First Pitch - What You Need to Know
The Mizzou baseball team will continue its homestand this weekend as it welcomes the Le Moyne Dolphins to Taylor Stadium for a four-game series over three days. The Tigers and Dolphins are scheduled to play Friday at 6 p.m. and the two teams will then meet for a double header on Saturday, beginning at 1 p.m. The series finale will then be contested on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Series Info • Mizzou and Le Moyne have met just once and that came in postseason play back in 2004 when the Tigers and Dolphins played in the NCAA Regional Round at Fayetteville, Ark. In that game, the Tigers won 11-3 behind a strong outing from starter Garrett Broshuis, who won his 11th game which at the time was the school record for wins in a single season.

Keeping Up Appearances • The Tiger bullpen has continued to be anchored by a pair of relievers that are on pace to make history this season. In fact, both Phil McCormick and Dusty Ross are on pace to finish with more than 35 appearances this season and McCormick, who has appeared in a team- and Big 12-leading nine games in 2011, is on pace to pitch in 44 games, which would shatter his current school record total of 36, set last season. Ross and McCormick currently ranks third and fourth, respectively, on the team ERA list and both have helped stabilize a Tiger bullpen that has pitched very well as of late.

The 'Pen is Mighy • Staying on the topic of the Tiger bullpen, that unit has pitched very well over the past three games. In fact, the bullpen has combined to throw 12.1 innings over the Tigers' last three games and has given up just two earned runs on 10 hits. That is good for an ERA of 1.48 in that span.

Closing in on 550 • With a pair of wins this weekend, Mizzou head coach Tim Jamieson will hit win No. 550 in his career. He is already second on the all-time Mizzou wins-list, but getting to the 550 milestone would inch him closer to Tiger coaching legend 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 1.35 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 nine games already this season and his 13.1 innings pitched are third on the team - the two that rank ahead of him are starters. He also leads the team in strikeouts with 15 and is holding opponents to a .220 average this season. McCormick is on pace to appear in 44 games for the Tigers this season and his nine appearances are tops among Big 12 pitchers so far this season.

Ross Impressing out the `Pen as Well
Junior reliever Dusty Ross has also impressed out of the bullpen this season. In fact, he is second on the team with seven appearances and his 3.68 ERA is second among Mizzou relievers and third overall among all Tiger pitchers. His seven appearances this season also rank him second in the Big 12 in that department behind only McCormick.

Emens Continues to Lead Team in ERA
Through the first 12 games this season, junior reliever Jeff Emens continues to lead the team in ERA with his 2.38 clip in four appearances. He has given up just three earned runs in 11.1 innings of work this season. He had one of his best outings of the season on Wednesday against Gonzaga. In relief of starter Brad Buehler, Emens came on and threw 3.2 innings, allowing just one earned run while striking out three. 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.

More on the Bullpen
Staying on the topic of relievers, the Tiger bullpen has been a strength over the past three games. In fact, the `pen has combined to throw 12.1 innings over the past three games and has allowed just two earned runs in that span, giving the Tiger relievers a 1.48 ERA in the last three contests. The bullpen combined to throw 5.2 innings against Gonzaga on Wednesday and allowed just one earned run in the contest. The Tiger relievers also combined to throw 2.1 innings of perfect baseball in relief of starter Zack Hardoin in the Tigers' 5-2 win over Gonzaga on Tuesday night as well.

Hardoin Breaks into the Big 12 Ranks
Senior lefty Zack Hardoin had one of his best career outings on Tuesday in his start against Gonzaga. He went 6.2 innings and allowed just two hits and one earned run while striking out a pair of Bulldog batters. Hardoin did all of that on just 98 pitches and earned his first win of the season. He now ranks sixth in the Big 12 in opponent batting average at .179. He has also given up just seven hits, which ranks third among the 10 pitchers ranked on the opponent batting average list in the Big 12.

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 Le Moyne series. Three of the Tigers' top four hitters on the season are all outfielders (Blake Brown, Brannon Champagne and Jonah Schmidt) and if you look at the breakdown, the Tiger outfield is responsible for 30 of the Tigers' 58 runs (52-percent), 50 of the Tigers' 104 hits (48-percent) and 19 of Mizzou's 46 RBI (41-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 12 games.

The five outfielders have hit nearly 20 points higher than the rest of the team and have more runs and four less hits than the rest of the team through the first 12 games of the season, showing the importance of the Tigers' loaded outfield.

Head Turner
Mizzou sophomore catcher Ben Turner has been playing very well as of late. He has played in just six games this season (starting five) but owns a team-high .400 batting average and boasts a team-high on-base percentage of .550. He has six hits in 15 at-bats this season and has scored a pair of runs while knocking in three more. His best game of 2011 came on Tuesday as he went 2-3 at the plate with a pair of RBI and a run scored. He is hitting .400 this season with runners in scoring position as well.

Sommer(Feld) Time
Heading into the Gonzaga series, first baseman Scott Sommerfeld was hitting .261, but two games later he is now second on the team in hitting at .323 and turned in the Tigers' fourth three-hit game of the season against Gonzaga on Wednesday. In all, Sommerfeld went 4-8 in the series and scored a run while driving in another. He has 10 hits in 31 at-bats this season and is slugging a team-best .452.

Schmidt Anchors Tiger Lineup
Senior right fielder Jonah Schmidt has quietly put together a good first 12 games of the 2011 season as he currently leads the team in hits (12), extra base hits (four), 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 against UIC 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.

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 12 games. In fact, he is hitting .289 (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 .316 with runners on base and .667 with the bases loaded. He is also hitting .333 with runners in scoring position, which is second on the team to only Blake Brown (462). He had a big hit in the Tigers' 11-4 win last 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.

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.

Tigers to Play in Two Major League Stadium
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 548-390-2 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.

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
Mizzou will have five days off before playing a four-game series next weekend against MAC foe Central Michigan from March 18-20. The series will begin on Friday, starting at 6 p.m. at Taylor Stadium. The series will resume with a doubleheader on Saturday, beginning at 1 p.m. and the series finale will be played on Sunday at noon. For all the latest on Mizzou baseball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and be sure to follow the team on twitter @MUTigerBaseball.