April 10, 2007

MIZZOU at SAINT LOUIS

First Pitch: Tuesday, April 10, 7 p.m.
Series History: MU leads 71-17
Last Meeting: MU def. SLU, 19-1 on March 14 in Columbia
Stadium: Billiken Sports Center
Capacity: 500
Radio: KTGR 1580-AM
Live Audio: KTGR.com
Live Stats: slubillikens.com

MISSOURI TIGERS
Overall Record: 24-9
Big 12 Conference Record: 6-3
Last 10/Last 5: 6-4/4-1
Streak: Won 2
Head Coach: Tim Jamieson
Career Record: 423-299-2 (13th year)
Record at MU: 423-299-2 (13th year)
Website: mutigers.com

SAINT LOUIS BILLIKENS
Overall Record: 7-26
Atlantic 10 Conference Record: 3-6
Last 10/Last 5: 3-7/2-3
Streak: Won 2
Head Coach: Bob Hughes
Career Record: 609-224-2 (16th year)
Record at SLU: 320-595-1 (8th year)
Website: slubillikens.com

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FIRST PITCH
Missouri will face in-state rival Saint Louis at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the Billiken Sports Center in St. Louis. The Tigers tied for second place in the Big 12 Conference with a 6-3 conference record and are 24-9 overall. Saint Louis is 7-26 on the season and 3-6 in the Atlantic 10. Mizzou defeated SLU in Columbia just under a month ago, scoring a season-high 19 runs in a 19-1 win over the Billikens.

QUICK HITS
- Missouri has climbed to No. 25 in this week's Baseball America Top 25 and remains at No. 29 in the Collegiate Baseball's Top 30. The Tigers are the also receiving votes in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll and the NCBWA Poll.
- The Tigers have won all six of their three-game series this season, including sweeps in the first three series.
- Sophomore Rick Zagone was named Co-Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Week on Monday after recording a one-hit shutout last Saturday at Kansas State to improve to 6-0 on the season. His six wins ranks fifth in the conference.
- Zagone's shutout was the first in a Big 12 game this season. There have been five complete games in Big 12 games, with two recorded by Zagone.
- Missouri's team ERA of 3.70 ranks third in the Big 12 Conference. - Sophomore Aaron Crow's 2.95 ERA in eighth best in the Big 12, while freshman Kyle Gibson is 12th with a 3.29 ERA and freshman Greg Folgia has a 3.67 mark, which is 17th in the conference.
- Freshman Kyle Gibson has five saves on the year, fifth most in the Big 12. His next save will put him into the top 10 for saves in a season at MU.
- Opponents are hitting just .208 off of Gibson, which ranks sixth in the Big 12.
- In MU's four games during the week of March 26-April 1, junior Evan Frey hit .550 with two home runs and nine RBI. The two homers were the first of his career.
- Frey is tied for fifth in the Big 12 Conference with 39 runs scored on the year.
- Mizzou had a 14-game winning streak from March 2-23, which was the longest for the Tigers since a 15-game streak in 2005. In 2006, the longest winning streak was six games.
- Mizzou won its 20th game of the season on March 24 at Nebraska. In 2006, the 20th win did not come until April 28.

SCOUTING THE BILLIKENS
SLU enters the matchup with Mizzou having won its last two games to improve it record to 7-26. The Billikens defeated LaSalle on the final two games of last weekend's three-game series. Prior to the two wins last weekend, Saint Louis had lost its previous seven games. It opened the season 1-15. The series victory over LaSalle was SLU's second of the season, as it also took two-of-three from Illinois State. The Billikens, who are 3-6 in the Atlantic 10 Conference, have a team batting average of .242 along with a 5.56 team ERA.

SERIES HISTORY
Mizzou leads the all-time series with SLU , 71-17 and has won the last six meetings with the Billikens. Earlier this season, MU defeated Saint Louis, 19-1 at Taylor Stadium. The Tigers scored a season-high 19 runs on 20 hits in the win. Missouri jumped out in front early in the last meeting, putting five runs on the board in each of the first two innings, building a quick 10-0 lead. The Tigers had 15 players either start or enter the lineup during the game and 13 of those scored at least one run. Sophomore Ian Berger recorded his second win of the season, allowing just one run on four hits in five innings on the hill. Junior Lendsey Thomson and sophomore Ryan Gargano pitched the final four innings, allowing just one hit to the Billikens.

LAST TIME OUT
The Tigers won their sixth series of the season by taking two-of-three from Kansas State last weekend in Manhattan. MU dropped game one of the weekend, falling 12-0 to KSU. It was the first time the Tigers had been shutout in nearly a year. Mizzou responded by winning the next two games of the series. Sophomore Rick Zagone struck out a career-high 11 batters and earned a complete game shutout in a 3-0 win. Zagone had a no-hitter in to the ninth inning. A single in the bottom of the ninth would be the only hit allowed by Zagone. The Tigers took the series by picking up a 7-6 win in 12 innings on Sunday. Freshman Trevor Coleman led off the top of the 12th inning with his fourth home run of the season, which gave Missouri the win and with it, the series victory.

ZAGONE NAMED CO-BIG 12 PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Sophomore Rick Zagone was named Co-Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Week on Monday. Last Saturday, Zagone recorded his second complete game in three Big 12 starts this season, as he picked up the win in the Tigers' 3-0 win over Kansas State. Zagone carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning, as a base hit with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning was all that stood between Zagone and a no-hitter. He struck out a career-high 11 batters and remained unbeaten as he improved to 6-0 on the season. The complete game shutout was the first by a Big 12 pitcher in a conference game this season. There have been just five complete games in Big 12 games this season, with Zagone claiming two of the five. The complete game was the second in the last three starts for Zagone who recorded the complete game win against Nebraska on March 24. Zagone now has three career complete games, all three coming away from home. Zagone's 2.88 ERA in conference games is sixth in the Big 12, while his three wins in Big 12 play ranks second and the .196 average for opposing hitters is fourth best in the league.