Mizzou, Kansas Face off at Kauffman Stadium
4/29/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 29, 2008
MIZZOU vs KANSAS
APRIL 29, 2008 • KANSAS CITY, MO.
First Pitch: 7 p.m.
Series History: MU leads 208-119-2
Last Meeting: MU took 2-of-3 in Columbia
Stadium: Kauffman Stadium (Capacity: 40,785)
Radio: KTGR 1580-AM
Live Audio: KTGR.com
Live Stats: mutigers.com
MISSOURI TIGERS
Overall Record: 29-14
Big 12 Record: 9-9
Last 5/Last 10: 1-4/4-6
Streak: Lost 4
Rankings: BA: 15/CB: 14/ NCBWA: 14/ ESPN: 16
Website: mutigers.com
Head Coach: Tim Jamieson
Career Record: 470-322-2 (14th year)
Record at MU: 470-322-2 (14th year)
KANSAS JAYHAWKS
Overall Record: 25-22
Big 12 Record: 5-13
Last 5/Last 10: 1-4/4-6
Streak: Lost 4
Rankings: NR
Website: kuathletics.com
Head Coach: Ritch Price
Career Record: 773-588-2 (30th year)
Record at KU: 198-164-1 (6th year)
FIRST PITCH
Missouri and Kansas will meet on Tuesday at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. This will mark the second year the teams have been scheduled to play at Kauffman, however the 2007 contest was rained out.
The Tigers enter the game with a 29-14 record and are 9-9 in the Big 12 Conference, while KU is 25-22 overall and 5-13 in league play.
Tuesday's game will not count toward the Big 12 Conference records and also will not factor into the Border Showdown series.
MU-KU SERIES HISTORY
Missouri holds a 208-119-2 lead in the all-time series with Kansas.
Last year, Mizzou took two-of-three from KU in a three-game series in Columbia. After dropping the first game of the weekend, the Tigers won the next two to claim the series win.
The two teams will meet up again in 10 days, as they open a three-game series in Lawrence on May 9.
LAST TIME OUT
Mizzou was swept by Texas A&M in College Station last weekend, marking the first time the Tigers have been swept since May of 2006.
After Texas A&M scored the game's first run in Friday's opener, the Tigers scored eight over three innings to build an 8-1 lead heading to the bottom of the sixth inning. However, the Aggies scored eight unanswered runs, including a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth to win. The winning run came across on a bases-loaded walk.
On Saturday, the Tigers were shutout for the first time since last May, as TAMU took a 15-0 win. MU had just three hits in the game as the Aggies claimed their 14th-straight Big 12 win.
Texas A&M finished the sweep with a 3-2 win in 10 innings on Sunday. Missouri scored a run in the ninth inning to force the game to extra innings. But, in the bottom of the 10th, the Aggies' Kyle Colligan hit a walk-off home run to give the Aggies the win.
IN THE POLLS
Mizzou is ranked No. 14 in the Collegiate Baseball's Top 30 and the NCBWA poll this week. The Tigers are No. 15 in this week's Baseball America poll and are ranked 16th in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' poll
MU climbed to No. 2 in the March 24th Baseball America poll, its highest ever mark.
PRIDAY BECOMES MIZZOU'S HOME RUN KING
On April 16, senior Jacob Priday became the career home run record holder at Mizzou. He hit two homers against William Woods to give him 46 for his career, breaking the previous school record of 45 set by Mike Rogers (1984-87).
He has 13 home runs on the year, which matches his career best for homers in a season.
Priday also moved to the tops of the career RBI list at MU with three against William Woods.
He currently has 226 RBI in his career surpassing Ryan Fry's mark of 222 (1995-98).
Priday had a record-setting night in the series opener against Texas on April 11. He finished 5-for-5 in the game and broke an MU school record and the Big 12 Conference record with four home runs on the night. The four homers was third most in the history of the NCAA. The record is six, hit by Marshall McDougall of Florida State in 1999.
Priday also set a Missouri school record with nine RBI and tied the MU mark with six runs scored.
In the three-game series against Texas, Priday hit .583 (7-for-12), with four homers, a double and 11 RBI. He had a slugging percentage of 1.667 for the series.
The performance earned him Big 12 Conference and NCBWA National Player of the Week honors.
Priday's13 home runs is tied for the lead in the conference and his 51 RBI are third most in the league. He ranks second the Big 12 with a .695 slugging percentage.
SOMETHING TO CROW ABOUT
Junior Aaron Crow, a preseason All-American, had a string of 43.0 scoreless innings pitched snapped against Texas on April 11.
He allowed five runs in the first inning against UT, after giving up just four runs in his first seven starts of the year. Despite allowing nine runs total against Texas, Crow picked up the win and won each of his first nine starts this season.
Crow's scoreless innings streak is believed to have tied for the fourth-longest in NCAA D-I history. The NCAA record for the longest scoreless inning streak is not found in the record books. Below are the longest streaks on record.
Crow holds a commanding lead in the Big 12 Conference in strikeouts with 84, which is 11 Ks ahead of second place.
On March 14, Crow struck out a career-high 15 batters against Toledo, bettering his previous best of 10 set just two weeks prior against Cal.
Only two Toledo batters advanced beyond first base, as Crow allowed seven hits and did not walk a batter.
Starting with the final out of the fourth inning and continuing through the eighth inning, Crow struck out 11 of the 15 batters he faced, including striking out the side in the eighth. He threw 107 pitches, 87 of which were strikes.
He recorded a second-straight complete-game shutout with a 10-strikeout performance against Baylor on March 21
Crow was selected as the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week and the NCBWA National Pitcher of the Week following that performance.
On March 28, Crow turned in eight scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and striking out nine against Texas Tech.
He recorded his third complete game shutout of the season, striking out seven against Oklahoma State on April 4 to improve to 7-0. He earned his second Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Week honor following the victory over the Cowboys.
He improved to 9-0 by claiming the win over Oklahoma on April 18. He allowed four runs in the first two innings, but did not allow a hit over the next 3.2 innings and did not give up a run over the next 5.2 innings pitched.
Last week he took a no decision against Texas A&M, his first start this season in which he did not record the win.
He leads the nation with the nine victories on the season. The MU school record for wins in a season is 11, held by four former Tigers.
SENNE DELIVERS BIG IN RETURN TO MINNESOTA
It was quite a homecoming for Mizzou sophomore Aaron Senne on March 25 as Missouri defeated Minnesota, 17-8, at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
Senne, a native of Rochester, Minn., tied a school record with eight RBI, hit two home runs and had a career-high four hits in his return to his home state.
With a large contingent of family and friends in attendance, Senne was 4-for-4 with eight runs driven in and two runs scored. He took over the team lead with six home runs.
In his first at-bat, Senne connected on a two-run homer to right centerfield to give the Tigers the early 2-0 lead. He singled in each of his next two at-bats, driving in runs on both hits.
MU sent 15 batters to the plate in the sixth inning, with three of the nine runs scoring on Senne's second home run of the night and his sixth of the season. Senne's drove in his eighth run of the game when he was hit-by-a-pitch with the bases loaded in his second trip to the plate in the sixth inning.
Senne's eight RBI matches Marcus Adler's eight RBI game against Evansville in 1986. Senne has driven in at least five runs in a game three times this season.
It was his second two-home run game this season, as he also hit two against Indiana State on March 9.
KYLE WITH A `K'
Heading into this week, sophomore Kyle Gibson has struck out 69 batters in 56.2 innings pitched. He is fourth in the Big 12 Conference is strikeouts.
Gibson picked up a seven-inning complete-game win over Baylor on March 23, allowing just one unearned run on four hits in seven innings, as the Tigers run-ruled the Bears in the series finale.
Gibson split time between being a starter and coming out of the bullpen as a freshman in 2007. This season, he has taken the role as a weekend starter and is 6-1 on the year.
Gibson has 14-career wins after finishing last season with an 8-4 record. He also picked up seven saves as a freshman.
BERGER, WELL DONE
Junior Ian Berger has a 3.02 ERA, which is eighth in the Big 12 Conference.
Berger had a string of 26.1 scoreless innings snapped against Texas Tech on March 29. He struck out six and gave up just one run on four hits in eight inning pitched against TTU.
He has started nine times this season, earning wins against San Diego State, Toledo and Baylor. Berger allowed just one run on six hits in seven innings pitched against San Diego State, to pick up his first win of the year.
He pitched eight scoreless innings against Toledo, allowing just four hits to earn his second victory.
Berger struck out eight against Baylor, allowing just one hit in seven innings. A double by BU's second batter of the game was the lone hit for the Bears on the afternoon. Following the double, Berger retired the next 10 batters he faced and 14 of the next 15.
Berger picked up the loss in three-straight starts from April 5-20. He was saddled with his first loss of the season against Oklahoma State, then took the defeat in the series finales with Texas and Oklahoma.
He started against Southern Illinois last Wednesday, allowing just one run on four hits and took a no decision.
SHUT `EM DOWN
The Missouri pitching staff recorded four shutouts in 2007. Already this season, the Tigers have six and MU has twice claimed back-to-back shutouts in 2008.
Junior Aaron Crow picked up complete game shutouts in back-to-back starts against Toledo (March 14) and Baylor (March 21) and teamed with freshman Nick Tepesch to shutout Texas Tech (March 28). Crow picked up his third shutout of the year against Oklahoma State on April 4.
Junior Ian Berger and sophomore Greg Folgia teamed up to shutout Toledo in game two of that series. Berger then combined with Tepesch to record a shutout in game two of the Baylor series.
CALVERT MAKING AN IMPACT
Senior Kurt Calvert is hitting .326 heading into the week.
Calvert earned the starting spot in centerfield after a strong fall and preseason. In his first two years at MU, Calvert played in 41 games, starting just four times.
He has three triples, which is third most in the Big 12 and has hit his first three career home runs this year. He is also 9-for-11 in stolen bases.
SHARING THE SAVES
The Tigers have 13 saves as a team this year, with six pitchers earning those seven saves. Mizzou had four pitchers earn saves all of last season.
Freshman Nick Tepesch picked up a save against Texas Tech to extend his team lead in saves to four, which ranks seventh in the conference.
Junior Rick Zagone has picked up three saves, all coming in a two-week span, with saves against Missouri State, Texas and William Woods.
Junior Scooter Hicks has three saves on the season, which gives him nine for his career.
Freshmen Kelly Fick, sophomore Ryan Allen and junior Ryan Gargano have also recorded a save this season.
FOLGIA DOES IT ALL
Sophomore Greg Folgia had just two hits in 18 at-bats as a freshman last year. But in 2008, Folgia has a team-best 50 hits and is hitting .316 on the year.
Folgia had a 10-game hitting streak snapped on March 19 against South Dakota State. The streak was the longest by a Tiger since Brock Bond hit safely in 11-straight games May 12-June 2, 2007.
In the first game of the South Dakota State series, Folgia was in the lineup as the pitcher/designated hitter. He earned the win on the mound, as he struck out seven in five scoreless innings pitched. He struck out the first five batters of the game and did not walk a batter.
Meanwhile, at the plate in that game, Folgia was 3-for-5, with an RBI and three runs scored.
A TEXAS-SIZED VICTORY
Missouri put up 31 runs in its series opener against Texas on April 11, defeating the Longhorns 31-12.
The 31 runs were the most scored by the Tigers since they defeated Truman State 30-0 in 2003. It was the most runs scored by MU against a conference opponent since a 27-4 win over Nebraska in 1956.
The loss was the worst for Texas since a 25-6 defeat against Texas A&M in 1995 and it was the first game in which Texas allowed at least 20 runs since 1998.
Every Tiger in the starting lineup had at least one hit and five had at least three. The 26 hits for Missouri tied a school record, which was set in 2005 against Navy.
Mizzou senior Jacob Priday set a Big 12 Conference record with four home runs and was 5-for-5 on the night. He set the single-game school record with four home runs, nine RBI and six runs scored.
Mizzou put up 10 runs in the third inning, which included Priday's second home run, a three run shot. The Tigers had nine hits in the inning, including doubles from Senne and sophomore Greg Folgia. The 10-run inning was the biggest inning for the Tigers since an 11-run second inning against Mississippi Valley State on May 6, 2006.
The Tigers followed Friday's outburst with a 13-2 win on Saturday. Through the first two games of the series, MU had a .500 batting average and had scored 44 runs on 43 hits with slugging percentage of .883.
TAKING A HIT
Through the first 43 games of the season, the Tigers have been hit by a pitch 74 times.
Missouri was hit by 22 pitches in the first week of the season alone, averaging 5.5 HBPs per game through the first four games. The Tigers had three-straight games from Feb. 23-25 in which six batters were hit by pitches.
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.
If it were to keep up the current pace, Missouri would finish the regular season with 100 hit-by-pitches.
Senior Lee Fischer leads the team with 11 HBPs, while junior Kyle Mach and senior Jacob Priday have been hit by nine pitches. Sophomore Trevor Coleman has eight HBPs.
Sophomore Aaron Senne has been hit by seven pitches and was hit four times against Minnesota on March 26.
Brock Bond holds the MU record for hit-by-pitches in a season, with 25 in 2007.
14-GAME WINNING STREAK TIES FOURTH LONGEST AT MIZZOU
From March 2 through March25, Missouri won 14-straight games, matching the fourth-longest winning streak in school history. The Tigers also won 14 in a row in 2007 and 1985.
The record is a pair of 16-game winning streaks in 1981 and 1917. In 2005, the Tigers put together are 15-game streak.
TIGERS TAME THE BEARS
Missouri recorded an impressive sweep of then-No. 14 Baylor March 21-23 at Taylor Stadium. The Tigers did not allow an earned run in the series and outscored the Bears 22-2.
Junior Aaron Crow threw his second-straight shutout to open the series, as the Tigers defeated Baylor, 7-0 on Friday. Crow struck out 10, while allowing just three hits.
On Saturday, junior Ian Berger followed Crow's lead, by pitching seven shutout innings, allowing just one hit as the Tigers shutout the Bears again, 3-0. Berger struck out eight and lowered his season ERA to 0.30. Freshman Nick Tepesch pitched a perfect final two innings to pick up his third save of the year.
MU completed the three-game sweep with a 12-2 run-rule victory on Sunday. Sophomore Kyle Gibson allowed just two unearned runs and struck out nine, earning his fifth win of the year.
Along with the 0.00 ERA for the weekend, the Tigers struck out 28 batters and Baylor only managed a .098 batting average in the series.
The sweep was the first by either team in the all-time series.
2008 SQUAD TIED FOR QUICKEST TO 20 WINS
Missouri's 20-3 start to the season matched their best record ever after 23 games. Mizzou has won 20 of its first 23 games twice before (1964, 1982).
TAKING THE FIREPOWER OUT OF THE ROCKETS
Mizzou had three-straight starting pitchers record career highs in strikeouts against Toledo on March 14-16.
The weekend started with junior Aaron Crow striking out 15 in the series opener.
The following day, junior Ian Berger fanned a career-best nine in eight shutout innings. With the wins in the first two games against Toledo, Missouri recorded back-to-back shutouts for the first time since sweeping a doubleheader with Youngstown State last year by scores of 11-0 and 11-0.
On Sunday, sophomore Kyle Gibson's 11 strikeouts set a new career high for him, while he allowed just one run on four hits in eight innings.
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 second.
CROW, GIBSON EARN SUMMER LEAGUE RECOGNITION
Pitchers Aaron Crow and Kyle Gibson were each listed among Baseball America's top prospects of the Cape Cod League.
Crow and Gibson each spent last summer in the Cape Cod League, which remains one of the most talented leagues in summer baseball.
Crow was named by Baseball America as the No. 1 prospect of the league. He had a Cape Cod best 0.67 ERA and touched 98 mph on the radar gun pitching for Falmouth.
Baseball America quoted one National League scouting director as saying, "If the draft was tomorrow, Crow would go No. 1."
Gibson, who also pitched for Falmouth, was rated as the third best prospect in the league. He struck out 51 batters in his eight starts, recording a 1.17 ERA.
Aaron Crow NAMED PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN
Mizzou junior pitcher has been named to multiple Preseason All-American teams. Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association have all selected Crow as a Preseason All-American.
Crow was a first team All-Big 12 selection last season, leading the Tigers with nine wins on the year, compiling a 9-4 record with a 3.59 ERA. He struck out a team-high 90 batters on the season and had two complete games.
He was also named to the preseason watch list for the Golden Spikes Award, which is given to the nation's top player.
TIGERS MAKE IT FIVE-STRAIGHT NCAA TOURNAMENTS
Mizzou is one of just 18 schools in the nation that has advanced to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last five seasons. Only two Big 12 schools (MU and Texas) can make that claim.
The Tigers have made NCAA Regionals in each of the last five seasons and last year hosted the school's first-ever Regional.
In 2006, Mizzou advanced to the Super Regionals for the first time in school history.
UP NEXT
This weekend, the Tigers return to Taylor Stadium for a three-game series against Kansas State, opening at 6:30 p.m. on Friday.
