Mizzou Baseball Heads to Houston
3/4/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 4, 2010
MIZZOU at HOUSTON COLLEGE CLASSIC
Date: March 5-7, 2010
Location: Houston, Texas
Stadium: Minute Maid Park
Capacity: 40,950
Radio: KTGR 100.5 FM/1580 AM
Live Audio: KTGR.com
More Information: mutigers.com
MU Schedule:
Friday vs. Houston 3:30 p.m.
Saturday vs. TCU Noon
Sunday vs. Texas 11 a.m.
FIRST PITCH
Missouri will take a 4-2 record into this weekend's Houston College Classic at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. The Tigers will join a strong field this weekend, as three of the six teams in the event are ranked in the top-10. Mizzou will face Houston on Friday, before taking on No. 7 TCU on Saturday and No. 3 Texas on Sunday. No. 9 Rice and Texas Tech are also in the field of the Houston Collegiate Classic, but will not face the Tigers this weekend. Missouri has gone 2-1 in each of the first two weeks of the season to compile a record of 4-2 on the year. Last weekend, the Tigers picked up wins against Florida Atlantic on Friday and Auburn on Saturday, before dropping the final game of the Auburn Classic to Boston College. The weekend trip to Houston is the final of three-straight weekends away from home for Missouri. Next Wednesday, the Tigers will host Western Illinois at 6:30 p.m. in the home opener at Taylor Stadium.
SERIES HISTORIES
Friday's opponent, Houston, is one of the six teams on the 2010 schedule that the Tigers have never faced. Missouri is 4-5 all-time against TCU in a series that dates back to 1905, when MU defeated TCU, 2-1. The Tigers trail the all-time series with Texas, 25-24. Mizzou led in the series with the Longhorns before Texas took two-of-three in last year's three-games set in Austin to tie the series at 24-24. UT went ahead in the series after defeated the Tigers in the Big 12 Championships Game last May.
SENNE NAMED BIG 12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Senior Aaron Senne was named the Big 12 Conference Player of the Week on Monday. Senne hit .462 (6-for-13) in the Tigers' three games at the Auburn Classic last weekend, including three home runs and two doubles. He drove in six runs on the week and had a slugging percentage of 1.308. Senne had a double in the opener of the Auburn Classic on Friday against Florida Atlantic, driving in one run. On Saturday against Auburn, Senne hit two home runs and had four RBI. His first homer was a two-run shot in the third inning and his second was the second of back-to-back home runs for Mizzou in the fifth. Senne closed the weekend with a 2-for-4 performance against Boston College, with a home run and a double. Senne is hitting .333 on the season with four home runs and 10 RBI. The four homers lead the Big 12 and he ranks fourth in the conference in RBI.
LIBERTO ON FIRE TO OPEN SEASON
Michael Liberto, one of just two seniors on the 2010 squad, leads the Tigers with a .571 average after the first two weeks of the year. Liberto opened up the year by hitting .692 at the Collegiate Cactus Classic in Tucson. Liberto was 9-for-13 in the three games with a double, a triple and three RBI. He opened the season by matching his career best with four hits in a 4-for-5 performance against Gonzaga in the opener, with a triple and two RBI. Liberto was then 3-for-4 with a double and a run driven in against Washington and closed the Cactus Classic by going 2-for-4 against New Mexico State. Liberto was also a part of turning six double plays in the three games. He is the third leading hitter in the Big 12 heading into this weekend.
NEWCOMERS MAKE A QUICK IMPACT
The roster for Missouri is loaded with new names in 2010. Through the first six games of the season, a total of 14 players have seen their first playing time for Missouri. Freshman Dane Opel leads the Tigers' newcomers at the plate with a .375 average (6-for-16), while another freshman Brannon Champagne has a .364 average. Champagne was injured last weekend in Auburn and will miss a few weeks of action due to a dislocated shoulder. Junior Brett Nicholas, a transfer from Scottsdale Community College, is hitting .308 and hit a home run in the opening weekend of the year. On the mound, freshman Eric Anderson picked up a win in his first collegiate start last Friday against Florida Atlantic. He struck out five and did not allow a run in five innings pitched. Junior Zack Hardoin, a transfer from Blinn College, has already made four appearances and picked up the win on Feb. 20 against Washington with a scoreless inning of work.
SENNE ENTERS TOP-10 OF MU'S CAREER HOME RUN LIST
Aaron Senne returned to Mizzou this year for his senior year, 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. Last weekend, Senne hit three home runs in a span of two games and leads the Big 12 with four homers on the year. He has 30 home runs for his career, which puts him ninth all-time at Missouri. He is two behind eighth place Chris Wyrick (1990-93) and five away from moving into a tie with Ryan Stegall (1999-2001) and Dave Silvestri (1986-88) for sixth place. Senne ranks ninth in school history with 163 RBI. He has 216 career hits, which is nine out of the top-10 all-time at Mizzou and 58 behind the career record holder (Jayce Tingler, 2000-03). He is tied for sixth in the MU record books with 49 doubles, seven away from the record (Ryan Fry, 1995-98).
TIGERS TO PLAY IN THREE MAJOR LEAGUE STADIUMS IN 2010
Missouri has games scheduled in three Major League stadiums during the 2010 season, starting with this weekend's Houston College Classic at Minute Maid Park, home of the Houston Astros. In addition, the Tigers 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.
UP NEXT
After the first three weeks of the 2010 season on the road, Mizzou will play 15 of its next 18 games at Taylor Stadium. The home opener is scheduled for Wednesday, March 10 at 6:30 p.m. against Western Illinois. Next weekend, Xavier will be in Columbia for a three-game series (Friday at 6 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.).
