March 23, 2004

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Missouri will travel to Cape Girardeau for a matchup with Southeast Missouri State on Wednesday. The Tigers are 18-4-1 on the year, which is the best record they have had at this point in the year since the 1985 team was 19-3. Mizzou is ranked No. 26 in the NCBWA poll and is receiving votes in the Sports Weekly/ESPN Top 25. Last weekend, MU picked up its first three-game series sweep of the year with an impressive showing against Chicago State. Missouri outscored the Cougars 48-4 in the three games of the series including a 21-1 win in the final game of the weekend. Wednesday's opponent, Southeast Missouri State, is 8-9 on the year. MU holds a 17-6 lead in the all-time series. Following Wednesday's game, the Tigers will return home to open up Big 12 Conference play with a three-game series against Kansas State this weekend.

Last Time Out
The Tigers picked up their first three-game series sweep of the year in impressive fashion last week as they defeated Chicago State in each of the three games of the weekend. Mizzou outscored the Cougars by a combined score of 48-4 in the three games. In the series opener on Friday, senior RHP Danny Hill struck out 11 CSU batters and the Tigers compiled a season-high 20 hits in a 19-2 win. Senior C Brad Flanders had his second multi-home run game of the year, as he connected for two homers on Friday. He was 4-for-5 with five RBI in the opener. All nine of the starters in the MU lineup had at least one hit in the game. The Tigers took game two by an 8-1 score as freshman RHP Erik Dessau became the first MU pitcher to five wins this season. Senior 1B Cody Ehlers was 3-for-4 to lead the Tigers at the plate. Mizzou matched its season-high with 21 runs scored in the final game of the series, defeating the Cougars 21-1. Junior 1B Bo Davis was 4-for-6 with two triples, three RBI and three runs scored in his first start of the season. Senior OF Lee Laskowski and freshman OF Hunter Mense each added three hits. Laskowski extended his hit streak to 13 games with the 3-for-4 day. Mense was 3-for-3 and played in all three of the outfield positions in the game. Junior RHP Garrett Broshuis joined Dessau with five wins, moving to 5-0 on the year.

The Hits Keep on Coming
Seven Tigers have multi-game hitting streaks in tact heading into this week, led by senior Lee Laskowski's 13-game hit streak. That streak is the second longest streak of the season for Mizzou behind Ryan Rallo's 14-game hit streak. Senior Cody Ehlers is currently on a 10-game hitting streak, which is his longest of the season. Junior James Boone has an eight-game streak in tact heading into Wednesday's game. Sophomore Zane Taylor, senior Brad Flanders and freshman Gary Arndt each have three-game streaks and Rallo carries a two-game streak into Wednesday.

A Magic Number
Mizzou has scored 21 runs in two games this season and both have taken place on the 21st of the month. On Feb. 21, the Tigers defeated Coastal Carolina 21-4 at the Beach Blast in Myrtle Beach. It was the most runs the Tigers have scored since putting 23 on the board against Baylor last April in a 23-18 win. Against Coastal, Mizzou banged out 18 hits, six home runs, six doubles and one triple. Last Sunday, March 21, Mizzou picked up a 21-1 win in the last game of the three-game series with Chicago State. That came two days after the Tigers scored 19 on, yes, the 19th of the March. If you want to look ahead, MU does not have a game scheduled for April 21, but will host Oklahoma State on May 21.

Lee Leads the Way
Senior OF Lee Laskowski carries a 13-game hitting streak into the week after back-to-back big weekends During the 13-games streak, he is hitting .426, with four doubles, one triple and three home runs. He has compiled 15 RBI and scored seven times in the last 13 games. Laskowski, who was hampered by injuries and finished with just two home runs last year, has already past that mark in 2004. Actually, he matched that total in one weekend as he homered in back-to-back games against Youngstown State. He has five homers on the year. If he can extend his streak to 14 games, he will match Ryan Rallo's 14-game hitting streak from earlier in the year, marking the longest streak by a Tiger this season.

Bo Knows Triples
Junior Bo Davis had pinch hit for the Tigers in 10 games prior to getting his first start of the season last Sunday at first base. Davis took advantage of the spot in the lineup, going 4-for-6 with two triples, three RBI and a three runs scored. Davis led off the game by getting hit by a pitch and had singles in the second and fifth innings. With two outs in the sixth inning, he tripled down the right field line, driving in a run. He would then score on a wild pitch. In the eighth inning, Davis would again triple to right, driving in another run. He would later score on an error by the third baseman. Davis is the first Tiger to have two triples in a game since Kyle Johnson did it against Northern Iowa in 2002.

A Record for the Record Books
The Tigers are 18-4-1 heading into Wednesday, which is their best record since the 1985 squad was 19-3. It is the best record Mizzou has had after 23 games since the 1982 team was 20-3. Mizzou opened this year with six straight wins before Albany handed MU its first loss of the year 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.

An A for Ehlers
Mizzou senior 1B Cody Ehlers has started all but one game at first base for the Tigers this season. He currently carries an 10-game hitting streak into the game with Southeast Missouri State on Wednesday. Ehlers opened the year with a six-game hitting streak, getting at least one hit in each of the first six games of the season. Ehlers has had more than one hit in nine of MU's 23 games this year and has had mutli-hit games in seven of the last 10 games. He has had at least three hits in two games this year. He leads the team with six home runs, 32 hits and 27 RBI. His .364 batting average is third best on the team.

Hunting for Mense
Freshman OF Hunter Mense can be difficult to find when he is in the game. He accomplished a rare feat last Sunday against Chicago State, by playing in all three of the outfield positions during the game. He started the game as the Tigers' centerfielder. Later in the game, Mense moved to right field, playing two innings there before taking over in left field for the final inning of the game. Mense has also been the Tigers designated hitter this season. He can also play first base and could pitch for Missouri.

Up Next
The Tigers will return home this weekend to open up Big 12 Conference play with Kansas State. Game one of the three-game set will start at 6:30 p.m. on Friday at Taylor Stadium. The second game is at 2 p.m. on Saturday and the final game will get underway at 1 p.m. on Sunday.