinois State. Missouri is 15-3-1 on the year. The Tigers are receiving votes in the Sports Weekly/ESPN Top 25 and are ranked No. 30 in the NCBWA poll this week. They are in third place in the Big 12 Conference standings behind only Texas and Texas A&M. Illinois State is 3-6 on the year and has lost its last five games. Last year MU swept the season series defeating the Redbirds 16-11 in Columbia, before taking a 4-3 win in Normal, Ill. Eleven of Mizzou's next 13 games are at home beginning with Wednesday's game. This weekend, MU will host Chicago State for a three-game series. This weekend's series with Chicago State at 4 p.m. on Friday.

Last Time Out
Mizzou claimed the championships honors at the Easton/USA Challenge in Millington, Tenn. last weekend with a 4-0 record at the tournament. The Tigers opened the tournament with an extra-inning win over Wake Forest on Friday. With the game tied at four heading into the 12th inning, Mizzou scored the game-winning run when freshman Hunter Mense doubled to drive in another freshman, Gary Arndt, with the game-winning run. Senior Danny Hill started for MU and went 7.0 innings, his longest outing of the year, and leaving the game with the score tied. Later on Friday, MU made it two wins on the day with a 7-6 decision over Indiana State. The Tigers used a five-run sixth inning to help build a 7-0 lead. Indiana State made a strong attempt at a comeback, scoring six runs in the top of the ninth and had the tying run on third base when the final out was recorded. On Saturday, MU picked up its third one-run win of the tournament defeating Memphis 3-2. The Tigers scored all of their runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to comeback from two runs down to win. The victory was the 300th of Head Coach Tim Jamieson's career. Missouri closed out the tournament with a 7-3 win over Tennessee-Martin on Sunday to take the tournament title. Junior Garrett Broshuis started for MU on the mound and went seven innings, allowing just one hit. The first UTM hit did not come until the fifth inning as Broshuis moved to 4-0 on the season.

A Record for the Record Books
The Tigers enter the week with a 15-3-1 record, which is the best record they have had after 19 games since the 1985 was 16-3. That squad opened the season 19-3. Mizzou opened the season with six straight wins before Albany handed MU its first loss of the year against Albany on Feb. 22. The 6-0 start was the best start since the 1987 team began the year 7-0. The 1986 team also opened with seven straight wins.

Joining the 300 Club
With Mizzou's 3-2 win over Memphis on March 13, Head Coach Tim Jamieson picked up his 300th career victory. He currently has a record of 301-219-2 in his 10 season with MU. Jamieson's first win came on Feb. 27, 1995 with a 12-2 MU victory over Lincoln University. He recorded his 100th win on March 14, 1998 by defeating Eastern Michigan 3-0, and his 200th win came against Wichita State, a 9-8 victory on March 7, 2001. He is the third coach in Missouri history to record 300 wins, joining John "Hi" Simmons (481 wins) and Gene McArtor (733 wins).

Boone's County
Although they didn't name Boone County (which Columbia the county seat for) after sophomore RF James Boone, if he continues his hot hitting, they may have to name something after him. Last weekend, he was 10-for-15 in the four games, good for a .667 batting average, leading Missouri to the Easton/USA Challenge title. He had two doubles, two RBI, two stolen bases, three runs scored, a slugging percentage of .800 and an on base percentage of .722 for the weekend. Boone opened the tournament with a 4-for-5 performance against Wake Forest on Friday. He followed that with two hits in each of the next three games. He was 2-for-3 with a double, two RBI and a run scored against Indiana State. He then went 2-for-3 against Memphis and was 2-for-4 with a run scored against Tennessee-Martin. On the season, Boone has a team-leading .383 batting average with seven extra base hits (5 doubles, one triple and one home run) and 11 RBI.

Hello Rallo
Mizzou senior Ryan Rallo has a .323 batting average and had a 14-game hitting streak snapped last Saturday in Millington, Tenn. against Memphis. Rallo is tied for the team lead with five home runs and is second on the team with 22 RBI. During the 14-game hitting streak, Rallo had a .353 batting average, five home runs, four doubles and 18 RBI. The streak was snapped as Rallo was 0-for-1, with four walks, against Memphis. The 14-game streak was the longest by a MU player since Jayce Tingler put together a 14-game hitting streak last season. Rallo had a nine-game hitting streak at one point during the 2003 season and opened the 2002 season with hits in the first five games of the year.

The Hits Keep on Coming
Five Tigers have multi-game hitting streaks in tact heading into Wednesday, led by senior Lee Laskowski's nine-game hit streak. That streak ties Cosme Caballero for the second longest streak of the season behind Ryan Rallo's 14-game hit streak. During Rallo's streak, which was snapped last Saturday against Memphis, he had a .353 batting average, five home runs, four doubles and 18 RBI. Senior Cody Ehlers is currently on a seven-game hitting streak, which is his longest of the season. Junior James Boone has four-game streak in tact, Brad Flanders has a 3-game streak and Caballero has had hits in the last two games he has played in.

The Cosme Show
A transfer from Sante Fe Community College, junior Cosme Caballero has joined MU this season. Caballero, who can play third base or catcher for the Tigers, put together a nine-game hitting streak earlier in the year. The streak was snapped against Wake Forest on March 12. After going hitless in three of the first four games of the season, Caballero recorded a hit in each of the next nine games. He was 1-for-4 and drove in three runs against Youngstown State on Feb. 28 and followed that with a 1-for-3 game with four RBI the next day.

All Tied Up
For the just the 20th time in 3,069 games, Mizzou had a game end in a tie on March 7 against Washington. After the two teams split the first two games of the series, game three was to be the rubber game of the series. Due to Missouri's travel arrangements, a curfew was placed on the game and was called after 10 innings in order for the Tigers to catch their flight our of Seattle. The tie was the first time since the first game of the 2001 season against San Jose State. That game was called after the sixth inning due to rain with the score tied at zero. The Tigers have had back-to-back ties once before, in 1914 when MU and Kansas State tied 9-9 and 2-2 in consecutive games.

Brushing Batters Aside
Junior RHP Garrett Broshuis is nothing if not consistent. In each of his first four starts this season, Broshuis pitched exactly six innings. He took the win in the first three starts and was the starter in the game with Washington on March 7 which ended in a tie, a game in which the Tigers' led when Broshuis left the game. He broke the string of six-inning outings by going seven innings against Tennessee-Martin last Sunday in his fifth start. He allowed only one run on four hits and did not give up a hit until the fifth inning. Broshuis leads the Tigers with 32 strikeouts on the year and has had a season-high eight K's twice this year (vs. Portland and vs. Coastal Carolina). He has an ERA of 2.61 and has allowed just one run in three of his five starts.

Dessau Sits 'em Down
A transfer from Forest Park Community College, junior RHP Erik Dessau has stepped into the Tigers' pitching rotation and been dominate this season. In his five starts, he has four wins and has allowed just five runs in 30.1 innings for a team-leading 1.48 ERA. The Tigers have had two shutouts this season and both have come in games that Dessau has started. Dessau joins junior Garrett Broshuis as the only four-game winners for the Tigers this season.

L2 Hits HR2
Senior OF Lee Laskowski carries a nine-game hitting streak into the week after a big weekend at the Easton/USA Challenge. In the last nine games, he is hitting .400 with two doubles, a home run and six RBI. He has had 12 hits and scored two runs. Laskowski, who was hampered by injuries and finished with just two home runs last year, has already match that mark in 2004. Actually, he matched that total in one weekend as he homered in back-to-back games against Youngstown State. His first was a solo shot well over the scoreboard in left field on Feb. 28, giving the Tigers their first runs of the day. He followed that with another solo home run which cleared the left field wall, ending up in the MU bullpen. Laskowski added his third home run of the year in the opening game of the series with Washington. His two-run home run was part of a seven-run seventh inning for MU on March 5 in Seattle.

He Arndt Bad
Freshman INF Gary Arndt has worked his way into the Tigers' starting lineup already this season. He has started four games this season, including the last three at shortstop. He has six hits in just 15 at-bats this season and has driven in five runs and scored eight times. He did not start against Wake Forest, but entered the game and scored the game-winning run in the 12th inning. He then started and had a three-run RBI triple against Indiana State. Against Tennessee-Martin, he was 2-for-2 and scored three of the Tigers' seven runs on the day.

No Runs For You
Mizzou has recorded two shutouts this season, already half as many shutouts as it recorded all of last season. In each of the two shutouts, junior RHP Erik Dessau has started on the mound and senior RHP Mark Alexander has relieved Dessau and preserved the shutout. Mizzou's shutout of Portland (13-0) on Feb. 14 in Phoenix, Ariz. was the first shutout by a MU team since April 29, 2003 when the Tigers defeated St. Louis in the "Wood Bat Classic" by a score of 9-0. Dessau started and pitched six inning, allowing seven hits to record the win. Alexander came on in relief, giving up just one hit and striking out five in three innings of work to record the save. On Feb. 28 against Indiana State, Dessau pitched seven innings of shutout work, giving up just three hits and striking out eight. Alexander came on for the final two innings and allowed just one hit in the 7-0 MU victory.

Now Appearing
Junior RHP Dustin Braud (pronounced 'Bro') leads the Tigers with nine appearance this season. He is followed by senior RHP Mark Alexander who appeared in eight games. Braud has come on in middle relief for Mizzou this year and has been able to compile a 3-0 record to go along with a 1.29 ERA Opposing batters are hitting just .170 off of Braud this season. Alexander has recorded four saves and has a 1.17 ERA. The Tigers have had two shutouts this season with Alexander getting the save in both of those games (Portland and Western Illinois). Sophomore LHP Taylor Parker and freshman RHP Max Scherzer each have seven appearances on for Mizzou.

Up Next
Starting on Wednesday, 11 of the next 13 games for MU are at home. After Illinois State, the Tigers will welcome Chicago State to Taylor Stadium this weekend. Game one of the series will start at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Game two is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday and the final game of the series will begin at 1 p.m. on Sunday.