Mizzou Takes on Illinois is Wood Bat Game
5/17/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 17, 2006
MIZZOU vs ILLINOIS
O'FALLON, MO
MAY 17, 2006
First Pitch:
7 p.m. [Note time change]
Stadium:
T.R. Hughes Ballpark
Records:
Mizzou: 25-24, 9-15 Big 12 Conference
Illinois: 27-24, 13-15 Big Ten Conference
Last Year:
MU def. UI, 6-2 in O'Fallon on May 18, 2005
Coaches:
MU- Tim Jamieson (389-286-2/12th year at MU and overall)
UI- Dan Hartleb (27-24/1st year at UI 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:
Gametracker on mutigers.com
For more information:
mutigers.com
On Tap:
vs. Texas, May 19-21 at Taylor Stadium
at Big 12 Tournament, May 24-28 in Oklahoma City, Okla.
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LEADING OFF...
Missouri will open up the final week of the regular season by taking on Illinois at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at T.R. Hughes Ballpark in O'Fallon, Mo. The Tigers enter the game 25-24 on the year, while Illinois is 27-24 on the season.
The game can be heard on KTGR 1580-AM in Columbia and on ktgr.com. Live stats will also be available through Gametracker on mutigers.com.
Wednesday's game will be the second this season for Mizzou at T.R. Hughes Ballpark. Earlier this year, the Tigers defeated Saint Louis 4-0 in O'Fallon. The matchup with the Illini will be a "wood bat" game, as was the case when Missouri took on SLU.
This weekend, the Tigers will host Texas in a three-game series at Taylor Stadium to conclude the regular season. The series will begin with game one at 6:30 p.m. on Friday and will continue with games at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Noon (note time change) on Sunday. Saturday's game will air live on Fox Sports Midwest.
The Big 12 Tournament will take place May 24-28 at Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City, Okla. Mizzou is currently in eighth place in the Big 12 and can clinch a spot in the Big 12 Tournament with one win against Texas this weekend. The Tigers can also qualify for the tournament if Kansas takes at least one win in its three-game series with Texas A&M this weekend.
QUICK HITS
• Mizzou's team ERA of 3.48 is third best in the Big 12 Conference.
• Junior Nathan Culp has an ERA of 3.19, which ranks sixth-best in the Big 12 Conference and his nine wins (9-5 record) is tied for the lead in the conference. He is also eighth in the Big 12 with 64 strikeouts on the season.
• 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 101 career appearances, just seven short of the record of 108 held by Scott Black.
• Senior Travis Wendte has made 90 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.
• The Tigers won five-straight games from April 30-May 7, their longest winning steak of the season.
• Head Coach Tim Jamieson is just 11 wins away from his 400th career win. His 389 wins ranks third on MU's all-time coaching wins list behind only legendary coaches Gene McArtor (733) and John "Hi" Simmons (481).
SCOUTING ILLINOIS
Illinois enters Wednesday's game against Mizzou with a 27-24 record on the year. It is coming off a series with Indiana in which it won one of the four games.
The Illini are in tie for fifth in the Big Ten Conference with Purdue with a 13-15 record in conference play. UI will take on Michigan State this weekend in the final series before the Big Ten Tournament.
Illinois is hitting .304 as a team, led by Ryan Snowden's .333 average. Seven UI players are hitting over .300 on the season.
The Illini pitching staff has an ERA of 5.58. Wednesday's probable starter, Luke Obukowicz is 1-0 on the season with a 2.79 ERA.
Last year, Illinois won its first Big Ten regular season title since 1996, finishing 20-12 in conference play and breaking the school record for league wins in a season. It was 33-23-1 overall on the year.
Richard "Itch" Jones, who as named the Big Ten Coach of the Year for the second time last year, retired after the season. He compiled a record of 1,240-751-6 in his 39 total years coaching, including 15 as the Illini head coach.
Dan Hartleb, who had spent the past 15 years as an assistant coach at Illinois, took over as head coach this season.
LAST YEAR VS. ILLINOIS
MISSOURI 6, ILLINOIS 2
MAY 18, 2005
O'FALLON, Mo. - The No. 20 Missouri baseball team took a 6-2 win over Illinois last year in a wood bat game at T.R. Hughes Ballpark in O'Fallon, Mo. Junior Jacob Priday led the Tigers at the plate with four hits on the night.
Illinois took the first lead of the game, as the second batter to the plate in the bottom of the first, Ryan Rogowski connected on a two-run homer.
Mizzou scored its first run in 12 innings, as junior Greg O'Neill dropped down a bunt driving in junior James Boone on the squeeze play.
The first three MU batters in the top of the fourth reached safely and two would score to give the Tigers the 3-2 lead. Sophomore Hunter Mense drew a lead off walk and freshman Jacob Priday followed with a single. Mense scored on a balk by UI starter Brandon Murphy and Priday scored when junior Greg O'Neill reached on an error.
The Illini threatened in the bottom of the sixth, loading the bases on three infield hits. But sophomore Nathan Culp, working in relief, got out of the jam with a strikeout and a ground out.
Culp took the win to move to 8-2 on the year and junior Doug Mathis pitched a scoreless final three innings to pick up his first save of the season.
Missouri puts some insurance runs on the board with two runs in the top of the seventh, both coming with two outs in the inning. Chambers scored on a wild pitch and Mense scored on a single by Priday.
The Tigers added their sixth run in the ninth, as Priday drove in Boone with a single. Priday finished the night 4-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored.
Chambers and Boone each had two hits on the night for the Tigers.
LAST TIME OUT
Texas Tech recorded a sweep of the three-game series between Mizzou and the Red Raiders last weekend in Lubbock, Texas.
TTU opened the weekend with a 13-1 win on Friday. Tech took control of the game with a seven-run sixth inning on its way to the victory.
On Saturday, the Red Raiders scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to overcome a 4-2 Tiger lead to take game two of the series. Junior Max Scherzer matched his longest outing of the season with seven innings pitched, allowing just one run on five hits, but taking a no decision.
Texas Tech completed the sweep with a 3-2 win on Sunday, scoring what would be the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning.
ON TAP
The regular season will conclude this weekend as Texas visits Taylor Stadium for a three-game series getting underway at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Saturday's game is at 2 p.m. and will air live on Fox Sports Midwest. Sunday's game will begin at noon [NOTE TIME CHANGE].
The Tigers need one win to clinch a spot in the Big 12 Tournament. Texas is 19-4 in the Big 12 this season and has already clinched the regular season conference title.
The Big 12 Tournament begins May 24 at Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City, Okla.
