May 19, 2006

TEXAS AT MIZZOU
COLUMBIA, MO
MAY 19-21, 2006

First Pitch:
Friday- 6:30 p.m. / Saturday- 2 p.m. / Sunday- Noon
Stadium:
Taylor Stadium/Simmons Field
Records:
Mizzou: 26-24, 9-15 Big 12 Conference
Texas: 38-15, 19-4 Big 12 Conference
Series History:
Texas leads 20-13
Last Year:
Texas took two of three against MU last year in Austin with scores of 4-1, 2-7, 6-1.
Coaches:
MU- Tim Jamieson (390-286-2/12th year at MU and overall)
UT- Augie Garrido (429-208/11th year at UT/1,580-732/38th year overall)
TV:
Metro Sports/Fox Sports Midwest (Saturday's game only)
Radio:
KTGR 1580-AM, flagship;
Also on 900-AM in Fulton and 950-AM in Jefferson City
Live Audio:
KTGR.com
Live Stats:
Gametracker on mutigers.com
Live Video:
Mizzou All-Access on mutigers.com
For more information:
mutigers.com
On Tap:
Big 12 Championships, May 24-28 in Oklahoma City, Okla.

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LEADING OFF...
Missouri will close out the regular season this weekend with a three-game series against Texas at Taylor Stadium. Game one of the series is set for 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Saturday's game is at 2 p.m. and will be broadcast on Metro Sports and Fox Sports Midwest. Saturday is also Senior Day, as eight Tigers will be recognized prior to the game. Sunday's gametime has been moved to Noon. All games can be heard on KTGR 1580-AM in Columbia and at ktgr.com. Live stats will be provided through Gametracker on mutigers.com and live video is available through Mizzou All-Access on mutigers.com. The Tigers need one win this weekend to clinch a spot in the Big 12 Conference Tournament, which begins on Wednesday in Oklahoma City. Mizzou can also clinch a berth in the tournament with one Texas A&M loss to Kansas this weekend. Texas has clinched the Big 12 regular season championship.

MIZZOU'S PROJECTED STARTING PITCHERS
Friday: Max Scherzer (Jr., RHP)
5-1, 2.22 ERA, 52.2 IP, 58 K
Max Scherzer is second in the Big 12 Conference with a 2.22 ERA. Last weekend, he pitched 7.0 innings against Texas Tech, matching his longest outing of the season. He allowed just one run on five this to TTU. The week prior, he struck out seven in six innings on the mound against Mississippi Valley State. Scherzer pitched four innings of relief on April 30 against Baylor, striking out six and allowing just one unearned run and recording the win. The victory was the first for Scherzer since March 3 and it was his first win in the Big 12 this season. He has missed a total of six starts this season due to injuries. He was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 28 after leading MU to a win over then-No. 1 Florida the previous weekend. Against UF, Scherzer struck out eight and allowed only one run on three hits in seven innings on the mound. He struck out a season-high nine in just five innings against Wisconsin-Milwaukee on March 3. He has allowed more than one run in just two of his 10 appearances on the mound this year. On April 30, he recorded his 200th career strikeout at Mizzou. He struck out a school record 131 batters last season, earned the Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Year.

Saturday: Rick Zagone (Fr., LHP)
4-3, 3.17 ERA 48.1 IP, 35 K
Rick Zagone has made nine starts for MU this season, including eight in Big 12 Conference play. Last Sunday he took the loss against Texas Tech despite having one of his strongest outings of the season. Zagone struck out five and allowed just three hits in a season-long 7.0 IP. He recorded a win in his first Big 12 start, against Texas A&M on March 19. In that game, Zagone gave up just two hits in 5.1 scoreless innings of work. Against Oklahoma State on April 23, Zagone allowed just two hits in six innings on the mound and struck out a career-high seven batters. He is 4-3 on the year with a 3.17 ERA and has struck out 35 batters in 48.1 innings on the mound. He pitched five scoreless innings against Baylor three weeks ago, allowing just two hits, striking out three and walking one before handing off to Max Scherzer in the sixth inning.

Sunday: TBD

QUICK HITS
• Mizzou's team ERA of 3.41 is second best in the Big 12 Conference and ranks 18th nationally.
• Junior Nathan Culp leads the Big 12 Conference with 10 wins on the year (10-5 record) and his 3.12 ERA is fifth-best in the conference. Culp's next win would tie a record for wins in a season at Mizzou.
• Culp threw his second three-hit shutout of the season on April 28 against Baylor and is one of just two pitchers in the Big 12 to have two shutouts this season. Six pitchers in the conference have one.
• Culp was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week on May 2. It was the fourth time this season an MU player has been honored by the conference this season. Culp also was the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week on April 4, Junior Max Scherzer was named the Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 28 and sophomore Jacob Priday earned conference Player of the Week on March 14.
• Junior Max Scherzer's ERA of 2.22 is second best in the Big 12 Conference.
• Scherzer recorded his 200th career strikeout against Baylor on April 30. He has 58 strikeouts on the season and 212 for his career.
• Sophomore Evan Frey leads the Big 12 with a .486 on-base percentage in conference games. He is tied for fourth in the Big 12 with a .378 average in conference games and his 34 hits in Big 12 games are tied for fifth most in the conference.
• Sophomore Jacob Priday hit his team-leading 10th home run in the series finale against Mississippi Valley State, one more than his homer total from last season. He had two home runs in the series with MVSU, hitting one in the opener of the series also.
• Junior Hunter Mense had seven RBI against Mississippi Valley State on May 7. He is the first Tiger to do that since Brad Flanders did it against Coastal Carolina in February of 2004.
• Senior Taylor Parker's made his 100th appearance on the mound as a Tiger on May 7. He has 102 career appearances, just six short of the school record of 108 held by Scott Black.
• Senior Travis Wendte has made 91 appearances in his career placing him third in the Mizzou record books behind Black and Parker.
• Missouri outscored Mississippi Valley State 50-4 in the three-game series May 5-7 in Columbia.
• Head Coach Tim Jamieson is just 10 wins away from his 400th career win. His 390 wins ranks third on MU's all-time coaching wins list behind only legendary coaches Gene McArtor (733) and John "Hi" Simmons (481).

SCOUTING TEXAS
Texas has clinched the Big 12 Conference regular season championship and will be the top seed in next week's Big 12 Tournament. The Longhorns enter the weekend with a 38-15 record and a 19-4 Big 12 mark. One more conference victory would set a school record for Big 12 wins in a season. The last Big 12 games for Texas were two weeks ago, when UT swept Kansas in Austin. Last weekend, the Longhorns took both games of a doubleheader with Dallas Baptist and carry a 10-game winning streak into the series with Missouri. Texas is ranked in the top four in all national polls, including a No. 3 ranking by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball. Drew Stubbs is third on the squad with a .327 average and has a team-leading 11 home runs. He also has stolen 21 bases, which leads the Big 12. Carson Kainer leads the team with 57 RBI and has a .366 batting average. He leads the conference with 22 doubles on the season. The UT pitching staff has a combined ERA of 3.60, while the Longhorns are hitting .296 as a team. Last year, Texas won the National Championship, its sixth in school history,

LAST YEAR VS. TEXAS
Texas took two-of-three against Missouri last year in the three-game series in Austin. The Longhorns won the series opener and finale, but dropped the middle game to Mizzou. In game one, Texas scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to break a 1-1 tie and went on to take the 4-1 win. Zane Taylor led off the game with a home run, but that would be the only run scored by the Tigers. Max Scherzer pitched 6.1 innings, allowing four runs, three of which were earned, on seven hits in the game. Missouri took a 7-2 win in game two of the weekend to even the series at a game a piece. The Tigers score three times in the second inning and added three more in the eighth inning to get the victory. Jacob Priday drove in three of MU's seven runs in the win. Texas took the series victory with a 6-1 win in the finale of the three-game set. The Longhorns put up four runs in the first to take early control of the game. Mizzou's only run came in the eighth inning when Trevor Helms singled to drive in Derek Chambers who had singled to lead off the inning.

THREE-FOR-THREE
Mizzou and Texas are the only two teams in the Big 12 Conference to have qualified for the NCAA Tournament in each of the past three seasons.

LAST TIME OUT
O'FALLON, Mo.-- Junior Hunter Mense had four hits and junior Gary Arndt added three, including a home run on Wednesday night as Mizzou snapped its three-game losing skid with a 14-2 win over Illinois at T.R. Hughes Ballpark in O'Fallon, Mo. Mense drove in four runs on the night, going 4-for-5. Arndt was 3-for-5, driving in three and scoring three times. Missouri jumped on the Illini early with a six-run bottom of the first, as the Tigers batted around in the inning, sending 10 batters to the plate. With MU already holding a 3-0 lead, Arndt connected for his fourth home run of the season with a three-run shot with one out in the first. Mense also had an RBI hit, knocking in two runs on a one-out single in the inning. The Tigers put two more runs on the board as senior J.C. Field drove in a pair of runs with a single in the third inning. Field drove in another run with a bases loaded single as part of a four-run bottom of the fifth inning. The first five batters to the plate in the fifth reached safely including sophomore Evan Frey who drove in two runs with a single. Mense drove in two more runs with a single with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Illinois scored its first run of the game in the sixth inning as Mike Rhode singled to drive in Kyle Hudson for an unearned run as an error aided the Illini in the inning. UI added a second run in the eighth inning as Trevor Huisinga scored on a sacrifice hit. Huisinga reached on an error, making both runs on the night scored by the Illini unearned. Junior Nathan Culp pitched the first two innings on Wednesday night, facing the minimum and was credited with the win, improving to 10-5 on the year. Culp threw just 20 pitches, 17 of which were for strikes. He did not throw a ball until his 14th pitch of the game.

ON TAP
This weekend will mark the conclusion of the regular season. The Big 12 Conference Tournament begins next Wednesday and continues through Sunday. This year's conference tournament has a new format, going to pool play for the first time. The eight teams in the tournament will be split into two four-team pools. Each team will face the other three teams in its pool and the winners of the two pools will meet in the championship game on Sunday. The Tigers are currently eighth in the Big 12 and can clinch a spot in the tournament with one win this weekend over Texas or one loss by Texas A&M this weekend to Kansas.

CULP SHUTS `EM DOWN
On Wednesday, junior Nathan Culp recorded his 10th win of the season, which leads the Big 12 Conference. He is 10-5 on the year and with one more victory would tie a record for wins in a season as Mizzou. Culp recorded his second shutout of the season with a 7-0 win over Baylor on April 28 at Taylor Stadium. Culp is one of just two pitchers in the Big 12 Conference to throw multiple shutouts this season. He earned his second Big 12 Pitcher of Week honor following that performance. He struck out seven and gave up just three hits, while walking none against Baylor. Culp allowed just one hit through eight innings and the lone baserunner between the fourth and eighth innings reached on an error. It was the second shutout of the season for Culp, who blanked Kansas on March 31 in Lawrence. That was also a three-hit shutout, as he struck out five Jayhawks in that game and was named the Big 12 Conference Co-Pitcher of the Week for that performance. Culp faced the minimum through 7.2 innings against KU, as the only two baserunners to reach up to that point were erased on double plays. He struck out five and walked just one, picking up his sixth win of the season. Culp did record a seven-inning shutout over North Dakota State in 2005 in a game that was called after seven innings due to a run rule in effect.

MAX TRAX
Injuries have forced All-American Max Scherzer to miss six starts this season, including five in Big 12 Conference play. Scherzer made his first weekend start in nearly a month on May 6 against Mississippi Valley State. He struck out seven in six innings pitched against MVSU, taking the win to improve to 5-1 on the season. The previous weekend, he pitched 4.0 innings in relief against Baylor and picked up his first win since a victory over Wisconsin-Milwaukee on March 3. Scherzer struck out six against Baylor, allowing just one unearned run on three hits. His fifth strikeout in the game was the 200th of his career. He is currently second in the Big 12 Conference with a 2.22 ERA. In his first appearance of the year under the Taylor Stadium lights, he struck out nine batters in five innings pitched and recorded the win against UW-Milwaukee, 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 was also been named to the preseason watch list 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 preseason 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.

TGI-PRIDAY
Sophomore Jacob Priday hit his team-best 10th home run on May 7 against Mississippi Valley State, which moved him past his mark of nine homers last season. He had a pair of home runs in the MVSU series, hitting one on Friday night also. His 10 home runs is tied for eighth most in the Big 12. Priday had a 14-game hitting streak snapped with an 0-for-4 outing on April 23 against Oklahoma State. The streak was a career long for Priday and is the longest streak by a Tiger this 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.

SUPER SOPHOMORE
Sophomore Evan Frey leads the team with a .361 batting average heading into the weekend. Frey leads the Big 12 Conference with a .486 on-base percentage in conference games and is tied for fifth in the Big 12 with 34 hits in league games this season. Against Southeast Missouri State on April 26, Frey had a career-high four hits to take his average back to the .400 mark. He had an 11-game hitting streak snapped, as he went 0-for-2 against SEMO on March 29. 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 had three hits.

TAYLOR MADE HITTING
Senior Zane Taylor has been one of MU's most consistent hitters this season, hitting .330 on the year. He recorded his 200th hit as a Tiger against Southeast Missouri State on April 12. Taylor had an 11-game hitting streak snapped with an 0-for-3 outing in the series finale against Wisconsin-Milwaukee on March 5. His career-long hitting streak was a 13-game streak coming in 2004. 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 also has drawn 29 walks this season, which is tied for sixth best in the Big 12.

DOMINATING THE DEVILS
Mizzou picked up its first home series sweep of the season May 5-7 against Mississippi Valley State. The Tigers outscored MVSU 50-4 in the three games, scoring in double figures and holding the Delta Devils to two or fewer runs in each game. As a team, Missouri hit .427, while holding Mississippi Valley to a .126 mark. The Tigers hit six home runs over the weekend and out-hit the Devils 50-11. The Tigers' pitching staff had an ERA of 1.33 over the weekend, while MVSU's team ERA was 17.62. The MU bullpen did not allow a run in 10 innings pitched, allowing just two hits.

MIZZOU IN THE POLLS
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.

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.

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.

DID I CATCH A NINER IN THERE?
In Mizzou's win over Southeast Missouri State on April 26, the Tigers held a 5-3 lead heading into the ninth inning. Nine runs later, MU had blown the game wide open. Missouri scored nine times in the ninth inning, with seven of those runs coming before the first out of the inning was recorded. Below is the play-by-play for MU's half of the ninth:
• Frey singled to left field.
• Bond singled, bunt; Frey advanced to second.
• Taylor tripled to right field, 2 RBI; Bond scored; Frey scored.
• Priday homered, 2 RBI; Taylor scored.
• Chambers doubled, ground-rule.
• Mach walked.
• Lollis homered, 3 RBI; Mach scored; Chambers scored.
• Pietroburgo struck out.
• Arndt walked.
• Frey singled through the right side; Arndt advanced to third.
• Bond singled through the right side, RBI; Frey advanced to second; Arndt scored.
• Bond advanced to second on a wild pitch; Frey advanced to third on a wild pitch.
• Taylor singled, RBI; Bond advanced to third; Frey scored.
• Cales flied out to cf.
• LeBlanc lined out to cf.

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.