Feb. 28, 2008

MIZZOU AT USD TOURNAMENT

Date: Feb. 29-March 2, 2008
Location: San Diego, Calif.
Schedule:
Friday vs. Cal, 1 p.m. PT at SDSU
Friday vs. San Diego State, 6 p.m. PT at SDSU
Saturday vs. San Diego, 1 p.m. PT at USD
Sunday vs. Cal-Poly, 11 a.m. PT at SDSU

Stadiums: SDSU: Tony Gwynn Stadium (3,000)
USD: Cunningham Stadium (1,200)
Radio: KTGR 1580-AM
Live Audio: KTGR.com
Live Stats: mutigers.com
More Information: mutigers.com

MISSOURI TIGERS
Overall Record: 3-1
Streak: Lost 1
Rankings: BA: 5/ CB: 15/ NCBWA: 16/ ESPN: 13
Website: mutigers.com
Head Coach: Tim Jamieson
Career Record: 444-309-2 (14th season)
Record at MU: 444-309-2 (14th season)

CAL BEARS (2-0-1)
Head Coach: David Esquer (9th yr at Cal)
SAN DIEGO STATE AZTECS (4-1)
Head Coach: Tony Gwynn (6th year as SDSU)
SAN DIEGO TOREROS (2-3)
Head Coach: Rich Hall (10th yr at USD)
CAL POLY MUSTANGS (2-1)
Head Coach: Larry Lee (6th yr at Cal Poly)

COMPLETE GAMENOTES IN PDF FORMAT

FIRST PITCH
After opening the 2008 season in Florida, the Tigers will be on the West Coast this weekend, to take part in the USD Tournament hosted by the University of San Diego and San Diego State University. MU will open with two games on Friday, facing Cal at 1 p.m. PT, followed by San Diego State at 6 p.m. PT. It will then take on San Diego at 1 p.m. PT Saturday before facing Cal Poly at 11 a.m. PT Sunday. [NOTE SUNDAY'S GAMETIME CHANGE]

USD TOURNAMENT WELCOMES STRONG FIELD
Four of the six teams in the field at this weekend's USD Tournament are ranked in the latest polls. Mizzou is the highest ranked team, holding the No. 5 spot in the Baseball America poll. The Tigers are ranked 13th in the Coaches' poll, No. 15 by Collegiate Baseball and No. 16 in the NWCBA Top 30. San Diego is ranked in all four polls, with the highest being a No. 9 ranking in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' poll, while coming in 17th in Baseball America, 18th in Collegiate Baseball and 18th in the NCBWA poll. San Diego State holds the No. 22 spot in Baseball America and is 26th in Collegiate Baseball. Fresno State, who is in the tournament but will not play the Tigers, is ranked No. 24 by Baseball America.

2K WINS
With its three wins last weekend in Florida, Missouri became the 35th program in the NCAA to reach the 2,000 win mark. The Tigers enter this weekend with an all-time record of 2,000-1,283-20.

TAKING A HIT
Through the first four games of the season, the Tigers have already been hit by a pitch 22 times. That's an average of 5.5 HBPs per game. Mizzou has had six hit batters in each of the last three games. The school record for hit-by-pitches in a year is 108, set in 2005. MU came close to breaking that record last year, with 107 HBPs.

MIZZOU CLIMBS TO FIFTH IN BASEBALL AMERICA POLL
The new Baseball America poll released on Monday has Missouri ranked No. 5, up one spot from its preseason mark. The No. 5 ranking is the highest in MU baseball history. The Tigers are the highest ranked Big 12 Conference team in the poll. Baylor is ranked 13th, just ahead of 14th-ranked Texas. Oklahoma State is No. 21 in the poll. Mizzou opened the 2008 season ranked No. 6 in the Baseball America Preseason Poll. In 2005, MU was ranked No. 10 in Baseball America's Preseason Poll, it best preseason ranking prior to this year's No. 6 mark. The Tigers ended the 2007 season ranked No. 24 after compiling a record of 42-18.

SERIES HISTORIES
Missouri is a combined 3-6 all-time against its four opponents this weekend. The Tigers are 0-2 against Cal, as the Bears took a 3-2 win in 1977 before defeating MU 2-1 in the 1980 NCAA Regional. MU and San Diego have split their two previous meetings, both coming during the 1997 season. USD defeated the Tigers 12-8 before Mizzou took a 7-1 win. The Tigers are also 1-1 against San Diego State, taking a 10-9 win in 1985, but falling to SDSU, 5-4, in 1997. Cal Poly holds a 2-1 lead in the series with Missouri. The two team split two games in 1980, with Mizzou taking an 8-7 win and a 12-5 defeat. Cal Poly then defeated the Tigers 4-3 in their last meeting in 2003.

FOR OPENERS
Mizzou's 7-1 win over UConn in the season opener improved its record to 9-4-1 in openers under Head Coach Tim Jamieson. That includes a 0-0 tie against San Jose in 2001, when the game was called after six innings due to poor weather conditions with no score Missouri has won its first game of the year in five of the last six seasons. The Tigers started the year 3-0 for the second-consecutive season.

TIGERS PICKED SECOND IN BIG 12 POLL
The Big 12 Conference baseball coaches have picked Mizzou to finish second in the league, according to the 2008 Big 12 Preseason Poll. The Tigers garnered 71 points, including one first-place vote, finishing behind only Texas, who received 80 points, including eight first-place votes. The ranking is the highest for the Tigers since the start of the Big 12 Conference in 1997. Their previous best came in 2006, when the coaches voted Missouri third. Last season, MU was selected eighth in the preseason poll, but ended the year in second place.

UP NEXT
Missouri's home opener is Tuesday, March 4 against Western Illinois. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. at Taylor Stadium. That game opens a 13-game homestand for the Tigers.