Baseball Headed to Charlotte
2/23/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 23, 2011
Mizzou Baseball (1-2) at Charlotte (4-0)
First Pitch
- The Mizzou baseball team will continues its trek across the country as it will play the University of Charlotte in a four-game series from Feb. 25-27 at Robert and Mariam Hayes Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. The Tigers and 49ers will open the series on Friday (Feb. 25) with a 3 p.m. game. On Saturday, the two will square off in a double-header beginning at 11 a.m. before playing in the series finale on Sunday at 11 a.m.
- The Tigers are coming off of a weekend in which they won one of three games against teams from Cal-Poly, USC and North Carolina at the USC Tournament. The Tigers bested Cal-Poly in a wild game last Friday before dropping their final two games of the tournament against USC and North Carolina. The win over Cal-Poly on Friday was the Tigers' seventh win in their last nine season-opening contests.
- Sophomore outfielder Blake Brown had a great weekend at USC as he led the Tigers with a .714 average, a .778 on-base-percentage and an .857 slugging percentage. He tallied six total bases while driving in three and scoring three more. He started all three games for the Tigers and also stole a base on the weekend. Brown hit .256 last season and if he keeps hitting the way he did during the first weekend of play, he will be one of the Tigers' most improved players in 2011. Brown was one at-bat away from qualifying for the league minimum to be included on the Big 12 individual batting rankings, but if he did, he would rank second in the league.
- Charlotte is fresh off of a four-game sweep of Coppin State last weekend and the 49ers did so in dominating fashion, outscoring Coppin State, 61-1 in the four games. The 49ers won 39 games last season and are among the favorites to bring home the Atlantic-10 title in 2011. This weekend will mark the Tigers' first-ever meeting with Charlotte.
- The starting rotation for the Tigers will look similar to last week. Matt Stites will start game one of the series for Mizzou while Rob Zastryzny will take the mound in game two. Zack Hardoin, who started game three for the Tigers last weekend, will be the game four starter this weekend while senior southpaw Jeff Scardino will satrt the second game on Saturday (third game of the series).
For Openers
Mizzou's win over Cal-Poly in its 2011 season opener came in just six innings after a pair of delays, but the win was the Tigers' seventh in their last nine season-opening contests. In fact, under head coach Tim Jamieson, Mizzou is now 11-5-1 in season-openers. The 10 runs scored in the game mark the seventh time in those 17 contests that Mizzou has tallied at least 10 runs in a season-opener as well. The 10 runs scored in the game mark the most by a Tiger team in a season-openers since they topped Nevada, 12-1, in 2009.
The game itself was a wild affair as Mizzou won the game on a wild pitch and scored six runs in the sixth inning despite a pair of delays - one for weather and another due to a freak injury involving a bat in the Cal-Poly dugout.
The Mach Attack
Junior infielder Conner Mach carried his hot bat from the Fall World Series into the season-opening tournament last weekend as he tied for the team lead with five hits while hitting .455 in 11 at-bats. He also totaled seven total bases while driving in two runs and scoring two more. His .455 clip was second on the weekend to only Blake Brown as was his .455 on-base-percentage. Mach hit .571 in the Fall World Series and his weekend at USC shows that he has no plans of slowing down at the plate. Mach ranks 13th in the Big 12 in hitting this week at .455.
Hardoin Impresses Against UNC
After starting just two games last season, Mizzou senior lefty Zack Hardoin put together an impressive start in the Tigers' tournament finale against North Carolina. In fact, Hardoin gave up just two hits while facing 15 Tar Heel batters, good for a .133 opponent batting average, which is currently ranked ninth among pitchers in the Big 12 this season. He gave up just two earned runs over five innings in that game while striking out six. Hardoin leads the Tiger pitchers with more than an inning pitched in ERA after the first weekend.
Set at the Hot Corner
Senior Jesse Santo appears to the Tigers' answer at third base after the first weekend of play as he put together a fine performance in the three games in Southern California. After hitting just .196 last season, Santo was one of the bright spots at the plate for Mizzou at USC, hitting .444 with four hits in nine at-bats. He also drove in a pair of runs and scored two more on the weekend. His .444 clip was third-best on the team as well.
Improvement Aplenty
If the first weekend of play is a sign of things to come for Mizzou, the Tigers have to feel pretty good about the performances of several players. In fact, the Tigers' top four hitters on the weekend - Blake Brown, Conner Mach, Jesse Santo and Brannon Champagne - combined to hit .472 (17-of-36) while driving in nine runs and scoring eight more. Last season, those four players combined to hit .239 in 322 at-bats and Mach boasted the highest average of the four at .267. In fact, the four drove in 45 runs last year and are a fifth of the way to that total already (in just three games) this season. Three games is a small sample size, but it is good enough reason for excitement early in the season. If the four hitters were to continue their production at the plate throughout the season, they would be on pace to drive in more than 160 runs and score more than 140. That would nearly quadruple their RBI production from a year ago and double the total number of runs.
Newcomers in the Rotation
Last weekend, the Tigers got to see a pair of newcomers start their first games as Tigers as both Matt Stites and Rob Zastryzny started the Tigers' first two games, respectively. Stites took the hill in the Tigers' season-opening game against Cal-Poly and Zastryzny started against USC the next day. Stites gave up four earned runs in five innings, but pitched well enough to help the Tigers top Cal-Poly. Zastryzny allowed just three earned runs in his start, which lasted 4.1 innings. Those two will start the first two games of the Charlotte series this weekend.
Garcia Does It All
One thing was clear heading into the 2011 season for the baseball team and that was that Eric Garcia was going to be the Tigers' true utility man this season. That was evident after the first weekend of play as he started all three games at shortstop for the Tigers while even seeing some time on the mound in relief in the Tigers' loss to North Carolina. He gave up two earned runs in just an inning of work, but expect more from Garcia on the mound this season.
Opel Moves to First
After starting 41 games in the outfield in 2011, sophomore Dane Opel started all three of the Tigers' games last weekend at first base. He did not start at first in any game last season, but with a crowded outfield full of contributors, Opel was a natural fit at first base. Despite not playing at first last year, Opel committed just one error last weekend and had 19 put outs. At the plate, he also tallied two hits and drove in a run and scored another while accounting for three total bases.
Ross Picks Up First Win as a Tiger
Junior reliever Dusty Ross picked up his first win as a Tiger in Mizzou's win over Cal-Poly. The junior college transfer from Vernon College pitched 0.2 innings in the win and allowed no earned runs to earn the win. He is currently one of two Tigers to boast a perfect ERA through the first weekend of play as well. Ross went 11-5 with a 3.31 ERA and 105 strikeouts in his two years at Vernon College before transferring to Mizzou.
Tigers Show Good Plate Discipline
Looking at the statistics from last weekend's action, the Tigers struck out just 16 times, good for fourth-best in the Big 12. Oklahoma State was first over the weekend with just eight strikeouts, while Kansas State (14) and Texas A&M (15) were the only other teams to finish with less strikeouts than the Tigers in the first weekend of play.
Champagne Keeps Rolling
After leading the Gold Team with a .381 average during Fall World Series, sophomore outfielder Brannon Champagne picked up right where he left off in the fall by tallying a .333 average during the first weekend of play. He pitched in a pair of RBIs and a run as well. Counting the Fall World Series, in his last eight games, Champagne is hitting .367 with six RBI and five runs scored. If he keeps hitting at that pace, look for Champagne to be an impact outfielder all season long.
Anderson Getting Healthy
A big key to the Tigers' success in 2011 will be getting sophomore righty Eric Anderson healthy after off-season shoulder surgery. Anderson appeared in just 10 games last year but was a highly-touted recruit out of Highland Ranch, Colo., back when he signed with the Tigers in 2009. He was the Colorado State Pitcher of the Year according to the Denver Post and was a perfect 10-0 with a 1.71 ERA during his senior season. Before he is ready to go on the mound, Anderson will see reps at first base as he continues his rehab. But when Anderson returns to the mound, it gives the Tigers another great option, joining what should be a solid group on the hill. Anderson was hitless in one at-bat at USC last weekend but should continue to see action at the plate all season.
Bringing a Lot Back
The Tigers' main challenge in the early portion of the season will be replacing names like Aaron Senne, Brett Nicholas and Michael Liberto, but the team seems to be up to the task. In fact, aside from losing the three names mentioned above, Mizzou lost just five players with at-bats in 2010 and returns 65-percent of its total at-bats from a season ago. Eric Garcia leads all Tiger returners with 156 at bats last year as he drove in 31 runs with six home runs and 11 doubles. Also returning to the lineup will be Jonah Schmidt, who finished the 2010 season with seven home runs, and Dane Opel, who hit .270 while driving in 30 runs. Opel also scored 38 runs last year, the most of any Tiger returning to the roster for the 2011 season.
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.
Closing in on win No. 550
Entering his 17th season at the helm of the Tiger program, head coach Tim Jamieson sits just five wins shy of win No. 550 as he boasts a 545-383-2 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 returns for his third 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 return to Columbia for its first home game of the spring, which will be a four-game series with Illinois-Chicago from March 4-6 at Taylor Stadium. The series will mark the first in a 19-game homestand as Mizzou will play at home nearly the entire month of March. Mizzou will play Gonzaga, Le Moyne, Central Michigan, Central Arkansas and Oklahoma on the homestand before departing for Texas during spring break. For all the latest on Mizzou baseball, be sure to stay tuned to MUTigers.com and be sure to follow the team on twitter @MUTigerBaseball.
