Baseball Opens Home Slate vs. UIC
3/2/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 2, 2011
Mizzou Baseball (2-5) vs. Illinois-Chicago (1-6)
First Pitch - What You Need to Know
- After opening the 2011 season with seven games on the road, the Mizzou baseball team returns to Columbia this weekend for its 2011 home opener - a four-game series with Illinois-Chicago from March 4-6 at Taylor Stadium. Mizzou will host the Flames at 6 p.m. on Friday (March 5) before settling in for a double-header on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Tigers and Flames will then play at 1 p.m. on Sunday (March 6) in the series finale.
- The four-game series with UIC is the start of a 19-game homestand for the Tigers, who will be at home nearly the entire month of March. In 2010, Mizzou was 18-9 inside the friendly confines of Taylor Stadium, so a 19-game homestand will be a welcome sight for the Tigers, who spent the last two weekends of play on the road.
- Something to keep an eye on this weekend will be Mizzou head coach Tim Jamieson's career win total as he could potentially tally his 550th career win this weekend. He currently sits at 546 entering action this weekend and a series sweep would give him win No. 550. He is already second on the Tigers' all-time coaching wins list, but getting to the 550-win milestone would inch him that much closer to Tiger legend Gene McArtor.
- Mizzou and Illinois-Chicago have met three times in program history with the last meeting coming in 2009. That year, Mizzou and the Flames split a two-game series with Mizzou taking the second game of that billing, 12-8. Prior to that two-game series in 2009, Mizzou and UIC had not met since the 1991 season, which was a 13-3 victory of the Tigers.
- There has been a slight change in the radio plans for this weekend's game as Saturday's broadcast will be conflicted by Mizzou men's and women's basketball. The first game of the double-header on Saturday will be carried by KTGR 1580 AM/100.5 AM but with the women's basketball game slated for a 4 p.m. start as well, MUTigers.com will offer the second game for free on Mizzou All-Access along with a video stream. Fans wishing to tune into the broadcast can access the game at MUTigers.tv on Saturday.
For Starters
The Tigers' starting rotation saw plenty of improvement during the second weekend of play and gave the Tigers a chance to win each of their first three games at Charlotte. Each of the Tigers' first three starters nearly turned in quality starts (6.0 IP, 3ER or less) as Matt Stites, Rob Zastryzny and Jeff Scardino posted a combined ERA of 2.25 while allowing just five earned runs in 20 innings of work. The threesome also struck out 12 batters in those 20 innings. That line is considerably better than the three starts that the Tigers got during the first weekend when Stites, Zastryzny and Zack Hardoin combined to throw just 14.1 innings while combining for a 5.75 ERA at the USC Tournament. In fact, if you look at each day's start, each spot saw a significant improvement in its overall numbers. Despite pitching in 5.1 more innings of work than they did in the opening series, the Tiger starters allowed four fewer earned runs and just one more hit at Charlotte than they did at USC. A complete breakdown is listed to the right.
Scarring the 49ers
A big reason for the Tigers' success on the hill last weekend was senior southpaw Jeff Scardino, who made his eighth career start and first of the season in the second game on Saturday. Scardino threw a career-best 8.0 innings while allowing just one earned run with 6 strikeouts, also a career-best. He was in line for his third career win, but the Tiger bullpen gave up the tying run in the ninth to send the game to extra innings. But regardless, Scardino's outing was the best start of the season by a Tiger in 2011 and helped the Tigers earn their second win of the season. Scardino is now second among Tiger starters in ERA (4.32) after his start and it would be much better had he not given up three runs in just 0.1 innings of work at USC.
What Can Brown do for You?
After two weekends of play, sophomore outfielder Blake Brown continues to be one of the pleasant surprises for the Tigers in 2011. In fact, after the first two weekends of play, Brown leads the Tigers with a .444 average and has scored four runs with a team-high eight hits. What is even more impressive has been his eye at the plate as he has drawn a team-high six walks, giving him an on-base-percentage of .600 through seven games this season. Not only that, but he has tallied five RBI this season, which is also a team-high, along with a team-high four-stolen bases.
He is currently 10th in the Big 12 in hitting and his four steals rank him sixth in the Big 12. Also, his .600 OBP is tied for fourth in the Big 12 with Texas Tech's Jamodrick McGruder. He is eighth in the Big 12 with six walks as well.
Sommer(Feld) Time
Sophomore first baseman Scott Sommerfeld started all four games for the Tigers over the weekend at Charlotte and provided a spark for the Tiger offense. In fact, he tied for the team lead with a .333 average in the four games and hit his first career home run in the third inning of the series finale. The homer was a bomb over the left field wall and was a two run shot as it drove in Conner Mach who had drawn a walk earlier in the inning. His two RBI in the game are a new career-high.
Sommerfeld's weekend nearly doubled his career production as he had just three career starts heading into the weekend. His five hits one the weekend were two more than his three career hits coming into the weekend and he had 15 at-bats alone in the series, just two less than he had all of last season. He also had three runs in the four games, matching his run production from a season ago.
Getting Some Relief
A trio of Tiger relievers put together an impressive performance last weekend at Charlotte, highlighted by senior lefty Phil McCormick, who threw four innings of relief work while picking up his first win of the season. McCormick allowed just two hits and one run (unearned) while striking out three 49er batters. He was a big reason why the Tigers were able to win the third game of the series with Charlotte.
McCormick wasn't the only Tiger reliever to have a good performance last weekend as both Jeff Emens and Dusty Ross had quality outings out of the pen. Emens stopped the bleeding in the series finale with three innings of work, allowing just one unearned run in that span while fanning two batters. Ross threw 1.2 innings of one-hit baseball as well on the weekend as both he and Emens has a perfect ERA in the series.
More on Mccormick
Phil McCormick, who broke the school record with 36 appearances in 2010, is on pace for a career year in 2011. In fact, he has already appeared in five of the Tigers' seven contests this season and is on pace to appear in 40 games for the Tigers this season, which would reset his own school record. McCormick had one of his best weekends as a Tiger at Charlotte as he combined to throw six innings in three appearances while allowing just one earned run and fanning seven 49er batters.
Going Yard
After not posting a home run during the first weekend of play, Mizzou's bats came to life in the series with Charlotte last weekend. In fact, Mizzou tallied three home runs in the series and seven extra-base hits in the series. Scott Sommerfeld notched the first home run of his career in the series finale and both Dane Opel and Jonah Schmidt homered in the series. Schmidt went yard in the second game of the series - a solo bomb over the left field wall to make the score 2-0, Tigers - while Opel launched a solo shot in the second inning of the series finale.
That trio accounted for 24 total bases on the weekend (eight apiece) while both Opel and Schmidt led the team with a .615 slugging percentage on the weekend.
Streaking Schmidt
Senior outfielder/DH Jonah Schmidt currently owns the Tigers longest hitting streak of the season as he has posted a hit in each of the Tigers' last six contests. That is the longest streak of the season (topping Conner Mach's five-game hitting streak) and is the longest current streak. In fact, Schmidt's streak leaves him just three games shy of his career-long which was a nine-game hitting streak last season.
Also, both Dane Opel and Scott Sommerfeld have stringed together four-game hit streaks as well after reaching safely in each of the Tigers' four contests at Charlotte last weekend. In all, five Tigers have current hit streaks of two games or more heading into the UIC series.
Gebhart Emerges
Junior outfielder Ryan Gebhart - who came into the season as the Tigers' top returning hitter as far as batting average was concerned - had a breakout weekend at Charlotte. In fact, the junior hit. 333 to tie for the team lead on the weekend and tallied his first multi-hit game of the season in the third game of the series, going 2-4 with a pair of runs scored. Gebhart had just one hit in 10 at-bats at the USC Tournament, but notched three in nine at-bats, including the Tigers' first triple of the season, at Charlotte while scoring three runs. He also drew his second walk of the season during the series, giving him an OBP of .455 on the weekend.
Zastryzny Continues to Impress
After his first two starts, the Tigers are starting to see why freshman lefty Rob Zastryzny was such a hot commodity coming out of Calallen High School in Corpus Christi, Texas. In fact, the lefty leads the Tigers with 10.2 innings pitched this season and boasts the team's second-best ERA at 3.38. Only reliever Jeff Emens has a better ERA (2.25) through the first two weekends of action.
Zastryzny shined in his start at Charlotte, giving up just one earned run on six hits in a career-best 6.1 innings of work. In fact, he has given up just four earned runs this season, a team-low for any pitcher with at least eight innings of work this season.
Champagne Keeps Rolling
Sophomore outfielder Brannon Champagne continues to swing a hot bat during the first two weekends of action as he boasts a .304 average through the Tigers' first seven games, good for third on the team. He has seven hits in 23 at-bats and leads the Tigers in runs scored with five. His seven hits are tied for the team lead through the first seven games and his two multi-hit games are second-best on the team behind only Blake Brown, who has three. His 23 at-bats are fourth-best on the team as well.
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 four wins shy of win No. 550 as he boasts a 546-387-2 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 continue its 19-game homestand against Gonzaga on March 8-9 at Taylor Stadium. Mizzou will play the Zags at 4 p.m. next Tuesday (March 8) and will close the series on Wednesday (March 9) at 4 p.m. The series will serve as a rematch between the two teams, who played in the Tigers' 2010 season-opener last season. For all the latest on Mizzou baseball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and be sure to follow the team on twitter @MUTigerBaseball.
