Feb. 18, 2010
MIZZOU at THE COLLEGIATE CACTUS CLASSIC
Date: February 19-21, 2010
Location: Tucson, Ariz.
Stadium: Tucson Electric Park, The Kino Sports Complex (Capacity: 11,000)
Radio: KTGR 100.5 FM/1580-AM
Live Audio: KTGR.com
More Information: mutigers.com
COMPLETE GAMENOTES
FIRST PITCH
The Missouri baseball team opens the 2010 season this weekend by traveling to the Collegiate Cactus Classic in Tucson, Ariz. The Tigers will be joined in the event by Gonzaga, Washington and New Mexico State. The season opener for Mizzou is Friday against Gonzaga. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. central time (1 p.m. in Tucson). The game is the first of the Collegiate Cactus Classic. The Tigers will play two games on Saturday, first meeting up with Washington at 4 p.m. CT (3 p.m. MT), followed by New Mexico State at 8 p.m. CT (7 p.m. MT). MU will conclude its play in Tucson against Gonzaga at Noon CT (11 a.m. MT) on Sunday. A complete schedule of the weekend is below.
FOR OPENERS
Mizzou will look to win its fourth-straight season opener Friday against Gonzaga. After the 12-1 win over Nevada to begin last year's season, MU improved its record to 10-4-1 in openers under Head Coach Tim Jamieson. That record 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 six of the last seven seasons.
SERIES HISTORIES
Missouri is 6-5-1 all-time against the three teams it will face this weekend in Tucson. The Tigers are 1-3 all-time against Gonzaga, which includes two losses (9-3, 13-9) to the Bulldogs in the opening weekend of the 2009 season. MU's only win in the series came in 2007. Mizzou has a 5-2-1 record against Washington. The last time the two teams met, the game finished in a 6-6 tie in the final game of the 2004 three-game series in Seattle. The game ended after 10 innings due to the Tigers' travel plans. This Saturday's matchup with New Mexico State will be the first time the two teams have ever met.
A LOOK AT THE `09 SCHEDULE
After kicking off the 2010 season with this week's Collegiate Cactus Classic, the Tigers will take part in the Auburn Invitational in Auburn, Ala. (Feb. 26-28) and the Houston College Classic in Houston, Texas (March 5-7). The Houston College Classic is an annual tournament that always brings in a strong field and this will be the Tigers' first appearance in the event, which is played at Minute Maid Park, home of the Houston Astros. After spending the first three weeks on the road, Missouri will open the home schedule on March 10 against Western Illinois. Starting with the matchup against WIU, the Tigers will play 15 of their next 18 games at Taylor Stadium. That includes series with Xavier (three games), North Dakota (four games) and Arkansas-Pine Bluff (two games). The Big 12 Conference phase of the schedule gets underway on March 26, as Mizzou heads to College Station, Texas for a three-game series with Texas A&M. The following weekend, Baylor will be in Columbia to open the home portion of the league slate. In addition to Baylor, Missouri will host Oklahoma State (April 16-18), Kansas State (April 23-25), Nebraska (May 14-16) and Texas (May 21-23) as part of the conference schedule. The Tigers will have road conference series at Texas A&M (March 26-28), Oklahoma (April 9-11), Texas Tech (April 30-May 2) and Kansas (May 7-9). The final two weekends of the regular season look to be key for the Tigers as they will host Nebraska and Texas in back-to-back series at Taylor Stadium to close out the regular season. The Big 12 Tournament will once again take place at Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City, Okla. with tournament action starting May 26. Following that, the Tigers will look to make for eighth-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. They are one of just 14 teams nationally that have advanced to the postseason in each of the last seven seasons and one of just two Big 12 teams that can make that claim.
TIGERS PICKED EIGHTH IN BIG 12 POLL
The Big 12 Conference Preseason Coaches' poll was released on Tuesday with Missouri coming in tied for eighth in the voting conducted by the league's coaches. The Tigers tied with Nebraska with 22 points in the poll. Texas was atop the poll, garnering 81 points and nine first place votes. The last time the Tigers were picked eighth in the preseason poll was in 2007. They finished second that season and hosted an NCAA Regional. Mizzou was also picked eighth in the 2005 preseason poll and ended up taking fourth place that year.
TIGERS ON TV
The Tigers are slated for three televised games this season. FSN will televise five Big 12 regular season games this season, with Mizzou selected for two of those five games. The MU-Oklahoma matchup on April 10 and the Tigers' home game against Kansas State on April 24 will be televised by FSN. In addition, the Mizzou Sports Network will broadcast the April 3 contest between Missouri and Baylor. That game will air on MetroSports in Kansas City and FS Midwest.
TIGERS TO PLAY IN THREE MAJOR LEAGUE STADIUMS IN 2010
The Tigers have games scheduled in three Major League stadiums during the 2010 season. Once again, Missouri will play in both of the MLB stadiums in Missouri, starting with an April 7 contest against Illinois at Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals. Two weeks after that, MU will face Kansas in a non-conference game at Kauffman Stadium, home of the Kansas City Royals on April 21. This will mark the second-straight year that Missouri has played at Busch Stadium (defeating Saint Louis University 19-6 in 2009) and the third year MU and KU will meet at Kauffman Stadium. In addition, the Tigers will participate in the Houston College Classic (March 5-7) at Minute Maid Park, home of the Houston Astros.
MIZZOU MAKES IT SEVEN-STRAIGHT NCAA TOURNAMENTS
Last season, Mizzou advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the seventh-straight season, becoming one of just 14 schools in the nation to qualify for the postseason in the last seven years. Only two Big 12 schools (MU and Texas) can make that claim.
BASEBALL WELL REPRESENTED IN MISSOURI ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2009
This past January, the Class of 2009 was inducted into the Missouri Intercollegiate Hall of Fame. Included in that class was the 1964 Baseball team, along with Ryan Fry, who played baseball at MU from 1995-98. The 1964 team was the National runners-up, finishing the year 27-5-1, winning its last 21 games of the season. The Tigers were a perfect 19-0 in the Big Eight, claiming their fourth-straight conference title. That squad led the nation with a 0.65 ERA, an NCAA record that still stands today. The 1964 team became the fourth team inducted in the Missouri Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame, and the second baseball team. The 1964 team joins the 1954 National Champion Baseball team in the Hall of Fame, making baseball the first program to have multiple teams in the Hall.
Teams in the Missouri Intercollegiate Hall of Fame:
• 1954 Baseball (Class of 1994)
• 1965 Indoor Track (Class of 1995)
• 1941 Football (Class of 2008)
• 1964 Baseball (Class of 2009)
Fry is the 25th baseball individual to go into the Hall and is still near the top of several lists in the Mizzou record books. Named a Second Team All-American in 1998, Fry was also a standout in the classroom, twice earning Academic All-American honors (1997, 1998). He was a three-time Academic All-Big 12 selection.
Fry in the Mizzou Record Book:
• 1st in hits in a season (92 in 1996)
• 1st in home runs in a season (27 in 1998)
• 1st in career doubles (56)
• 2nd in career RBI (222)
• 2nd in career runs scored (223)
• 2nd in career extra base hits (106)
• 3rd in career hits (265)
TAYLOR STADIUM SPORTS A NEW LOOK IN 2010
During the offseason, Taylor Stadium, the home of the Tigers, underwent a major renovation. The majority of the construction took place in the left field corner, where a new indoor/outdoor batting cage has been built. The building includes three batting/pitching lanes along with an observation area. Also new for the 2010 season is a new video board/scoreboard that will enhance the fan experience at Taylor Stadium. A new brick wall has also been constructed that spans foul territory. Future plans call for a new team clubhouse, coaches' office and expanded seating.
SENNE TURNS DOWN PRO BALL, RETURNS TO MIZZOU FOR SENIOR YEAR
Aaron Senne returns to Mizzou this season for his senior year after passing up a chance to join his hometown Minnesota Twins organization. Senne, a native of Rochester, Minn., was drafted by Minnesota in last June's Major League Baseball Draft, but chose to return to Missouri. He was third on the team last season with a .305 batting average, with four home runs and 51 RBI. He also added 16 doubles, which was second most on the team. Senne led the squad with a .347 batting average in 2008 and has a career average of .314 heading into the 2010 season. Senne enters the year with 207 career hits, which is 20 out of the top-10 all-time at Mizzou and 67 behind the career record holder (Jayce Tingler, 2000-03). He is eighth in the MU record books with 47 doubles, 10 away from breaking the record (Ryan Fry, 1995-98). He is two home runs away from moving into the top-10 of that list and ranks 10th in career RBI and ninth in total bases.
BUEHLER CONTINUES AS CLOSER
Junior Brad Buehler tied a school record with 35 appearances on the mound last season and returns as the likely closer for the Tigers in 2010. He had eight saves in 2010, which tied for fourth most in MU history. Buehler struck out 29 batters in 35.2 innings pitched a year ago and was named the Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Week on May 4, 2009 after he picked up two saves in the Nebraska series. He threw a scoreless ninth inning in the opener of the series with the Huskers to pick up the save. Buehler then saved game two by getting the Tigers out of jams in the eighth and ninth innings.
TEPESCH LOOKS TO ASSUME ROLE AS TIGERS' ACE
Nick Tepesch won six games last year, striking out 84 batters in 114.1 innings pitched. He has appeared in 40 games during the two previous seasons at MU, including 15 starts. Tepesch turned in a career long eight innings pitched against Texas last season, allowing two runs on seven hits. Tepesch struck out a career-best 12 batters in the Tigers' win over Ball State on March 8, 2009 to earn his first win of the season.
ON THE AIR
Once again this year, KTGR ESPN Radio is the radio home of the Tigers, with all of the game being broadcast on 100.5-FM and 1580-AM. The games can also be heard online at KTGR.com. Tex Little is in his 20th season of calling Tiger Baseball and is joined in the booth by Hudson Guthrie, who returns for his third year as part of the MU broadcast team.
ALL-ACCESS
Video webcast for all Missouri Baseball home games in 2010 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 spend the first three weeks of the series on the road. After this weekend's trip to Tucson, the Tigers will take part in the Auburn Invitational, next weekend in Auburn, Ala. Mizzou opens up against Florida Atlantic on Friday, before taking on Auburn on Saturday and Boston College on Sunday. The following week Missouri will play in the Houston College Classic in Houston, Texas. The Tigers' home opener is March 10 against Western Illinois.