April 30, 2004

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Missouri will host the nation's No. 1 ranked team this weekend, as Texas visits Taylor Stadium for a three-game series starting at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. The second game of the series will begin at 2 p.m. on Saturday and the final game of the series will get underway at Noon on Sunday [Note the time change for Sunday's game]. The Tigers enter the weekend with a 25-16-1 record and are 4-10 in the Big 12 Conference. Texas opens the series with a 41-6 record and a 13-4 Big 12 mark and is ranked No. 1 in all four major polls. The Longhorns have a won the last seven matchups with Mizzou to take a 17-10 lead in the all-time series. Following this weekend, MU will be on the road for back-to-back Big 12 Conference road trips against Texas Tech and Kansas.

Last Time Out
O'FALLON, Mo. -- Mizzou used a home run from sophomore Trevor Helms and a two-run double by freshman Hunter Mense to snap its four-game losing skid with a 3-0 win over Saint Louis on Wednesday night in the annual "Wood Bat Classic" in O'Fallon, Mo. The game was the fifth installment of the annual "Wood Bat Classic" in which both teams utilize wood bats in place of the normal aluminum versions. The pitchers took control of the game early, as it remained scoreless through the first four innings. Mizzou freshman Nathan Culp and SLU starter Kris Weber kept the bats silent until the Tigers put the first run on the board in the top of the fifth. Helms then sent a solo homer over the wall in left field for his first homer as a Tiger. He finished the game 2-for-3 and stole a base. Then, with two on base and two outs in the top of the sixth, Mense added to the MU lead with a double to the wall in left center, driving in both baserunners. Culp remained in control for Mizzou on the mound. After giving up three hits in the first two innings, Culp allowed only one baserunner from the third inning until he left the game following the seventh. The lone Billiken to reach base during that time came in the sixth, when Casey Moore reached on an error, but was then erased on a double play. Sophomore Taylor Parker pitched a perfect eighth inning and senior Mark Alexander came on for a 1-2-3 ninth inning, recording his sixth save of the year.

The Longhorns
Texas carries its No. 1 ranking and a 41-6 record into the weekend series with Mizzou. The Longhorns opened the year by winning their first ten games before dropping two of three against Stanford. They followed that with a 14-game winning streak and currently have won 14 of their last 16 games. Last weekend, UT took the first two games of its series against Nebraska before dropping the final game of the weekend to the Huskers. Texas sophomore catcher Taylor Teagarden was named the Big 12 Player of the Week on Tuesday after hitting .538 last week. He had three consecutive multi-hit games against Nebraska, hitting .700 for the weekend.

Shut Down Complete
Mizzou has recorded four shutouts this season after defeating Saint Louis 3-0 on Wednesday. The four shutouts matches the season total from last season. On March 28, junior RHP Garrett Broshuis recorded the first complete game shutout of his career with a 12-0 seven-inning win over Kansas State. Broshuis gave up just two hits and struck out seven to get his sixth win of the year. In each of the first two shutouts this season, junior RHP Erik Dessau started on the mound and senior RHP Mark Alexander 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 innings, 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.

Checking the Record Books
A trio of MU seniors are making their way up the charts in the Mizzou Baseball record books. Cody Ehlers is currently in third place all-time in career doubles at MU with 49. He has 16 doubles this season, marking the third straight year he has had at least 15 doubles. Ehlers is also seventh on the career home runs lists with 31 heading into the weekend. His 12 home runs this season is a career best for Ehlers, who had nine in each of the previous two years. Ehlers is also fifth in career extra base hits (84) and seventh in career RBI (164). Fellow senior Ryan Rallo is also climbing the career home runs chart. He enters the Texas series 11th with 25 career homers and has tied his career high with nine this season. Relief pitcher Mark Alexander has recorded six saves this season and is in a tie for 8th for saves in a season at Missouri. The six saves also place him in a tie for 10th in career saves at Mizzou.

Close Calls
Missouri has had its share of close games this season, as 14 of its 42 games have been one-run games and six more have been decided by two runs. Mizzou is 8-6 in one-run games and has a 2-4 record in the two-run decisions. Seven of the Tigers' last 11 games have been decided by one run, including, the opening game of last weekend's series at Texas A&M. Mizzou dropped that game 1-0 for its 14th one-run decision of the season.

Now Appearing
Senior RHP Mark Alexander leads the Tigers with 20 appearances this season and has recorded six saves. In three previous season with Mizzou, Alexander had not recorded a single save. His six saves this season have him in a tie for eighth for most saves in a season in MU history. Sophomore LHP Taylor Parker is second on the team with 19 appearances. He has allowed just four walks in 27.2 innings pitched and has recorded two saves. Junior RHP Dustin Braud (pronounced 'Bro') has 17 appearances and a 3-2 record out of the bullpen.

A Tough Road Ahead
Not that there is ever an easy portion of the Big 12 Conference schedule, but for Mizzou, the stretch of conference games it is in the midst of is definitely not easy. This weekend's series against Texas will be the third straight conference series for MU against a team ranked in the top 15 in the nation. The Tigers got off to a good start taking two-of-three in its series with No. 15 Nebraska on April 16-18. After winning the first two games, MU could not record the sweep as the Huskers took Sunday's game 11-10 by scoring three runs in the ninth inning. Last weekend, Missouri dropped a pair of game against Texas A&M, which was ranked as high as No. 14 in the national polls.

The Hits Keep on Coming
Five Tigers have had double-digit hitting streaks during the season. Sophomore James Boone had a 16-game streak snapped against Oklahoma. That streak matches the streak of senior Lee Laskowski, who had a 16-game hitting streak snapped on March 28 against Kansas State. The 16-game streaks are the longest of the year for MU. Senior Cody Ehlers had a 15-game hitting streak at one point during the year and fellow senior Ryan Rallo had hits in 14 straight games earlier this season. Sophomore Zane Taylor had a 13-game hitting streak snapped against Oklahoma and had an eight-game streak earlier in the season. Heading into the weekend, senior Jeremy Hernandez has Missouri's longest active hitting streak with hits in his last five games.

Up Next
The Tigers will be on the road for the next two weekends, traveling to Lubbock, Texas next weekend for a three-game series with Texas Tech before a series with Kansas in Lawrence the following weekend.