Feb. 17, 2008

The following is the second part in a five-part series previewing the 2008 Mizzou Baseball season. Today, we take a look at the 2008 pitching staff.

Missouri's biggest strength heading into the season will be its pitching. Mizzou returns nearly its entire pitching staff from a year ago, including the three probable weekend starters.

At the front of the rotation is a pair of juniors whose experience rivals any one-two combination in the country. Aaron Crow and Rick Zagone have a combined 60 career starts as the get ready to open their third seasons with the Tigers.

Crow was a first team All-Big 12 Conference selection last year, leading the Tigers with nine wins, 90 strikeouts and 117.2 innings pitched. He was 9-4 last year, which included a pair of complete games and enters the 2008 season as a Preseason All-American.

Zagone earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors a year ago with a 7-2 record. He did not record a loss in 2007 until May and was named the National Pitcher of the Week after coming just two outs short of a no-hitter against Kansas State. A ninth-inning single was the lone hit he gave up to KSU on April 7.

Sophomore Kyle Gibson will head into the 2008 season as the leading candidate for the third starting spot in Mizzou's weekend rotation. After spending most of his freshman year coming out of the bullpen, Gibson will look to move to a starting role. He started twice in 2007, but recorded all eight of his wins pitching in relief. Gibson was 8-3 last year and had a team-leading seven saves, earning Big 12 Honorable Mention.

Junior Ian Berger was 5-1 last year, getting the start on the mound nine times for the Tigers. He is again in line to be either a weekend or midweek starter.

Sophomore Greg Folgia, who will also see time in the field in 2008, will compete for a midweek starting role. Folgia was second on the team with 26 appearances a year ago and started five games. He enters the spring as the likely starter at second base, which could limit his appearances on the mound.

A trio of freshmen will also compete for midweek starts. Nick Tepesch, a Louisville Slugger High School All-American and the Missouri Player of the Year from Blue Springs (Mo.) High School; Kelly Fick, who earned all-state recognition in all four years at Helias High School in Linn, Mo.; and Brad Buehler, a three-time all-state selection at St. Pius X High in Festus, Mo. could all make immediate impacts for the Tigers' pitching staff.

The bullpen looks just as strong as the starting rotation, with a majority of the staff from a year ago back in 2008.

Juniors Ryan Gargano and Scooter Hicks, two left-handers who had the two lowest ERA's for Missouri in 2007, made a combined 42 appearances last season.

Gargano had an ERA of 1.73 in 26.1 innings pitched and only allowed runs in four of his 19 trips to the mound, while Hicks was second on the team with six saves and a 2.73 ERA in 2007. Hicks allowed just four runs in his first 22 appearances on the year.

Joining Folgia, Tepesch and Buehler as right-handers in the MU bullpen is sophomore Ryan Allen. In 2007, Allen made 11 appearances in relief and did not allow an earned run in his first five trips to the mound.

Also returning this season are sophomore Andrew Mueller and redshirt freshman Phil McCormick. Mueller saw his first action last year, making two appearances out of the bullpen, while McCormick redshirted in 2007.

Freshmen Tyler Clark, Erik Darkow, Ryan Dawson and Sean Young will also be looking for time on the hill for Mizzou. Clark is a two-time all-state pitcher who was 8-3 as a senior for Springfield Catholic and Darkow is a local pitching product from Columbia's Rock Bridge High School.

Dawson had a 1.87 ERA last year as a senior for Warrensburg (Mo.) High School, while Young was named by one media outlet among the top-five pitchers in Pennsylvania.

2008 Season Preview
Saturday, Feb. 16 -- PART 1- 2007 Season in Review
Sunday, Feb. 17 -- PART 2- The 2008 Pitching Staff
Monday, Feb. 18 -- PART 3- The 2008 Infielders and Catchers
Tuesday, Feb. 19 -- PART 4- The 2008 Outfielders
Wednesday, Feb. 20 -- PART 5- The 2008 Schedule