March 7, 2006

SAINT LOUIS AT MIZZOU
COLUMBIA, MO.
MARCH 7, 2006

First Pitch: 6:30 p.m.
Stadium: Taylor Stadium/Simmons Field (2,200)
Records: Mizzou: 8-5; Saint Louis: 5-5
Rankings: MU is ranked No. 18 by Baseball America. SLU is not ranked.
Series History: Mizzou leads all-time series with SLU, 68-17.
Last Year: Mizzou defeated SLU twice last season by scores of 16-8 and 13-4
Coaches: MU- Tim Jamieson (372-267-2/12th year at MU and overall); SLU: Bob Hughes (318-572-1/18th year at SLU and overall)
Radio: KTGR 1580-AM, flagship; Also on 900-AM in Fulton and 950-AM in Jefferson City
Live Audio: KTGR.com
Live Stats: Gametrackeron mutigers.com
Live Video: Mizzou All-Access on mutigers.com
For more information: mutigers.com
On Tap: vs. Purdue - March 10-12, Taylor Stadium
Friday- 6:30 p.m. / Saturday: 2 p.m. / Sunday- 1 p.m.

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LEADING OFF...
Mizzou will continue the season's first homestand, which includes eight games in 12 days, by taking on Saint Louis at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Taylor Stadium. Junior Stephan Holst will be on the mound for MU taking on Saint Louis freshman righthander Dave Sever. The Tigers are coming off a series win over Wisconsin-Milwaukee, taking two of three against the Panthers. MU is 8-5 on the year and has won three of its four games at Taylor Stadium. It is ranked No. 18 in this week's Baseball America Top 25. Wednesday's meeting is the 86th all-time between the Tigers and Billikens, with Missouri holding a 68-17 lead in the series. Last year the Tigers swept the season series, taking a 16-8 win in St. Louis, before claiming a 13-4 win in the annual "Wood Bat Classic" in O'Fallon, Mo. Mizzou and SLU will continue the tradition of the "Wood Bat Classic" when the two teams meet at 6:30 p.m. on April 19 at T.R. Hughes Ballpark in O'Fallon. Following Wednesday's contest with Saint Louis, the Tigers will welcome Purdue to Taylor Stadium for a three-game series to close out the homestand. That series will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Friday and continue with games at 2 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.

QUICK HITS
• Junior John McKee had three-straight games with four RBI from March 1-4. He was 6-for-10, with three doubles, six runs scored and 12 RBI in those three games.

• With its win last Wednesday, Mizzou has now won its home opener in five of the last six years and is now 9-3 in home debuts under Tim Jamieson.

• Junior Nathan Culp has not given up a walk in 27.2 innings pitched this season. He opened the season by not allowing an earned run in his first 14.1 innings on the mound.

• Senior Zane Taylor had an 11-game hitting streak snapped on Sunday against Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

• With his five appearances this season, senior Taylor Parker has now played in 79 games as a Tiger, which places him third in the Mizzou record books. Bunky Moeller is second with 81 career appearances and Scott Black holds the record with 108.

• Missouri's 2.97 ERA is the third best in the Big 12 Conference.

• Junior Max Scherzer was named the Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 28, marking the third time he has earned that honor.

• The Tigers recorded a season-high 22 hits against Florida on Feb. 24, marking the most hits for MU since it had 26 against Navy (2/25/05).

• Sophomore Jacob Priday had his second career five-hit game on Feb. 24 against Florida, going 5-for-6 with two doubles.

• Mizzou's win over then-No. 1 Florida was the Tigers' first win over a No 1 ranked team since an 8-0 defeat of then-No. 1 Texas on 5/1/04.

• The Tigers went 21.1 innings to open the season before allowing their first earned run of the year.

SCOUTING THE BILLIKENS
After opening the season 0-5, Saint Louis enters Wednesday's game having won its last five games to even its record at 5-5. The Billikens picked up a sweep of their three-game series with South Dakota State in which they outscored SDSU 35-10 in the series. Slated to pitch for SLU against the Tigers is Dave Sever, a freshman righthander who is 1-0 on the year with a 3.75 ERA. Wednesday will be his second start, as he won his only other start, allowing just three unearned runs in 6.2 innings in SLU's 8-3 win over Bradley on Feb. 28. Bob Hughes is in 18th year in the Billiken dugout, compiling a 318-982-1 record.

SERIES HISTORY
Missouri holds a 67-18 lead in the series, including taking wins in both meetings last year by scores of 16-8 and 13-4. Wednesday is the first meeting of the season between MU and SLU. The teams will meet again on April 19 in the annual "Wood Bat Classic" in O'Fallon, Mo.

ON TAP
Mizzou wraps up the first homestand of the season with a three-game series against Purdue, beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Game two of the series is at 2 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday. The Big 12 Conference season gets underway the following weekend with MU taking on Texas A&M in College Station, Texas in the conference opening series March 17-19.

LAST TIME OUT
Mizzou took two of three from Wisconsin-Milwaukee last weekend at Taylor Stadium. Junior Max Scherzer recorded his third win in as many starts as MU took the series opener 14-3 on Friday night. The Tigers took a 2-0 lead in the series with a 9-5 win on Saturday, before falling to the Panthers 7-2 in the finale on Sunday. Junior John McKee hit .444 in the series with three doubles, eight RBI and four runs scored. He was also hit by a pitch three times. McKee had four RBI in each of the first two games of the series. He was 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles, four RBI and two runs scored in Saturday's game. Also having a good weekend was sophomore Brock Bond, who hit .455 in the three games. He had two hits in each of the first two games and drove in five runs over the weekend. Senior Zane Taylor had hits in each of the first two games of the series to extend his hitting streak to 11 games, but went hitless on Sunday to snap the streak.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
Junior Max Scherzer made his first appearance under the lights at Taylor Stadium last Friday. He struck out nine batters in five innings pitched and recorded the win, his third in as many starts. Scherzer, who was named the Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Week last Tuesday after leading the Tigers to a victory over No. 1 Florida on Feb. 28, is again the Tigers' Friday night starter this season. In the win against Florida, he struck out eight in seven innings, allowing just one run on only three hits to record his second victory in a many starts this season. Scherzer, who was the Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Year and a second team All-American last year has already begun to receive honors this year. Scherzer was named a first team preseason All-American by all major collegiate baseball publications. He has also been named to the watch lists for the Roger Clemens Award, which is awarded to the nation's top pitcher. Scherzer was one of 10 semifinalist for the Clemens Awards in 2005. Scherzer is also on the Wallace Award watch list, which recognizes the nation's top player and is another award he was a semifinalists for last season. Last season, he led the Big 12 with 131 strikeouts and a 1.82 ERA. The 131 strikeouts is a new school record, passing John Dettmer's 127 K's in 1991. He spent last summer with Team USA, where he had pitches clocked as high as 99 miles per hour.

TAYLOR MADE HITTING
Senior Zane Taylor had an 11-game hitting streak snapped with an 0-for-3 outing in the series finale against Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Taylor leads the Tigers with a .426 batting average this season. After opening the year with a 0-3 outing in the season opener against East Tennessee State, Taylor had a hit in each of the next 11 games, including eight games in which he has had multiple hits. He was 4-for-5 and scored three runs in Mizzou's win over Florida. Taylor's career long hitting streak was a 13-game streak coming in 2004.

TAKING DOWN NO. 1
Mizzou defeated No. 1 Florida on Feb. 24 in Gainesville, Fla. 14-5, knocking off a No. 1 team for the first time since it defeated then-No. 1 Texas, 8-0 on May 1, 2004. The win over Texas was actually the second-straight victory over UT for the Tigers, who recorded a 4-1 win the night before. In the win over the Gators, Missouri pounded out a season-high 22 hits, the most since it recorded 26 hits against Navy (2/25/05). Sophomore Jacob Priday was 5-for-6 against UF, and the top two in the Tiger lineup (Trevor Helms and Zane Taylor) were a combined 8-for-11. Helms 4-for-6 and Taylor finished 4-for-5. Junior Max Scherzer kept Florida in check all night, striking out eight in seven innings pitched. He allowed one run on just three hits to the top-ranked Gators. Mizzou led 14-1 before UF scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth and added a pair of runs in the ninth inning.

TGI-PRIDAY
On Friday, Feb. 24, sophomore Jacob Priday turned in a 5-for-6 performance to help lead Mizzou to a 14-5 win over then-No. 1 Florida. It was Priday's second career five-hit game. Ironically, his second career five-hit game came nearly a year to the day after his first. He was 5-for-6 against Navy on Feb. 25, 2005, driving in four runs and scoring four times. On Feb. 24, 2006, Priday was again 5-for-6, driving in three runs and scoring twice. For the weekend at the Pepsi Baseball Classic, Priday was 7-for-12 (.583), with three doubles and four RBI, earning him a spot on the All-Tournament Team.

MIZZOU IN THE POLLS
The Tigers are ranked No. 18 in the latest Baseball America Top 25. Mizzou received its highest ever preseason ranking, when Baseball America picked the Tigers No. 10 in its poll. It marked only the second time MU had appeared in the preseason poll and the first since it was No. 19 in 1983. Missouri was No. 21 in the final Baseball America poll last year.

TIGERS SELECTED THIRD IN THE BIG 12 PRESEASON POLL
The Big 12 Conference Baseball Coaches selected Missouri to finish third in the conference this season, according to the preseason poll. The Tigers received 66 points, including one first-place vote. Texas (56-16 in 2005), the defending National Champion, has been selected to win the conference crown, garnering 79 total points in voting with nine points for first place, eight for second, seven for third, etc. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams. Nebraska (57-15) was No. 2 in the balloting with 70 points and one first place vote. Missouri (40-23), ranked in the top 15 in the pre-2006 national polls, was selected as the third team with 66 points and one first-place vote. Baylor (46-24) nailed down the fourth spot while Oklahoma (35-26) was fifth. Oklahoma State (34-25) nabbed sixth position, and Texas A&M (30-25-1) pulled up in seventh. Kansas (36-28) and Texas Tech (34-25) tied for eighth while Kansas State (30-25) was 10th.

MIZZOU WELL REPRESENTED ON TEAM USA
Mizzou Head Coach Tim Jamieson was selected to serve as an assistant coach on the USA Baseball National Team last summer and was joined by two of his Tiger players. Juniors Max Scherzer and Hunter Mense were also selected to the squad, marking the first Team USA selections for MU since 1991. The National Team went 16-4 over the summer, playing games in Japan and Taiwan, along with hosting teams from around the world stateside. Scherzer made four appearances, including two starts, and was 2-1 for Team USA with a 2.70 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 20 innings of work. Mense made the team after a very impressive showing at the trials. He played in 17 games for Team USA, hitting .259 with a home run, two triples and two doubles.

OPPONENTS FIND IT DIFFICULT EARNING RUNS
Missouri went the first 21.1 innings of the season without allowing an earned run. All three runs allowed to East Tennessee in the season opener and the four runs given up the next day to Charleston Southern were all unearned runs. The first earned run of the season allowed by the Mizzou pitching staff was the first run scored by Kennesaw State in the fourth inning.

MENSE NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN TEAMS
Junior Hunter Mense was named to preseason All-American teams by Baseball America and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association. He has also was named to the watch list for the Wallace Award, which is given to the nation's top college baseball player. Last year, he was a second team All-Big 12 Conference selection after hitting .327 on the year, which was second best on the team. Mense was also second on the squad in runs scored (62) and stolen bases (10) and was third in hits (67) and slugging percentage (.473).

FOR OPENERS
Mizzou loss to East Tennessee State on Feb. 9 snapping a three-game winning streak for the Tigers in season openers. Missouri is 7-3-1 under Head Coach Tim Jamieson in season openers. Included in that stretch was a 0-0 tie against San Jose State in 2001. That game was called after six innings due to poor weather conditions with no score.

A LOOK AT THE 2006 SCHEDULE
The 2006 Mizzou Baseball schedule features matchups with four of the eight teams that advanced to Omaha for the 2005 College World Series and both of the teams from the 2005 National Championship series. As usual, the Big 12 Conference will be one of the top conferences nationwide. Mizzou will open up the conference portion of the schedule with a trip to College Station, Texas for a series with Texas A&M. The following weekend, Kansas State will visit Taylor Stadium for MU's Big 12 home opening series. The Tigers will host Nebraska on April 7-9. The last time the Cornhuskers visited Columbia, Mizzou took two of three in the series. Oklahoma State, who Missouri swept the last time it visited Taylor Stadium, will be in town on April 21-23 and Baylor will be in Columbia on April 28-30. The Tigers close out the regular season with a three-game series at home against defending national champion Texas. The Midwest Ford Dealers Border Showdown will continue when the Tigers head to Lawrence, Kan. on March 31-April 2 to take on Kansas. Missouri also has Big 12 Conference road trips to Oklahoma (April 14-16) and Texas Tech (May 12-14). The Tigers will play two wood bat games, taking on Saint Louis (April 19) and Illinois (May 17) in O'Fallon, Mo. Mizzou will also participate the Best of the Midwest Tournament in Kansas City on April 25-26. The Big 12 Conference Tournament is back at Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City for the second-consecutive year. This year, the Big 12 Tournament will adopt a new format, which will involve pool play for the first four days of the tournament with the winners of the two pools playing for the Conference Championship on Sunday, May 28. The NCAA Tournament begins on June 2 and concludes with the College World Series June 16-24 in Omaha, Neb.

TIGERS ARE THREE FOR THREE
Mizzou is one of just two teams in the Big 12 Conference that has advanced to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last three seasons. Texas, the defending National Champions, is the only other team out of the powerful Big 12 Conference to reach the postseason in the last three years.

WHAT'S RETURNING
Mizzou is loaded with experience in 2006, as all but one position starter, its top two pitchers and three of its most experienced relief pitchers return for the Tigers. Only All-Big 12 selection James Boone is gone from Missouri's starting lineup of 2005. The infield of senior Derek Chambers (1B), senior Trevor Helms (2B), junior Gary Arndt (SS) and junior John McKee (3B) remains in tact from a year ago. Those four started a combined 209 games at their respective positions in 2005. Junior Hunter Mense will anchor the outfield, returning for his third season with Mizzou after hitting .327 last year. Senior Zane Taylor has been a valuable asset to Missouri because of his ability to play numerous positions. He has played third base, shortstop and second base during his first three seasons and will move to the outfield in 2006. Jacob Priday, who was a Freshman All-American last season, returns for his sophomore campaign where he will likely split time between the outfield and catcher. J.C. Field had the most starts of any Tiger behind the plate last year and is back for his senior season. Senior Bryson LeBlanc and sophomores Evan Frey and Dan Pietroburgo saw their first playing time as a Tiger last year and add more experience to this Mizzou squad. On the mound, MU has one of the top 1-2 combinations as the front of its rotation with juniors Max Scherzer and Nathan Culp. Scherzer was the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year in 2005 and is a preseason first team All-America selection. He led the conference in strikeouts with a school record 131 K's in 2005. Culp tied Scherzer with a team-best nine wins a year ago and was a second team All-Big 12 Conference selection. He tied for the team lead with 16 starts last year, compiling a record of 9-2 for a .818 winning percentage. Three seniors add a wealth of experience to the Tigers pitching staff. Taylor Parker, Nick Admire and Travis Wendte have made a combined 179 appearances for Missouri. Parker was second on the team last year with 28 appearances and earned All-Big 12 second team honors. Admire has started in 13 of his 47 career appearances, recording six wins for the Tigers over the past three years. Wendte, who missed the 2004 season due to injury, is in his fifth year at Missouri. His 14 career saves, eight of which came in his freshman campaign, is tied for third most in Mizzou history.

KTGR, MIZZOU BASEBALL RENEW RADIO AGREEMENT
The University of Missouri and the Zimmer Radio Group have extended their partnership that will keep Mizzou Baseball on Zimmer through 2009. Mizzou Sports Properties, the multi-media rights holder of the University of Missouri Department of Athletics, announced a four-year renewal of the radio rights agreement for Tiger Baseball. All of Mizzou's regular season and postseason games will air on KTGR 1580 in Columbia. In addition, a majority of the games will be simulcast on KWOS-AM 950 in Jefferson City and KFAL-AM 900 in Fulton. Tex Little will return for his 16th season of calling Tiger Baseball

HE STOOD TALL
He Stood Tall is the story of former Mizzou coach John "Hi" Simmons as told by the men who knew him best. Dozens of players from dozens of players from the 1930s to the 1960s share their stories about their former coach in the recently released book. There are also chapters dedicated to Simmons' theories about the game, his colorful vocabulary and his enduring legacy at the University. To order the book, visit mutigers.com or call 913-219-0338. The book can also be purchased at the Tiger Team Store. All proceeds from the book sales will go the Tiger Bullpen, benefiting Mizzou Baseball.

ALL-ACCESS
Video webcast for all Mizzou Baseball home games in 2006 will be available at mutigers.com as part of the new All-Access. New to mutigers.com this year, All-Access is the Tiger fans home to live and archived games for Mizzou Athletics, along with coaches' shows, press conferences and much more. For more information, visit mutigers.com and click on the All-Access icon.