Mizzou Opens Big 12 Tournament Agaisnt Cowboys
5/24/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 24, 2006
2006 BIG 12 CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA.
MAY 24-28, 2006
Schedule:
Wednesday- MU vs. Oklahoma State, 8 p.m.
Friday- MU vs. Oklahoma, 5 p.m.
Saturday- MU vs. Kansas, 8 p.m.
Sunday- Big 12 Championship Game, 1 p.m.
Stadium:
AT&T Bricktown Ballpark
(Opened: 1998; Capacity: 13,066)
Records:
Mizzou: 29-24, 12-15 Big 12 Conference
Oklahoma State: 39-15, 18-9 Big 12 Conference
Oklahoma: 39-17, 17-10 Big 12 Conference
Kansas: 38-23, 13-14 Big 12 Conference
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...
Missouri will take a four-game winning streak into the Big 12 Championship, which gets underway on Wednesday at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City, Okla. The Tigers are the seventh seed in the tournament, after finishing the season with a 29-24 overall record and a 12-15 Big 12 mark.
The Big 12 Championship has adopted a new pool play format for 2006. The eight teams have been divided into two pools. Each team will play the other three teams in its pool and the winners of the two pools will meet in the Big 12 Championship Game at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
The Tigers will open up the tournament against Oklahoma State at 8 p.m. on Wednesday. MU will then take on Oklahoma at 5 p.m. on Friday and Kansas at 8 p.m. on Saturday. A complete schedule of the tournament can be found on page two.
The other division of the tournament includes Texas, Nebraska, Baylor and Texas Tech.
All of Missouri's games can be heard on KTGR 1580-AM in Columbia and at ktgr.com. Live Stats will also be available on mutigers.com and big12sports.com.
MIZZOU'S PROJECTED STARTING PITCHERS
Wednesday: Nathan Culp (Jr., LHP)
10-5, 3.15 ERA, 100.0 IP, 68 K
Nathan Culp leads the Big 12 with 10 wins on the season. He was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week on May 2 for the second time this season after a three-hit shutout over Baylor. He did not walk a batter, struck out five and allowed just one hit through the first eight innings against BU. He also threw a three-hit shutout against Kansas on March 31 that also earned him Big 12 Pitcher of the Week. In that game, he faced the minimum through the first 7.2 innings. Culp opened Big 12 Conference play by taking a win over Texas A&M on March 17. Against the Aggies, he matched a career-high with eight strikeouts, as he allowed just one unearned run on four hits in 7.2 innings pitched. He has pitched at least seven innings in seven of his 15 starts, including the two complete games and a pair of eight-inning outings.
Friday: Max Scherzer (Jr., RHP)
6-1, 2.11 ERA, 59.2 IP, 66 K
Max Scherzer is second in the Big 12 Conference with a 2.11 ERA. He has pitched 7.0 innings in each of his last two starts. He allowed just one run on three hits to Texas last Friday after allowing one run on five hits to Texas Tech the previous weekend. 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.
Saturday: TBD
QUICK HITS
• Mizzou has won its last four games heading into the Big 12 Tournament.
• The Tigers closed the regular season by winning their last seven home games, including two series sweeps (Mississippi Valley State and Texas).
• Mizzou's team ERA of 3.46 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 3.15 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 picked up his first career save last Saturday, 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 2.11 is second best in the Big 12 Conference.
• Senior Taylor Parker made his 100th appearance on the mound as a Tiger on May 7. He has 104 career appearances, just four short of the school record of 108 held by Scott Black.
• Senior Travis Wendte has made 93 appearances in his career placing him third in the Mizzou record books behind Black and Parker.
• Wendte recorded two saves last weekend 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.
• Scherzer recorded his 200th career strikeout against Baylor on April 30. He has 66 strikeouts on the season and 220 for his career.
• Sophomore Evan Frey leads the Big 12 with a .488 on-base percentage in conference games. He is tied for fourth in the Big 12 with a .367 average in conference games and his 36 hits in Big 12 games are tied for fifth most in the conference.
• Sophomore Jacob Priday hit his team-leading 11th home run against Texas on Saturday, which is fifth 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.
• Mizzou placed a Big 12 leading nine players on the Academic All-Big 12 Team this year.
• Missouri outscored Mississippi Valley State 50-4 in the three-game series May 5-7 in Columbia.
• Head Coach Tim Jamieson is just seven wins away from his 400th career victory. His 393 wins ranks third on MU's all-time coaching wins list behind only legendary coaches Gene McArtor (733) and John "Hi" Simmons (481).
MIZZOU VS. ITS POOL
Mizzou was just 2-7 against the three team in its pool during the regular season, taking a win over Kansas and a victory over Oklahoma State.
Against both KU and OSU, the Tigers won the series opener before dropping the next two games. Oklahoma swept Missouri in Norman.
MU vs. Oklahoma State -- in Columbia
4/21 MU def. OSU, 9-2
4/22 OSU def. MU, 4-0
4/23 OSU def. MU, 3-2
MU vs. Oklahoma -- in Norman
4/14 OU def. MU, 4-2
4/15 OU def. MU, 8-6
4/16 OU def. MU, 7-6
MU vs. Kansas -- in Lawrence
3/31 MU def. KU, 3-0
4/1 KU def. MU, 3-2
4/2 KU def. MU, 9-6
LAST YEAR AT THE BIG 12 TOURNAMENT
Missouri was 2-2 at the 2005 Big 12 Tournament, advancing to the semifinals for the second-consecutive year.
The Tigers defeated Oklahoma on the opening day of the tournament, as Hunter Mense's single in the bottom of the ninth inning allowed Derek Chambers to score the game-winning run, giving MU the 8-7 win. The run was the fourth driven in by Mense, who was 3-for-4 in the game.
Mizzou followed up with a 10-1 win over Texas Tech to advance to the semifinals. Max Scherzer allowed just one run on three hits in 6.2 innings and set a new MU record for strikeouts in a season with eight against TTU.
Missouri would face Nebraska in the semifinal round, with the Huskers having to defeat the Tigers twice to advance.
Nebraska defeated MU in the first game 5-4 with a run in the bottom of the ninth inning to force a second game.
The Cornhuskers then pounded out 23 hits to take a 17-9 win the second game, advancing to the championships game and eliminating the Tigers. NU scored four runs in the top of the first inning and never trailed in the game. Jacob Priday had four hits for Mizzou, but a 5-for-5 performance by Curtis Ledbetter and a 4-for-5 game for Andy Gerch led Nebraska to the win.
A RECORD NINE 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
On May 17, 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 at Mizzou.
He pitched the final two innings in MU's win over Texas on Saturday 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.
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 2.11 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 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 last Saturday, which ranks fifth 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 his last eight games, junior Hunter Mense is hitting .467 with five doubles, a triple, a home run and 14 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 leads the team with a .355 batting average heading into the tournament.
Frey leads the Big 12 Conference with a .488 on-base percentage in conference games and is tied for fifth in the Big 12 with 36 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 .342 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 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 31 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 was 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.
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.
KINSLER DEBUTS RANGERS
Former Missouri Tiger Ian Kinsler made his first major league appearance on opening day this season with the Texas Rangers.
Kinsler, who played at Missouri in 2003 and hit .325 for the Tigers, was named the starting second baseman for the Rangers at the start of the year.
His first career major league hit came off Curt Schilling of the Boston Red Sox on opening day and he homered against Detroit on April 6.
He dislocated his left thumb in the Rangers' game on April 11, sliding into second base on an attempted steal and remains on the disabled list.
Kinsler was a 17th round draft pick by Texas in 2003.
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.
