First Pitch - What You Need to Know
Fresh off of a season-long eight-game road trip, the Mizzou baseball team will return home this week for four games, beginning with a mid-week contest against SIU-Edwardsville on Wednesday at 6 p.m. inside Taylor Stadium. The Tigers are 10-7 at home and have not played a game on Simmons Field since March 25 when they topped No. 7 Oklahoma on a walk-off hit by Eric Garcia in the 11th inning.

Series History • Mizzou and SIU-Edwardsville have met 26 times in their history with Mizzou winning 18 of those meetings. The last meeting between the two team came last season and Mizzou won, 14-3. Jeff Scardino earned the win in that game while both Jonah Schmidt and Andreas Plackis went deep in the win. Mizzou has won the last two meetings in the series, dating back to 2009.

Three-Peat • Sophomore outfielder Blake Brown went deep in all three of the Tigers' games at No. 23 Oklahoma State last weekend, becoming the first Tiger to go yard in three straight games since Greg Folgia did so in 2009. The power outburst for him was a bit of a surprise as he came into the series with just one career home run and none this season. He is now one bomb shy of tying Jonah Schmidt for the team lead with four.

Power Surge • Brown wasn't the only Tiger to have a power surge last weekend as Mizzou posted a season-best 20 total bases in its loss at OSU on Sunday. The Tigers hit a pair of home runs in that game, marking just the second time that they have went deep twice in the same game this season. The Tigers also pounded out 13 hits on the day, their third-best total this season. It was their most over the last 12 games as well.

More McCormick • Lefty reliever Phil McCormick continues to be the Tigers' most reliable arm out of the bullpen this season. He leads the Big 12 with 20 appearances and is on pace to break his own school record in that department this season. He threw in all three games at No. 23 Oklahoma State and did not allow an earned run and gave up just one hit, lowering his ERA to 2.60 this season, which ranks 12th in the Big 12. It is also a team-best mark. His .192 opponent batting average is fourth in the Big 12 and tops among relievers. In Big 12 play he has been even better, boasting a 1.42 ERA and an opponent batting average of .162, ranking seventh and third, respectively, in the league.

Last Time Out
Mizzou was swept at No. 23 Oklahoma State despite having a chance to win each of the three games. Behind a strong start from freshman lefty Rob Zastryzny, Mizzou had a chance to win on Friday, but an error on the final batter in the bottom of the ninth plated the winning run for OSU. Mizzou then was sunk by three late runs on Saturday and it left 14 runners on base in Sunday's loss. In all, the Tigers stranded 29 runners on the weekend and lost the three games by a combined eight runs as they were a few bounces away from winning all three games.

Brown Powers Up
As mentioned earlier, sophomore outfielder Blake Brown enjoyed a power surge last weekend, blasting home runs in three straight games. His homer on Friday was the first by a Tiger in a week and was his first since March 23 last season. He became the first Tiger to homer in back-to-back games this season on Saturday with another solo blast to left field. His homer on Sunday was an opposite field shot over the right field fence. He is now just one home run shy of the team lead and he hit in the three-hole for the first time this season on Sunday. Brown is second in the Big 12 with his three home runs in league play. Only Nebraska's Cody Asche has more home runs in league games this season (five).

What Can Brown Do For You?
Staying on the topic of Blake Brown, the Tiger sophomore also ranks fifth in the league with 22 walks this season and is sixth with 12 steals, making him one of the most valuable players on the team. He also ranks third in the conference in slugging during league games as well with a .667 clip as four of his nine hits in conference play have gone for extra bases, including three home runs and triple.

Schmidt With a Big Week
Senior Jonah Schmidt had another big week in Mizzou's four games last week. He hit . 357 with five hits in 14 at-bats, including his team-leading fourth home run at Oklahoma State on Sunday. He slugged .571 and boasted an on-base percentage of .400 last week and stole a base.

He continues to lead the team in hitting (.311), RBI (19), home runs (four), slugging (.487), total bases (58), doubles (seven), hits (37) and is second in runs with 16. He is also ranked fourth in the Big 12 in slugging during league play with a .656 clip.

Garcia Breaking Out
Another bright spot from the Tigers' road trip last week was sophomore Eric Garcia, who hit well on the road for the first time this season. He hit .333 and boasted an OBP of .538 on the week. He posted a double and stole a pair of bases on the week as well. His two walks on the week move his season total to 21, which is sixth in the Big 12 and second on the team to Blake Brown (22). Keep in mind, Garcia has hit .294 at home this season but was hitting just .061 in games away from home before last week, so the .333 clip last week was a pleasant sign for the Tigers.

No Place Like Home
Mizzou looks to get back into the win column this week as it returns home from a season-long eight-game road trip. Mizzou will be at home for four games this week, beginning with Wednesday's tilt with SIU-Edwardsville. The Tigers will then host arch-rival Kansas in a three-game conference series this weekend.

Tigers' Big Z
Freshman southpaw Rob Zastryzny has emerged as the Tigers' top starter this season as he boasts a team-best 3.08 ERA among Tiger starters this season. His best start of the season came against Oklahoma three weeks ago when he threw 8.0 innings without allowing a single earned run against one of the league's top offenses. He also leads the team in strikeouts (43) and ranks second in innings pitched (49.2). His two wins on the year also rank him second on the team. He threw 7.2 innings and allowed just two earned runs on five hits at OSU last Friday.

McCormick Continues to Shine
It is hard to argue against the fact that lefty reliever Phil McCormick has been the Tigers' best arm out of the bullpen this season. He leads the team and the Big 12 with 20 appearances this season and is ranked fourth in the league with his .192 opponent batting average this season (he is third in that department during league play at .162). He ranks first on the team with an ERA of 2.60, which is 12th in the Big 12. He is seventh in the league in that department in league play at 1.42.

What is even more impressive for McCormick is that despite being a late reliever, he still ranks third on the team in innings pitched this season at 34.2. He is on pace to break his own school record in appearances this season as he has been the Tigers' most reliable arm out of the pen. He is also striking out batters at a very high rate this season, averaging 7.79 Ks per nine innings pitched this season.

Smith Earns First Career Start
Freshman righty Myles Smith earned his first career start last Wednesday against Kansas. He lasted just 1.1 innings and gave up four runs, but the true freshman has had great stuff all season long. In fact, he went seven straight appearances without giving up an earned run before giving up just one earned run at No. 8 Texas in 2.2 innings. Aside from his first career start and his first career appearance, Smith has given up just one earned run in eight appearances this season.

Ross Impressive in Loss, Earns First Start
Junior reliever Dusty Ross was a bright spot in the Tigers' loss to Kansas last Wednesday. After the first two pitchers in the game gave up seven runs over the first three innings, Ross came on and threw 3.0 innings of no-hit, scoreless baseball to keep the Tigers in the game. He also struck out a career-best five in the game, including striking out the side in the fifth.

That outing earned him his first career start on Sunday at Oklahoma State. He gave up two runs over 3.0 IP, but struck out four in the start, which as full of positives after he settled in following a two-run first inning. Ross has been pitching well as of late as he has now appeared in 15 games for the Tigers. His 3.66 ERA currently ranks fourth on the team. He has given up just two earned runs in his last six appearances and has given up just five in his last nine appearances, spanning 15.2 innings.

Anderson Throws Two Scoreless
Last Wednesday, sophomore Eric Anderson made his third appearance on the mound since undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery last season. It was his best outing on the hill since the surgery as he threw the final 2.0 innings and did not allow a run while allowing just one hit and a striking out a batter.

Grand Theft Base
Mizzou slipped to second in the Big 12 Conference in stolen bases this season with 63 through 32 games this season. The 63 steals are just one behind league-leader Texas Tech, who enters the week with 64. Mizzou stole six bases last week, including a perfect 3-3 night against Kansas at Kauffman Stadium. Eric Garcia led all Tigers with two steals on the week.

More on Steals
Blake Brown is the only Tiger to rank in the league's top 10 in the stolen base department (he ranks sixth with 12 this season), showing that the speed on the base paths has been a team approach. In fact, five different players have at least eight steals this season for Mizzou. Brannon Champagne has 10, Conner Mach and Eric Garcia have nine and Jesse Santo has eight.

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 on March 12. He was perfect on four attempts and was the first Tiger to steal four bags in a single game since 1956.

Walk This Way
A pair of Tigers rank in the Big 12's top 10 in walks this season. Sophomore outfielder Blake Brown is fifth in the Big 12 with 22 walks and sophomore infielder Eric Garcia is ranked sixth with 21. Texas, Texas Tech and Mizzou are the only three teams to have two players ranked in the top 10 and Mizzou joins Texas Tech as the only two teams with two athletes ranked in the league's top five.

Forever Young
Over the past several weeks, the Tiger starting lineup has appeared to become more concrete and one thing is apparent when looking at that lineup - the Tigers are young. Mizzou has started as many as seven sophomores as position players this season and the Tigers' Friday starter is a true freshman. Seven sophomores have seen regular playing time this season and six are considered starters. Six of the Tigers' top eight hitters this season are sophomores and Mizzou starts just one senior position player this season.

Mach Continues to Start
Junior infielder Conner Mach continues to be a staple in the Tiger lineup this season as he is the only player to have started all 32 games for Mizzou this season. Of those 32 games, he has hit in the three or four-hole in 25 as he has been one of the Tigers' top bats all season. He has split time at both second and third base this season but has emerged as the starting third baseman as of late.

McCormick, Zastryzny Among Top Pitchers in League Play
Both Phil McCormick and Rob Zastryzny rank among the league's top pitchers in Big 12 games this season. McCormick's 1.42 ERA in league games has him ranked seventh in the Big 12 while Zastryzny's 2.66 ERA has him ranked 13th. Of the seven relievers on that list, McCormick owns the second-best opponent batting average at .162. The best mark is by Corey Knebel of Texas at .070.

Hit Streaks to Watch This Week
Heading into Wednesday's game with SIU-Edwardsville, there are several Tigers carrying hitting streaks into the week. Blake Brown has the longest current streak at four games, but Conner Mach, Brannon Champagne and Eric Garcia all own three-game hit streaks.

Milestone for Jamieson
Head coach Tim Jamieson earned his 550th career win 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 Mense, 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 Mizzou baseball team will continue its Big 12 season as arch rival Kansas pays visit to Taylor Stadium this weekend for a three-game set beginning Friday at 6 p.m. The two will then play at 4 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday. For all the latest on Mizzou baseball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on twitter @MUTigerBaseball.