June 9, 2006

MIZZOU VS. CAL STATE FULLERTON
2006 NCAA SUPER REGIONAL
FULLERTOM, CALIF. --- JUNE 9-11, 2006

Schedule:
All Games are at 7 p.m. Pacific Time (9 p.m. Central)
Stadium:
Goodwin Field
(Capacity: 3,500)
Records:
Mizzou: 35-26, 12-15 Big 12 Conference
Cal State Fullerton: 46-13, 18-3 Big West
Series History:
MU is 0-2 against Cal State Fullerton all-time.
NCAA Tournament History:
Mizzou is making its 18th trip to the NCAA Tournament and its first to a Super Regional. MU has a 38-36 postseason record all-time.
TV: ESPN2 or ESPNU
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
For more information: mutigers.com

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LEADING OFF...
Mizzou advanced to its first-ever Super Regional since the NCAA went to the regional format by winning the Malibu Regional last weekend. After dropping the first game in Malibu, the Tigers won the next four, advancing after an 8-3 win over Pepperdine on Monday. Missouri will take on Cal State-Fullerton in the Super Regional this weekend in Fullerton, Calif in a best two-of-three series, with the winner advancing to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb. This weekend's games will be broadcast on either ESPN2 or ESPNU. The games can also be heard on KTGR 1580-AM in Columbia and ktgr.com. Live Stats will also be available through Gametracker on mutigers.com or ncaasports.com. The Tigers are 10-2 in their last 12 games including wins over Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Pepperdine, which all were No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament. Missouri met Cal State-Fullerton last postseason, taking part in the Fullerton Regional. The Tigers were 1-2 in the Regional, as CSF ended MU's season win an 8-6 win. Head Coach Tim Jamieson is just one win away from becoming the third coach in Missouri baseball history to reach 400-career wins.

QUICK HITS
• Mizzou advanced to the Super Regionals for the first time in school history.
• The Tigers have won 10 of their last 12 games heading into this weekend.
• Missouri is making its 18th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and its fourth in a row. It is one of just two teams in the Big 12 Conference to have advanced to four-consecutive NCAA Regionals (Texas is the other).
• Mizzou's team ERA of 3.27 is second best in the Big 12 Conference.
• Head Coach Tim Jamieson is just one win away from his 400th career victory. His 399 wins ranks third on MU's all-time coaching wins list behind only legendary coaches Gene McArtor (733) and John "Hi" Simmons (481).
• The Tigers closed the regular season by winning their last seven home games, including two series sweeps (Mississippi Valley State and Texas).
• Junior Nathan Culp matched a school record recording his 11th win at the Big 12 Tournament. His 11 wins (11-5 record) are tied for the lead the Big 12 Conference.
• 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. Seven pitchers in the conference have one.
• Culp picked up his first career save on May 20, as he pitched the final two innings against Texas.
• Culp was named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week on May 2. It was the fourth time this season an MU player had 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 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 1.95 leads the Big 12 Conference.
• Scherzer recorded his 200th career strikeout against Baylor on April 30. He has 72 strikeouts on the season and 226 for his career.
• Senior Taylor Parker's next appearance will be his 108th career trip to the mound, tying a school record. He currently has 107 appearances, one behind Scott Black.
• Senior Travis Wendte has made 98 appearances in his career placing him third in the Mizzou record books behind Black and Parker.
• Wendte recorded two saves against Texas, his first two of the season. He has 10 career saves, which is tied for second most in MU history. The record is 12 by Ryan Stegall in 2000.
• Senior J.C. Field has had at least two hits in six of the last 12 games.
• Sophomore Jacob Priday hit his team-leading 11th home run against Texas on May 20, which is ninth most in the Big 12.
• 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.
• Nathan Culp and Jacob Priday were each named to the All-Big 12 First Team this season, while Max Scherzer, Travis Wendte, Zane Taylor and Evan Frey earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention.
• Mizzou placed a Big 12 leading nine players on the Academic All-Big 12 Team this year.
• Junior Max Scherzer was named to the All-Big 12 Tournament Team last week.
• Missouri outscored Mississippi Valley State 50-4 in the three-game series May 5-7 in Columbia.

SCOUTING CAL STATE-FULLERTON
Cal State-Fullerton is 46-13 on the season and has won its last 10 games. Last weekend, the Titans won the Fullerton Regional, going 3-0 on the weekend to advance to the Super Regional. CSF won the Big West Conference and has advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 15-straight seasons. Blake Davis leads the Titans with a .372 average, followed by Justin Taylor (.354). Brandon Tripp has a team-best nine home runs on the year and Davis and Brett Pill lead the team with 39 RBI. As a team, Cal State-Fullerton is hitting .311, while its pitching staff has an ERA of 2.62. Three Titans have at least 12 wins on the year. Wes Roemer has a team-high 125 strikeouts and is 12-1. Dustin Miller is also 12-1 and Lauren Gagnier leads CSF with 13 wins, standing 13-4.

REMEMBER THE TITANS
It's no doubt that Mizzou remembers the Titans. It was Cal State-Fullerton which ended the Tigers season last year. Competing in the Fullerton Regional, Mizzou fell to Arizona before defeating Harvard to set up the MU-CSF matchup. The Tigers led 6-5 heading to the ninth inning, but a three-run top of the ninth for the Titans gave them the victory. Mizzou did manage to load the bases in the bottom of the ninth, but a diving catch on a ball hit down the right field line by Jacob Priday ended the game and gave Cal State-Fullerton an 8-6 win.

MU: MALIBU REGIONAL CHAMPS
Missouri fell to Pepperdine, 3-2, to open play at last weekend's NCAA Malibu Regional. However, the Tigers rallied to win their next four games to take the Regional Championship and advance to this weekend's Super Regional. The Tigers faced elimination against UC-Irvine on Saturday as it took 14 inning before Mizzou came away with a 5-4 win. In the top of the 14th, freshman Ryan Lollis singled to drive in senior J.C. Field with what would be the game-winning run. On Sunday, it was a pair of freshman that led Missouri to two wins as Rick Zagone and Aaron Crow turned in matching complete games, each allowing one run on six hits as MU picked up two wins to remain in the Regional. Zagone matched a career-high with seven strikeouts as the Tigers defeated UCLA 2-1. His teammate and classmate, Crow turned in a complete game of his own to defeat Pepperdine 4-1 to force a rematch with the Waves on Monday. It was Crow's first career win. In the Regional Championship game, sophomore Brock Bond was 4-for-5 as the Tigers defeated the home team, Pepperdine, 8-3 to move on. Bond hit .563 in the Regional, including a pair of doubles and was selected the Most Outstanding Player. MU dominated the All-Regional Team, as five other joined Bond on the team. See Page 3 for a list of the All-Regional Team.

FOUR TIGERS TAKEN ON DAY ONE OF MLB DRAFT
Four Mizzou baseball players were taken on the opening day of the 2006 Major League Baseball First-Year Players' Draft on Tuesday. Junior Max Scherzer was the 11th player taken overall by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Junior Nathan Culp was a fourth-round pick of the San Diego Padres, junior Brett Reynolds went to Arizona in the 17th round and junior Hunter Mense was also selected in the 17th round by Florida. Scherzer becomes the highest-ever draft pick in Mizzou baseball history. Previously, the highest ever Tiger drafted was Dave Silvestri, who was taken by Houston in the second round in 1988. Scherzer has a career 2.30 ERA for Mizzou and has struck out 226 batters in his three seasons at MU. This season, he has a Big 12 Conference best 1.95 ERA with a 7-2 record. Included in the seven wins is a victory over then-No. 1 Florida on Feb. 24 and a 7-inning shutout over Oklahoma at the Big 12 Tournament. Culp has an 11-5 record on the year, which is tied for the school record for wins in a season. He has pitched a pair of 3-hit shutouts this season. He was an All-Big 12 Conference First Team selection this year. Culp has a career ERA of 3.66 at Mizzou with a 24-11 record, striking out 200 in 285.1 innings pitched. Mense was a third-team All-American last year and was a member of Team USA last summer. In the last 18 games, Mense is hitting .389 with eight extra base hits and 15 RBI. Reynolds has appeared in nine games out of the bullpen for MU. He pitched three innings against Southeast Missouri State on April 12, striking out two in his longest outing of the year. He allowed a run in just two of the nine appearances on the mound. NOTE: The draft continued on Wednesday, after this guide went to press. Several Tigers will still expected to be drafted. See mutigers.com for more information.

CULP, PRIDAY LEAD MU'S ALL-BIG 12 TEAM SELECTIONS
Six Mizzou baseball players earned All-Big 12 Conference honors, as announced by the conference office at the Big 12 Tournament. Junior Nathan Culp and sophomore Jacob Priday led the way as first team honorees, while seniors Zane Taylor and Travis Wendte, junior Max Scherzer and sophomore Evan Frey were honorable mention selections. Culp recorded his 11th win of the season with Missouri's win over Oklahoma State on the opening day of the Big 12 Tournament. The 11 wins lead the Big 12 Conference and are tied for the most wins in season by a MU pitcher all-time. He is 11-5 on the season and has a 3.29 ERA and was twice named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week. Priday is hitting .289 and has a team-leading 11 home runs and 49 RBI. His homer total is tied for ninth most in the Big 12. Priday was named the Big 12 Player of the Week after he hit .533 with two home runs and 11 RBI in four games during the week of March 6-12. It is the second All-Conference honors for both as Culp was a second team All-Big 12 selection last season, while Priday earned honorable mention recognition in 2005. Wendte has a 1.53 ERA on the year and is second on the team with 31 appearances. Taylor was an honorable mention selection last year also and has a team-best .335 batting average this season. Scherzer was the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year in 2005, but injuries forced him to miss six starts this year. He currently leads the Big 12 with a 1.95 ERA. Frey is second on the Tigers with a .335 average.

A RECORD NINE TIGERS SELECTED TO ACADEMIC ALL-BIG 12 TEAM
Nine Missouri baseball players were named to the Academic All-Big 12 Team, as announced by the conference office last week. Mizzou's nine selections are the most by any team in the Big 12 and is an all-time high at Missouri. Seven Tigers earned first team honors, while two more were named to the second team. Earning first team recognition were seniors Travis Wendte and Trevor Helms, juniors Nathan Culp and Max Scherzer, sophomores Jacob Priday and Dan Pietroburgo and redshirt freshman Brant Combs. Senior Nick Admire and junior John McKee were second team selections. The selection for Wendte is the third of his career. Helms, Culp, Scherzer and McKee earned their second Academic All-Conference selection. Previously the most Tigers named to the Academic All-Big 12 team were eight selections last year. The Big 12 Conference named 45 student-athletes to the 2006 Academic All-Big 12 Baseball Team.

CULP SHUTS `EM DOWN
Junior Nathan Culp recorded his 11th win of the season last week against Oklahoma State at the Big 12 Tournament. The win matches a school record for victories in a season and ties Culp for the most wins in the Big 12 this year. He pitched the final two innings in MU's win over Texas on May 20 to record his first career save. 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 the 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 and was named the Big 12 Conference Co-Pitcher of the Week for his 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. At last week's Big 12 Tournament, Scherzer recorded a seven-inning shutout over Oklahoma, as the Tigers run-ruled the Sooners, 11-0. He leads the Big 12 Conference with a 1.95 ERA and was named to the All-Big 12 Tournament Team and was an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection this year. 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. 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 has 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 11th home run against Texas on May 20, which ranks ninth in the Big 12 He had a pair of home runs in the MVSU series, hitting one on Friday night and another in the series finale on Sunday. 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.

MENSE MAKING SENSE
In the last 18 games, junior Hunter Mense is hitting .389 with six doubles, a triple, a home run and 15 RBI. He was 4-for-5 and drove in seven runs in the series finale with Mississippi Valley State on May 7. He drove in four runs in a four-hit performance against Illinois on May 17. 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).

SUPER SOPHOMORE
Sophomore Evan Frey is second on the team with a .337 batting average heading into the Super Regional. Frey is fifth in the Big 12 Conference with a .458 on-base percentage in conference games. 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 .335 on the year, third best on the team.. 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 an 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 32 walks this season, which is tied for sixth best in the Big 12.