March 30, 2006

MIZZOU AT KANSAS
LAWRENCE, KAN.
MARCH 31-APRIL 2, 2006

First Pitches: Friday- 6 p.m. / Saturday- 2 p.m. / Sunday- 1 p.m.
Stadium: Hogland Ballpark (Capacity: 2,500)
Records: Mizzou: 15-9, 5-1 Big 12; Kansas: 18-10, 2-4 Big 12
Series History: MU leads all-time series with KU, 205-116-2
Last Year: Mizzou took two of three in Columbia with scores of 8-0, 3-9, 4-3.
Coaches: MU- Tim Jamieson (379-271-2/12th year at MU and overall); KU- Ritch Price (120-97-1/4th year at KU; 337-325-2/12th year overall)
Radio: KTGR 1580-AM, flagship
Live Audio: KTGR.com
Live Stats: Gametracker on mutigers.com
For more information: mutigers.com
On Tap: April 5 vs. Missouri State Taylor Stadium, 6:30 p.m.

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

LEADING OFF...
Mizzou will take its Big 12 leading 5-1 conference record into Lawrence, Kan. this weekend for a three-game series with the Kansas Jayhawks. Game one of the weekend is set for 6 p.m. on Friday, with the series continuing at 2 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday. The Tigers are 15-9 overall after falling to Southeast Missouri State on Wednesday. Kansas enters the weekend 18-10 and is 2-4 in the Big 12 Conference. The annual Border Showdown continues with this weekend's baseball series. KU currently leads the year-long all-sports competition 13.5-8.5. Missouri took two of three from the Jayhawks last season, but dropped two of the three games the last time the series was held in Lawrence. MU leads the all-time series between the two teams, 205-116-2. Following this weekend, the Tigers return to Taylor Stadium for a five-game homestand, which begins with Missouri State at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Nebraska is in Columbia next weekend for a three-game series.

QUICK HITS
• For the second-consecutive season, Mizzou has opened 5-1 in the Big 12 Conference.

• Senior Taylor Parker has recorded saves in four of Missouri's five Big 12 Conference wins this season.

• Missouri's 2.53 ERA in conference games is the best in the Big 12.

• Senior Travis Wendte is one of four pitchers in the Big 12 Conference with an ERA of 0.00 in conference games.

• Senior Zane Taylor's .402 batting average is tied for fifth best in the Big 12 Conference.

• With his 13 appearances this season, senior Taylor Parker has pitched in 87 games as a Tiger, which places him second in the Mizzou record books. Scott Black holds the record with 108 appearances on the mound.

• Sophomore Evan Frey had an 11-game hitting streak snapped on Wednesday against SEMO. It matched Zane Taylor's streak from earlier in the season as the longest streak for a Tiger this season.

• Heading into the weekend, the Tigers have outscored their opponents 176-92.

• This is the second-consecutive season Missouri has opened the Big 12 schedule 3-0. Last year it swept Kansas State in the conference opening series.

• Mizzou swept Texas A&M for the second-straight season, wining the last six games against the Aggies. The sweep over Texas A&M was the first three-game sweep for the Tigers since sweeping the Aggies last year in Columbia.

• Kansas leads the Border Showdown, 13.5-8.5 heading into this weekend's series. Each game this weekend is worth one point. Mizzou has won two of the three previous Border Showdowns.

MIZZOU'S PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
Friday: Nathan Culp (Jr., LHP): 5-2, 2.36 ERA, 45.2 IP, 32 K
Nathan Culp enters the weekend with a team-best five wins and will make his third-consecutive Friday night start this week. He has walked just three batters in 45.2 innings pitched, while striking out 32.

Saturday: Max Scherzer (Jr., RHP): 3-1, 2.88 ERA, 25.0 IP, 31 K
Max Scherzer is slated to make his first start in three weeks this weekend, after missing his past two starts due to bicep tendonitis. Scherzer was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week after defeating Florida on Feb. 24.

Sunday: Rick Zagone (Fr., LHP): 2-0, 1.65 ERA, 16.1 IP, 11 K
Rick Zagone will make his third start of the season this weekend. He has started each of the past two Sundays for MU and earned a win against Texas A&M two weeks ago, when he allowed just two hits in 5.1 scoreless innings on the mound.

SCOUTING THE JAYHAWKS
Kansas took an 8-2 win over Wichita State on Wednesday to improve to 18-10 on the season and is 2-4 in the Big 12 Conference. The Jayhawks have opened Big 12 play with two road trips, going 1-2 at both Baylor and Nebraska. They have dropped five of their last seven games and six of their last nine after opening the year 14-4. The three scheduled starting pitchers for the Jayhawks this week all have four wins on the season. Reliever Don Czyz has nine saves to lead the Big 12 Conference and his 0.91 ERA is second best in the Big 12. Czyz also has three wins to his credit. Six Jayhawks are hitting over .300 led by Jared Schweitzer's .376 average. Gus Milner and Erik Morrison follow with averages of .363 and .313 respectively and both have six home runs on the year to lead the team. As a team, Kansas has hit 30 home runs to lead the Big 12 Conference. Ritch Price is in his 4th year as the Jayhawks' head coach, compiling a record of 120-97-1 in Lawrence.

SERIES HISTORY
Missouri holds a 205-116-2 lead in the all-time series with Kansas. Last season, MU won two of the three games between the two teams, taking the first and third games of the weekend, while KU took the win in the middle game. The Jayhawks took two-of-three the last time the series was in Lawrence, in 2004. KU won the series opener and the series finale, with the Tigers taking the Saturday victory.

LAST SEASON VS. KANSAS
Mizzou opened last year's series with Kansas by shutting out the Jayhawks, 8-0, behind the pitching of Max Scherzer. Scherzer allowed just two hits in seven scoreless innings on the mound and struck out 10 batters. The game was scoreless until MU put up four runs in the fifth inning. Hunter Mense and Gary Arndt each had three hits in the series-opening victory. The Jayhawks took game two by a score of 9-3. With the score tied at two, Kansas scored three unearned runs in the sixth innings and would add a pair of runs in the seventh and two more in the ninth. The Tigers closed out the series with a 4-3 win on Sunday, as Trevor Helms drew a bases loaded walk in the bottom of the eighth to drive home Jacob Priday with the go-ahead run. The Tigers had to come from behind, as they trailed 3-0 after two innings, but scored the final four runs of the game.

BORDER SHOWDOWN
This year marks the fourth year of the Border Showdown presented by the Midwest Ford Dealers, which is an all-sport year-long competition between Missouri and Kansas. KU currently leads the 2005-06 series 13.5-8.5. Each of the three baseball games this week is worth one point. Missouri has won in two of the first three years of the competition and currently holds the Border Showdown Cup, having taken the win last year.

ON TAP
Mizzou will step out of conference on Wednesday for a midweek matchup with Missouri State at 6:30 p.m. at Taylor Stadium. That game is the first of five-straight home games for the Tigers. Next weekend, Nebraska visits Taylor Stadium for a three-game set beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. MU concludes the homestand against Southeast Missouri State at 6 p.m. on April 12.

LAST TIME OUT
For the second-consecutive season, Missouri dropped a game at Southeast Missouri State on a walk-off home run. Last year it was Ernie Bracamonte's homer in the 10th inning that gave SEMO the win. On Wednesday, Daniel Schuh connected for a one-out home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Redhawks the 3-2 victory. The loss was the first road loss of the season for the Tigers, who entered the game 7-0 on the road. Mizzou fell to 15-9 on the season, while Southeast improved to 7-14 on the season.

MIZZOU IN THE POLLS
The Tigers climbed back into the polls this week, coming in No. 29 in the Collegiate Baseball Top 30. They are also receiving votes in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll and the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' poll. 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.

TAYLOR MADE HITTING
Senior Zane Taylor leads the Tigers and is tied for fifth in the Big 12 Conference with a .402 batting average heading into this weekend. Taylor has had a hit in all but four games for the Tigers this season. He had an 11-game hitting streak snapped with an 0-for-3 outing in the series finale against Wisconsin-Milwaukee. 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. Taylor's career long hitting streak was a 13-game streak coming in 2004.

TGI-PRIDAY
Sophomore Jacob Priday leads the Tigers with three home runs this year after a team-best nine homers last season. 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. On March 14, Priday was named the Big 12 Conference Player of the Week, after he hit .533 with two home runs and 11 RBI in the four games the previous week. Priday was 3-for-4 and drove in a career-high six runs in the Tigers 22-2 win over Purdue in the second game of the three-game series.

PLAYING THE HITS
Sophomore Evan Frey had an 11-game hitting streak snapped on Wednesday, as he went 0-for-2 against SEMO. During the streak, Frey hit .463, drove in nine runs, had two triples and a double. He had five multi-hit games during the streak, including four games in which he has three hits. Frey has had at least one hit in all but two games he has had an at-bat in this season. The 11-game hitting streak is a career best for Frey and ties the longest streak by a Tigers this season. Currently the longest active streaks for the Tigers are six-game hitting streaks for seniors Derek Chambers and Trevor Helms.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
The excitement level on Friday nights this season will be high as junior Max Scherzer is slated to take the mound on Fridays again this season. However, injuries has forced Scherzer to miss three starts this season, including starts in each of the first two weekend's of Big 12 action. Scherzer made his first appearance under the Taylor Stadium lights on Feb. 3. He struck out nine batters in five innings pitched and recorded the win, his third in as many starts. Scherzer was named the Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 28 after leading the Tigers to a victory over No. 1 Florida on Feb. 24. 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. 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 semifinalists 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.

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 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).

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.

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.

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.

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 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.