First Pitch - What You Need to Know
The Mizzou baseball team, which has now won eight of its last 12 games, will have one final tune-up before Big 12 play as it welcomes Central Arkansas to Taylor Stadium for a mid-week series. Game one will be played at 6 p.m. on Tuesday (March 22) while game two will be contested at 4 p.m. on Wednesday (March 23).

Anderson to Start • The storyline of this week's series will be the return of righty Eric Anderson, who missed the latter half of last season and has spent the first part of this season recovering from shoulder surgery. A highly-touted recruit from Highland Ranch, Colo., Anderson went 1-4 with a 5.74 ERA while battling the injury throughout most of the season in 2010. He has seen some time at first base this season and has hit .250 with three RBI and three runs scored, but the excitement will be seeing how he does on the mound Tuesday.

Tigers are Streaking • After starting the season slowly, the Tigers have been streaking over the last few weeks and have won eight of their last 12 games and six of the last seven. Mizzou saw its season-long winning streak of six games snapped in the series finale against Central Michigan on Sunday (March 20). Mizzou has won two series in that span (against Le Moyne and Central Michigan) and it split with Gonzaga.

Champagne Gets On Base • It is hard to argue against the fact that Brannon Champagne has been the Tigers' top offensive weapon this season. He is hitting a team-best .352 this season (16th in the Big 12) and boasts and OBP of .466, which ranks him ninth in the league. He has a team-high 16 runs and 25 hits and has driven in 10 runs this season. He has also walked 10 times and been hit by six pitches, reaching base safely in nearly half of his plate appearances this season. He is currently riding an eight-game hit streak, the longest of the season for Mizzou.

Keeping Up Appearances • Senior reliever Phil McCormick has now appeared in 13 of the Tigers' 20 games this season, which is the top mark in the Big 12 this season. That puts him on pace to appear in 39 games this season, which would break his school record of 36 appearances, set last season. His 3.66 ERA is third on the team and second among relievers while his 24 strikeouts on the season rank second on the team. He has limited batters to a .213 average this season, a team-best, and is averaging more than a strikeout per inning pitched.

Tigers Are Streaking
Mizzou has used small ball and plenty of success on the base paths over the last few games to put together its best winning streak of the season as it had won six straight before dropping the series finale to CMU on Sunday. Either way, Mizzou has won eight of its last 12 games and six of its last seven as it prepares to face UCA this week.

Anderson Set to Start
As stated earlier, the highlight of this week's series with Central Arkansas will be the first start by Eric Anderson in nearly a year. His last start was on April 21, 2010, against Kansas as his season was cut short due to shoulder surgery. After nearly a year of rehab, he will be back on the hill on Tuesday, looking to regain the form that had him touted as one of the top recruits nationally out of high school. He spent much of last season pitching with discomfort in his should before having surgery and went 1-4 with 5.74 ERA.

Stites Earns First Win at Mizzou
Junior starter Matt Stites earned his first career win at the Division I level last Saturday against Central Michigan. He did so in dominating fashion as well, allowing just two earned runs - one on a solo home run - while scattering just five hits and walking just one batter. He allowed just seven base runners in his 7.0 innings of work and struck out a career-best eight in the start. He threw 105 pitches and commanded the strike zone all day.

Zastryzny Emerges as Top Starter
Freshman southpaw Rob Zastryzny has emerged as the Tigers' top starter so far this season and he earned his second Friday start against Central Michigan last weekend. Zastryzny fired 6.0 innings in the start and struck out seven batters in the game, just one off of his career-best. He earned the win - his second of the season - as Mizzou held onto a 7-6 lead. In all, Zastryzny's 3.38 ERA is tops among Tiger starters this season and second on the team. He leads the team in innings pitched (29.1), strikeouts (25), is third in opponent batting average (.250) and is first on the team in WHIP (1.36). Only Zach Hardoin has given up less earned runs than Zastryzny among starters (Zastryzny - 11, Hardoin -10).

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 13 games already this season and his 19.2 innings pitched are tops on the team among relievers. He also ranks second on the team in strikeouts with 24 and is holding opponents to a .213 average this season. McCormick is on pace to appear in 39 games for the Tigers this season and his 13 appearances are tops among Big 12 pitchers so far this season.

Emens Continues to Lead Team in ERA
Through the first 20 games this season, junior reliever Jeff Emens continues to lead the team in ERA with his 2.20 clip in seven appearances. He has given up just four earned runs in 16.1 innings of work this season. Emens appeared in two games in the Central Michigan series and allowed just one earned run while striking out a pair of Chippewa batters. 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.

Breakout Season for Hardoin
Senior lefty Zack Hardoin had one of the best weeks of his career in a pair of starts against Gonzaga and Le Moyne two weeks ago as he continues to have a breakout season. He earned a pair of wins that weeks while throwing in 11.2 innings and allowing just one earned run, good for a 0.77 ERA on the week. He also boasted a WHIP of 1.03 on the week and struck out a career-high eight batters in his start against Le Moyne. Batters hit just .132 off of him that week. He threw just 3.1 innings last week but helped the Tigers win game one of the doubleheader against Central Michigan on Sunday.

Big Week for Buehler
Senior Brad Buehler had a good weekend for the Tigers in the series against Central Michigan as he earned his first win of the season in the Tigers' 14-7 win over CMU on Sunday. In relief of Zack Hardoin, Buehler threw 4.0 innings and gave up two earned runs. But he struck out four batters and limited CMU's line up to just a .143 batting average during his time in the game.

Bullpen Striking Out
The Tiger bullpen has been using the strikeout as its best weapon this season as 67 of the Tigers' 156 strikeouts have come from six different relievers. The exciting part about that is that those 67 Ks have come in just 68.2 innings of work as the bullpen is averaging nearly a strikeout per inning. Highlighting that group is Phil McCormick, who has 24 strikeouts in just 19.2 innings of work.

Grand Theft Base
Mizzou continues to lead the Big 12 Conference in stolen bases this season with 47 through 20 games. The 47 steals are five more than the next-best team in the Big 12 (Baylor and Texas Tech, 42) and the majority have come over the past two weeks. In fact, 30 have come over the last eight games, including 22 alone in the Le Moyne series two weeks ago.

More on Steals
Several Tigers rank among the league leaders in stolen bases as Brannon Champagne is fourth with nine steals while Conner Mach and Blake Brown are tied for fifth overall with eight. Baylor's Brooks Pinckard leads the league with 20 steals in 20 games this season. Mizzou is the only team to have three different players rank in the league's top 10 in the stolen base department.

Mach Ties School Record
Senior infielder Conner Mach matched the school record with his four steals in the first game of the Le Moyne doubleheader two weeks ago. He was perfect on four attempts and was the first Tiger to steal four bags in a single game since 1956. Seven of Mach's eight steals this season have come during the Tigers' current homestand.

Big Series for Ampleman
Senior catcher/designated hitter Ryan Ampleman had a huge weekend against Central Michigan. He had just one start this season coming into the series, but he batted in the leadoff spot in all four games and hit .375 with an OBP of .444. He led the team in RBI (four), doubles (two), runs (five), slugging (.625) and total bases (10) on the weekend. He had an OPS of 1.069 on the weekend as well, making him one of the top weapons for the Tigers in the four games. He raised his average from .167 to .318 over the weekend.

Opel Comes Alive As Well
Outfielder Dane Opel also had a huge series against Central Michigan. He started three of the four games and hit .500 with five hits in 10 at bats while drawing a walk. He drove in three runs and scored three more while slugging .600 on the weekend. He also drew a walk, giving him an OBP of .545 and an OPS of 1.145.

Getting Offensive
The Tiger offense, due in large part to the contributions from Opel and Ampleman, came alive against Central Michigan. In fact, the Tigers scored 29 runs over the first three games of the series, their most over any three-game span this season. Mizzou also posted 10 extra-base hits in the four games - it had just 25 over the previous 16 games leading into the series. Five of those 10 extra-base hits came from Opel and Ampleman.

Out Ahead Early
Staying on the topic of offense, the Tigers have been tagging opposing starters early and often in games as of late. In fact, Mizzou has scored 45 of its 114 runs this season in the first three innings of games, including 20 in the first inning of games alone. Mizzou has scored 35 of those 45 runs in its current homestand, which has been 13 games, and is averaging 2.69 runs per game over the first three innings in that span. Keep in mind, that most of those runs have come off of the opposition's starting pitchers.

Head Turner
Catcher Ben Turner has been playing very well as of late. He has emerged as the Tigers' top offensive weapon behind the plate this season as he leads the team with a .394 average as he has 13 hits in 33 at-bats in 2011. He also boasts an OBP of .535 as he has drawn eight walks and been hit by two pitches this season. He has scored six runs and driven in four more this season.

Breakout Season For Champagne
Sophomore center fielder Brannon Champagne is enjoying a breakout season in his first year as a starter in 2011. He has started 19 of 20 games and leads the team in hits (25), runs (16), OBP (.471), stolen bases (nine) and is second in total bases (28) and third in walks (10). His .358 average is also a team-best. Aside from that, his .471 OBP has him ranked ninth in the Big 12 and he is fourth in the league with nine stolen bases.

Garcia's Bat Comes to Life
After struggling through the Tigers' first seven road games, sophomore infielder Eric Garcia has been on a tear since returning to Columbia for the current homestand. In fact, over the 13 games of the homestand Garcia is hitting is hitting .343 with 12 hits in 35 at bats and has scored eight runs while driving in four more. He is also a perfect 6-6 in the stolen base department during the homestand. The numbers are a vast increase from his first seven games when he tallied just two hits in 23 at bats. His best game over the weekend came on Friday when he went 3-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. He has struck out a team-low four times this season as he continues to put the ball in play.

Santo Moves to Short
Jesse Santo did something that not a lot of batters have done last weekend as he reached base in seven-straight plate appearances in the middle two games of the CMU series. He reached base five times in game two of the CMU series with a single, three walks and a HBP. He then reached safely in his first two appearances in game three of the series.

Tigers to Play in Two Major League Stadiums in 2011
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.

Milestone for Jamieson
Head coach Tim Jamieson earned his 550th career win last Saturday when the Tigers topped the Le Moyne Dolphins, 4-2, in the second game of a doubleheader at Taylor Stadium. He is second on the all-time coaching list at Mizzou behind only Tiger legend Gene McArtor (733 wins). 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 open Big 12 play this weekend as No. 9 Oklahoma will pay visit to the Tigers at Taylor Stadium for a three-game series. Game one will be played at 6 p.m. on Friday and game two will be Saturday at 2 p.m. The series finale will be contested on Sunday (March 27) at 1 p.m. and will air on Mizzou Sports Network. For all the latest on Mizzou baseball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on twitter @MUTigerBaseball.