April 7, 2004
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After six straight Big 12 Conference games for the Tigers, they will step out of the league for a midweek matchup with Saint Louis at Taylor Stadium. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Mizzou is 21-8-1 on the year and 2-4 in the Big 12 Conference. Saint Louis enters the game with an 8-20 overall record. The Tigers hold a commanding 65-16 lead in the all-time series with SLU and have won 12 straight in the series. Later this season, the two teams will take part once again in the "Wood Bat Classic" in O'Fallon, Mo. on April 28. This weekend, MU will travel to Norman, Okla. for its first road Big 12 series of the season. The first game of the three-game set will get underway at 6:25 p.m. on Friday. Saturday's game in Oklahoma will be shown on Fox Sports Net and will get underway at 2 p.m.
Last Time Out
Mizzou dropped its second Big 12 Conference series of the year last weekend, as Baylor took 2-of-3 from the Tigers.
MU opened the three-game set by taking game one by a score of 12-4, marking the second straight game in which it put 12 runs on the board. Several seniors took the lead in the victory. Brad Flanders had a grand slam and Ryan Rallo homered twice, while Cody Ehlers went 4-for-5 with two RBI and three runs scored. On the mound, senior Danny Hill recorded his third win of the year, allowing just three runs on six hits.
In game two, Baylor used a six-run fourth inning to even the series with a 15-9 win. Rallo had three hits and Jeremy Hernandez and Zane Taylor each added two hits, but it was not enough to catch the Bears.
The Tigers carried a 6-3 lead into the sixth inning of Sunday's final game, before Baylor scored five in the top of the sixth and went on to take a 9-6 victory.
The Saint Louis Billikens
Saint Louis enters Wednesday's game with an 8-20 overall record and have lost its last four games. The Billikens have dropped five of their last six and 11 of their last 13 games.
Scott Penden leads SLU at the plate with a .326 batting average and five home runs. The Billikens are hitting .254 as a team, compared to a .347 batting average for their opponents.
Kris Weber will start on the mound for Saint Louis on Wednesday. He enters with a 1-2 record and a 4.50 ERA. Weber has appeared in eight games this season, but Wednesday will be his first start of the year.
MU holds a 65-16 lead in the all-time series with SLU and has won the last 12 games in the series. The last Billiken win was a 7-6 decision in 1996.
"Wood Bat Classic" Set For April 28
Mizzou and Saint Louis will continue the tradition of the "Wood Bat Classic" later this season. For the past several years, MU has played at least one game in its season with wood bats in place of the normal collegiate aluminum versions.
The Tigers and Billikens will meet on April 28 in O'Fallon, Mo. to continue the tradition. It will mark the fifth straight year that the two teams have squared off in the "Wood Bat Classic." Mizzou has beaten SLU in each of the four previous meetings: 5-3 in 2000, 4-2 in 2001, 10-0 in 2002 and 6-0 last year.
On the Hill
Senior RHP Danny Hill has been the Tigers' #1 starter since the opening day of the season. Hill, who started the season opener, has a 3-2 record and a 4.59 ERA.
After going 4.2 innings in the opener and pitching 5.0 innings against Coastal Carolina in his second start of the year on Feb. 19, he has gone at least six innings in his last five starts, including three seven-inning outings.
Hill's longest outing of the year came against Washington on March 5, when he allowed just one run in 7.1 innings of work, taking the victory. He gave up just two runs on only two hits in seven innings against Chicago State on March 19 to pick up another win.
He leads Mizzou with 53 strikeouts on the season and has a team-high 51.0 innings pitched.
Tigers Reach 20-win Mark Against KSU
With its 12-0 win over Kansas State on March 28, Missouri notched its 20th win of the year in its 27th game of 2004. It is the quickest that the Tigers have reached the 20-win mark since the 1998 team won 20 of its first 26 games.
The Hits Keep on Coming
Six Tigers enter the week with multi-game hitting streaks in tact led by sophomore RF James Boone's 15-game streak. It is the longest of the year for Boone and just one game short of the longest by a Tiger this season.
Senior DH Lee Laskowski had a 16-game hitting streak snapped on March 28 against Kansas State. The 16-game streak is the longest of the year for MU this year. Senior LF Ryan Rallo had a 14-game streak earlier in the year, joining Laskowski, Ehlers and Boone as Tigers with double-digit hit streaks this season.
Sophomore Zane Taylor has a 10-game hitting streak in tact heading into the matchup with SLU. Rallo has had a hit in the last four games and Laskowski has a three-game streak on the line. Jeremy Hernandez and Bo Davis have each had hits in the last two games they have played.
Isn't It Grand
Although senior Brad Flanders' six home runs are just third best on the team, his homers have probably made the most news.
Last Friday, against Baylor, he hit his sixth home run of the season and the 35th homer by Mizzou this season, but the first grand slam for the Tigers since Kyle Johnson did it last April, also against Baylor.
On Feb. 21, Flanders became just the second Mizzou player ever to hit three home runs in one game as he did it against Coastal Carolina. Jerry Schoonmaker hit three homers as part of the 1954 National Championship team at Missouri. Flanders three-HR game also tied a Big 12 record. He was 4-for-5 on the day with seven RBI and three runs scored.
He recorded another multi-home run game of the year, as he went 4-for-5 with two home runs and five RBI against Chicago State on March 19.
Flanders is hitting .277 on the year and is third on the team with 27 RBI. He has also thrown out six baserunners attempting to steal bases.
An A for Ehlers
Mizzou senior 1B Cody Ehlers leads the Tigers in nearly every offensive category. He has started all but one game at first base for the Tigers this season and is hitting a team-best .383 on the year.
He leads the team an RBI (39), runs scored (30), hits (46), doubles (12) and total bases (87) and is tied for the team lead with nine home runs.
Ehlers had a 15-game hitting streak snapped last Saturday against Baylor. He opened the year by recording at least one hit in each of the first six games of the season. He has had more than one hit in 13 of MU's 30 games this year and has had mutli-hit games in nine of the last 14 games. The senior also has had at least four hits in two games this year.
Boone Earns Big 12 Player of the Week
Sophomore RF James Boone was named the Big 12 Conference Player of the Week on March 16, after going 10-for-15, good for a .667 batting average, in the four games at the Easton/USA Challenge leading MU to the tournament 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.
He opened the tournament with a 4-for-5 performance against Wake Forest. 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.
Boone is second on the team with a .374 batting average and has a 15-game hitting streak. The 15-game streak is tied for the second longest of the season for Missouri. Lee Laskowski's 16-game streak from earlier in the season is the longest of the year for any Tiger.
Up Next
Mizzou will travel to Norman, Okla. for its first road Big 12 Conference series of the season this weekend. Game one of the three-game set will start at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Saturday's game will start at 2 p.m. and will be aired on Fox Sports Net. The final game of the series will start at 1 p.m on Sunday.
The Tigers will then travel to Springfield, Mo. for a midweek matchup with Southwest Missouri State at 7 p.m. on April 14, before returning to Taylor Stadium for a three-games series against Nebraska on April 16-18.