First Pitch - What You Need to Know
- After opening its home schedule with three games against UIC last weekend, the Mizzou baseball team will continue its 19-game home stand as it welcomes West Coast Conference foe Gonzaga into the friendly confines of Taylor Stadium. The series is a rematch of the Tigers' 2010 season opener, which Gonzaga won, 10-6. In fact, the Zags have taken the previous three meetings with the Tigers since 2009 and lead the overall series with Mizzou. 4-1. The Tigers' last win over the Bulldogs came in 2007, a 10-3 decision.

- The Tigers are in the middle of nearly a month-long homestand where they are scheduled to play 19 games in 24 days. Mizzou and UIC were slated to play four games last weekend, but severe weather caused a cancellation of Friday's game. The Flames took two of three games from the Tigers last weekend with the Tigers winning the middle game of the series behind a strong start from freshman lefty Rob Zastryzny. He earned his first career win in the start after allowing just two earned runs over 5.1 innings of work.

- The Tiger outfield continues to be one of the strengths for Mizzou this season. In fact, the Tigers' top three hitters so far this season are all outfielders, highlighted by Blake Brown who is hitting .400 through the first 10 games of the season. Brannon Champagne and Jonah Schmidt also boast averages over .300 at .375 and .333, respectively, while tying for the team lead with 12 hits apiece. Schmidt also leads the team in RBI (six), total bases (18), extra base hits (four) and slugging (.500). Champagne leads the team in runs (eight) while Brown owns a team-best .583 OBP and has walked a team-high 10 times this season as he leads the Big 12 Conference in OBP.

- Staying on the subject of walks, Mizzou showed great discipline at the plate over the weekend, drawing 22 walks, including 15 in the second game of the series. The 15 walks in the game are just three shy of the school record and match the most by a Tiger club since Feb. 20, 2009, against Nevada when they also walked 15 times. Blake Brown and catcher Ben Turner each walked a team-high three times in the game.

- Mizzou head coach Tim Jamieson is approaching career win No. 550 after claiming one of three games last weekend. In fact, he sits just three wins shy and could claim that milestone this week with six games scheduled. Jamieson is second on Mizzou's all-time win list behind only Gene McArtor.

Tigers' Big Z
Freshman lefty Rob Zastryzny continues to be a one of the Tigers' most consistent figures on the mound this season. In fact, Zastryzny earned his first career win in the Tigers' 11-4 win in game two of the UIC series last weekend. The southpaw fired 5.1 innings of two-run baseball while striking out four Flame batters in the start. Zastryzny continues to lead the Tiger starters in ERA this season with a 3.38 mark and his 16.0 innings pitched are a team-high. He has given up just six earned runs in his three starts this season and owns a WHIP of 1.37 through his first three starts. He has given up just three earned runs in his last 11.2 innings pitched as well. He has been particularly tough on left-handed batters this season, allowing just four hits to southpaws in 22 at-bats, good for a .182 opponent batting average when facing a lefty.

McCormick Continues as Mizzou Iron Man
There have been few relievers in the Big 12 that have been more reliable than the Tigers' Phil McCormick over the past two seasons. In fact, the lefty appeared in a school-record 36 games last season and is on pace to shatter that mark in 2011. In fact, he has pitched in seven games already this season and his 12.0 innings pitched are fourth on the team - the three that rank ahead of him are starters. He also leads the team in strikeouts with 13 and is holding opponents to a team-best .239 average this season. McCormick is on pace to appear in 41 games for the Tigers this season and his seven appearances are tops among Big 12 pitchers so far this season.

Brown Leads Big 12 in OBP
Sophomore outfielder Blake Brown has reached base in nearly 60-percent of his plate appearances this season as his .583 OBP leads the Big 12 Conference so far this season. His lead is somewhat comfortable over Oklahoma's preseason All-American Garrett Buechele as well, who checks in at second at .559. To put Brown's mark into perspective, the school record for OBP in season is .610 and his mark would ranks second on the all-time list. Only two Mizzou players since 1990 (Jayce Tingler, 2003 and Matt Nivens, 1996) have finished a season with an OBP better than. 500. Brown also checks in at seventh in the Big 12 in hitting (.400), fifth in walks (10) and is 10th in stolen bases (four) as he ranks in the league's top 10 in four different categories. He is the team leader in each of those categories as well.

Champagne Continues to Swing a Hot Bat
Staying on the topic of outfielders who are producing at the plate, Brannon Champagne now ranks 11th in the Big 12 with his .375 average this season. That average went up last weekend against UIC as he hit a team-best .556 (five hits in nine at-bats) and drew five walks in the three games, good for an OBP of .714 on the weekend. Champagne is tied for the team lead with 12 hits this season and leads the team in runs as well with eight.

Schmidt Anchors Tiger Lineup
Senior right fielder Jonah Schmidt has quietly put together a good first three weeks to the 2011 season as he currently leads the team in hits (12), extra base hits (four), slugging (.500), RBI (6) and total bases (18). Heading into the season, Schmidt was the Tigers' top returning home run hitter and has one so far this season to go along with a team-high three doubles. He hit .455 last weekend while slugging .545 and led the team with five hits in 11 at-bats while driving in a pair of runs and scoring two more. He hit in the three-hole twice on the weekend as well.

Strength in the Outfield
Mizzou's outfield, which appears to be full of plenty of talented players, has arguably been the strength of the team heading into the Gonzaga series. The Tigers' top three hitters on the season are all outfielders (Brown, Champagne and Schmidt) and if you look at the breakdown, the Tiger outfield is responsible for 28 of the Tigers' 52 runs (54-percent), 48 of the Tigers' 89 hits (54-percent) and 18 of Mizzou's 40 RBI (45-percent). Keep in mind that is five players accounting for those statistics. To the right is a breakdown of the Tiger outfield and its production through the first 10 games.

The five outfielders have hit nearly 80 points higher than the rest of the team and have more hits, runs and only four less RBI than the rest of the team through the first three weeks of the season, showing the importance of the Tigers' loaded outfield.

Santo in the Clutch
Although the outfielders have been the story of the season offensively, infielder Jesse Santo is flying under the radar with a very impressive first 10 games. In fact, he is hitting .300 (a vast improvement from his .196 clip a year ago) and has proved to be one of the Tigers' most clutch hitters this season. In fact, he is tied for the team lead with six RBI and is hitting .350 with runners on base and .500 with the bases loaded. He is also hitting .313 with runners in scoring position, which is second on the team to only Blake Brown. He had a big hit in the Tigers' 11-4 win on Saturday, lacing a two-run double down the right field line, helping the Tigers put together a five-run sixth to sink the Flames.

Not only has Santo been a clutch hitter for the Tigers, but he has also played at both short stop and third base this season, making him a valuable infielder for the Tigers. He started all three games at short last weekend despite starting six of the previous seven at third.

Nice Debut for Everett
Freshman infielder Dillon Everett started his first career game in the Tigers' 11-4 win over UIC in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader and was one of the many highlights in the win. He went 2-4 at the plate and drove in his first run while scoring another in the win. Not only that, but the freshman made a pair of sensational defensive plays - one a diving stop on a ball up the middle that started a 4-6-3 double play to end the second inning and the other a charging bare-handed play on a slow roller hit to second - to go along with his production at the plate.

Emens Continues to Lead Team in ERA
Through the first three weekends of play, junior reliever Jeff Emens continues to lead the team in ERA with his 2.35 clip in three appearances. He has given up just two earned runs in 7.2 innings of work this season. He gave up just one earned run in 3.2 innings of work in relief of Matt Stites in game one of the UIC series last weekend. The righty came into the season with an ERA north of 4.00, so his work this season has been a pleasant surprise as he has been one of the more consistent arms out of the pen.

Offense Making Strides
Mizzou scored 19 runs in the three games against UIC last weekend, its most over any three-game span this season. The series was highlighted by an 11-run outing in the Tigers' game-two win on Saturday. Mizzou also pounded out a season-high 14 hits in game one of the series while plating seven runs.

Walk This Way
The Tigers showed great plate discipline in the series against UIC as they walked 15 times in the game, a season-high and the most by a Tiger team since Feb. 20, 2009, when they also drew 15 free passes against Nevada. The 15 bases on balls are just three shy of the school record, which was set in 2005. In all, Mizzou walked 22 times on the weekend, more than doubling its total from the previous seven games combined. Brannon Champagne led the way for the Tigers with five walks on the weekend, including three in the Tigers' game-two win. He boasted an OBP of .714 over the three games.

A look at This Week's Pitching Matchups
Making the start for the Tigers on Tuesday will be senior righty Brad Buehler. It will be his first start of the season and 10th of his career. He started six games last season and three in 2008. This season, Buehler owns an ERA of 13.50 in four appearances. He did not throw in any of the games against UIC. He will be matched up against Gonzaga's Billy Moon, who is 1-0 with a perfect ERA in 2011.

In game two on Wednesday, Zack Hardoin will get the start. Hardoin impressed in his first start of the season against nationally-ranked North Carolina, allowing just two earned runs over five innings with six strikeouts. He will face Gonzaga's Marco Gonzales, who boasts an ERA of 6.75 on the season.

Tigers to Play in Two Major League Stadiums
The Tigers have two games scheduled in two Major League stadiums during the 2011 season. Once again, Mizzou will play in both of the MLB stadiums in Missouri, starting with a March 29 contest against Illinois at Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals. One week later, Mizzou will face Kansas in a non-conference game at Kauffman Stadium, home of the Kansas City Royals on April 6. This will mark the third-straight year that Missouri has played at Busch Stadium and the fourth year that Mizzou and Kansas will meet at Kauffman Stadium.

Closing in on win No. 550
Entering his 17th season at the helm of the Tiger program, head coach Tim Jamieson sits just four wins shy of win No. 550 as he boasts a 547-389-2 career record at Mizzou. He is second on the all-time coaching list at Mizzou behind only Tiger legend Gene McArtor (733 wins) and will likely pass the 550-win mark early this season. Jamieson has not had a losing season at Mizzou since 2002, one of only two during his 16 years at Mizzou.

Jamieson to Lead Team USA
Mizzou head coach Tim Jamieson will lead the 2011 Collegiate National Team, as announced by USA Baseball back in November. He will be joined by pitching coach Rob Walton (Oral Roberts) and assistant coaches Dave Van Horn (Arkansas) and Scott Stricklin (Kent State).

Jamieson and Walton made their Team USA debuts together on the 2005 Collegiate National Team coaching staff, serving as an assistant coach and the pitching coach, respectively, for manager Steve Smith of Baylor. Van Horn and Stricklin will both be wearing the red, white and blue for the first time.

"We are thrilled to announce Tim Jamieson as our 2011 manager," said Eric Campbell, USA Baseball General Manager of National Teams. "His experience from 2005 -- coaching players like David Price, Matt Wieters and Matt LaPorta -- will serve him well, and teaming him with Dave Van Horn, Scott Stricklin and Rob Walton will provide our athletes with a unique opportunity to learn from some of the best college coaches in the game. Once again, the college coaching community has rallied around the Collegiate National Team program."

Tigers Have Strong Presence in Pros
Mizzou baseball has seen plenty of success over the last decade and proof of that is the number of players that the Tigers have sent to the major league. Since 2000, the Tigers have seen 48 players sign professional contracts and 57 Tigers have done so under the direction of Tim Jamieson. Some notable Tigers in the professional ranks include All-Star second baseman Ian Kinsler of the Texas Rangers and Max Scherzer of the Detroit Tigers. Kinsler has been one of the most underrated players in the MLB over the past several seasons and maybe had his best year in 2009, slugging 31 home runs while driving in 86 runs and swiping 31 bags, doing so in just 144 games. Scherzer went 12-11 last year with a 3.50 ERA and 184 strikeouts in 195.2 innings pitched. Those two along with the likes of Kyle Gibson and Aaron Crow - who are both seeing success in the minor leagues - should likely give Mizzou a presence in the major leagues for years to come.

A Look at the 2011 Schedule
The Tigers have 16 games against teams that qualified for last year's NCAA Tournament and will face two teams (Charlotte and Central Arkansas) for the first time in school history. The home schedule kicks off on March 4 when the Tigers open a four-game set against Illinois-Chicago. That game will kick off a 19-game homestand at Taylor Stadium. That homestand concludes with a three-game series against Oklahoma (March 25-27), which will open the Big 12 Conference 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 21st season of calling Tiger Baseball and is joined in the booth by Hunter Mence, who is in his first year as part of the MU broadcast team.

All-Access
Video webcast for all Missouri Baseball home games in 2011 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
The Tigers will welcome Le Moyne to Taylor Stadium this weekend for four games, starting with a 6 p.m. game on Friday (March 11). The Tigers will then play a doubleheader on Saturday (March 12), beginning at 1 p.m. The series finale will be played at 1 p.m. on Sunday (March 13). Following those games, Mizzou will have completed half of its season-long home stand. For all the latest on Mizzou baseball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on twitter @MUTigerBaseball.