March 5, 2009
MIZZOU vs BALL STATE
MARCH 6-8, 2009 • COLUMBIA, MO.
| First Pitch | Friday: 6:30 p.m. / Saturday: 1 p.m. (DH) / Sunday: 1 p.m. |
| Stadium | Taylor Stadium (Capacity: 2,200) |
| Series History | First Meeting |
| Radio | KTGR 1580 AM and KTGR.com |
| Live Video | Mizzou All-Access at mutigers.com |
| Gametracker | mutigers.com |
FIRST PITCH
After picking up an 8-0 win over Western Illinois in its home opener on Wednesday, Missouri will continue its six-game homestand with a four-game series with Ball State this weekend at Taylor Stadium. The Tigers and Cardinals will open the series at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. A doubleheader is scheduled for Saturday, starting at 1 p.m. , with the finale set for 1 p.m. on Sunday. (Note the time change for Saturday's doubleheader.) Mizzou is 3-7 on the season, while BSU enters the weekend with a 4-2 record. This will be the first time that Missouri and Ball State have ever met. Following this weekend, MU will welcome Western Illinois back to Columbia for a 6:30 p.m. first pitch on Tuesday (March 10). Next weekend, Big 12 Conference play begins as the Tigers travel to Austin, Texas to open league play against the Texas Longhorns.
MIZZOU STARTING PITCHERS
Kyle Gibson (1-1, 1.38 ERA, 13.0 IP, 14 K, 3 BB)
Kyle Gibson won his first start of the season, the Tigers' season opener against Nevada on Feb. 20. Gibson stuck out six and walked three in six innings pitched. He allowed just one unearned run to Nevada. Gibson struck out eight and did not walk a batter in seven innings pitched in his second start of the year, against Arizona State on Feb. 26. He allowed two runs on five hits, but took the hard-luck loss in a 2-1 contest with ASU. Gibson entered the season as a Preseason All-American pick by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball. Gibson is a two-time All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection. Last year, he was 9-4 with a 3.94 ERA and 96 strikeouts.
Ian Berger(0-1, 6.75 ERA, 8.0 IP, 3 K, 3 BB)
Ian Berger pitched five innings against Gonzaga on Feb. 21 in his first start of the year. He allowed seven runs on seven hits. Only three of the seven runs allowed were earned. He struck out three and did not walk a batter. After Gonzaga scored one run in each of the first two innings, Berger retired nine straight batters between the second and fifth innings. He started against Oregon State on Feb. 27, but lasted just two innings. Berger pitched the first inning of Missouri's win over Western Illinois on Wednesday. He started 14 times last season, finishing the year 4-5. At one point during the 2008 season, he put together a string of 26.1 scoreless innings pitched.
Kelly Fick (1-2, 4.85 ERA, 13.0 IP, 12 K, 2 BB)
In his first start of the season, Kelly Fick struck out five in six innings pitched against Nevada on Feb. 22. He did not walk a batter and allowed four runs (all earned) on nine hits. Fick again turned in six innings pitched in his second start of the year, against Northern Illinois on Feb. 28. He struck out five and allowed three runs on seven hits. He earned the win against Western Illinois on March 4 as he pitched one inning in relief, striking out two of the three batters he faced in a 1-2-3 inning. Fick pitched in 13 games as a freshman in 2008, starting three times. His first collegiate win came against Lincoln on April 2, 2008 at Taylor Stadium.
Nick Tepesch(0-1, 6.10 ERA, 10.1 IP, 13 K, 2 BB)
Nick Tepesch struck out five and did not walk a batter in his first start of the season against Gonzaga on Feb. 22. He allowed nine runs, six earned, on 11 hits in four innings pitched. Tepesch turned in his best career outing against Arizona State on March 1. He struck out a career-high eight batters in 6.1 innings pitched. He allowing one run on six hits, taking a no decision. Tepesch pitched in 22 games for Missouri in 2008, starting once, and was part of two combined shutouts on the year. He was second on the team with four saves on the season.
SERIES HISTORY
Ball State is one of three teams on Missouri's 2009 schedule that the Tigers have never faced. Northern Illinois and Cal State Bakersfield are the other two teams MU will meet for the first time ever this season.
LOLLIS CARRIES SEVEN-GAME HITTING STREAK INTO WEEKEND
Senior Ryan Lollis enters this weekend's series with Ball State with a seven-game hitting streak. Lollis, who has had at least one hit in all but one game this season, leads the Tigers with a .395 batting average. Of his 15 hits on the year, five have gone for extra base hits. He has three doubles, one triple and had a home run against Gonzaga on Feb. 22. On Wednesday, Lollis drove in three runs, going 3-for-4 against Western Illinois. He also scored three runs against WIU. Lollis was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in last June's Major League Baseball Draft, but passed up a chance to turn professional to return to MU.
JAMIESON MOVES INTO SECOND PLACE ON MU'S ALL-TIME WINS LIST
With Missouri's win over Arizona State last Sunday, Head Coach Tim Jamieson moved into second place on Mizzou's all-time wins list. Jamieson is 483-336-2 in his 15th year as the Tigers' head coach. His 482 wins put him ahead of legendary former head coach John "Hi" Simmons. Simmons compiled a record of 481-294-3 from 1937-1973, while Gene McArtor is the all-time winningest coach at Missouri with a record of 733-430-3 from 1974-1994. Jamieson, who served as an assistant coach under McArtor from 1988-94, has led the Tigers to seven NCAA Regionals, including each of the last six and is a two-time Conference Coach of the Year. Last fall, the University of Missouri extended Jamieson's contract, keeping him in the MU dugout through at least the 2013 season. With the retirement of Texas Tech's Larry Hays last summer, Jamieson and Baylor coach Steve Smith are now the longest tenured coaches in the Big 12 Conference, as each is in his 15th year as head coach of the respective programs.
TIGERS ROSTER LOADED WITH DRAFTED PLAYERS
Mizzou has seven players on its current roster that have previously been taken in the Major League Baseball Draft. Senior Ryan Lollis has twice been selected in the draft. He was a 20th round pick of Pittsburgh out of high school in 2005. Last year, Lollis was again taken in the 20th round, this time by the Detroit Tigers. Junior Aaron Senne was taken in the 13th round of the 2006 MLB Draft, while junior Kyle Gibson was the 36th round pick by Philadelphia that year. Also in 2006, Trevor Coleman was a 38th round pick of Cincinnati. In 2007, sophomores Nick Tepesch (28th round by Boston), Brad Buehler (43rd round by Tampa Bay) and Tyler Clark (46th round by Chicago Cubs) were all drafted.
ON THE AIR
Once again this year, KTGR 1580-AM is the radio home of the Tigers. All of Mizzou's regular season and postseason games will air on KTGR 1580-AM in Columbia. The games can also be heard online at KTGR.com. Tex Little is in his 19th season of calling Tiger Baseball and is joined in the booth by Hudson Guthrie, who returns for his second year as part of the Tigers' broadcast team.
ALL-ACCESS
Video webcast for all Missouri Baseball home games in 2009 is available at mutigers.com as part of Mizzou All-Access. 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.
UP NEXT
Missouri will wrap up its six-game homestand against Western Illinois at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 10 at Taylor Stadium. The game will be rematch of last Wednesday's contest in which the Tigers defeated WIU, 8-0. Next week, MU will open Big 12 Conference play with a three-game series against Texas in Austin. Game one of the series will begin at 6 p.m. on Friday, with game two set for 2 p.m. on Saturday and the series finale scheduled for 1 p.m on Sunday.
| MISSOURI | |
| Record | 3-7 |
| Last 5 | 2-3 |
| Streak | Won 2 |
| Ranking | NR |
| Head Coach | Tim Jamieson (15th season) |
| BALL STATE | |
| Record | 4-2 |
| Last 5 | 4-1 |
| Streak | Won 2 |
| Ranking | NR |
| Head Coach | Greg Beals (11th season) |