Mizzou Baseball Heads to No. 20 Auburn
3/25/2014 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 25, 2014
| Mizzou Baseball (11-12) at #20 Auburn (18-8) | |
|---|---|
| When | Thursday - 6:30 p.m. | Friday - 6 p.m. | Sunday - Noon |
| Location | Auburn, Ala.| Plainsman Park |
| Tickets | Click Here |
| TV | Thursday - ESPNU (Dave Neal, Chris Burke, Kyle Peterson) | Saturday - FSN (Dave Neal, Larry Conley) |
| Radio | KTGR 103.1 FM/1580 AM - Tex Little (PBP), Hunter Mense (Color) |
| Online Coverage | GT - Thursday | GT - Friday | GT - Saturday | ESPN3 - Thursday | ESPN3 - Saturday |
| Printable Game Notes | Mizzou |
| 2014 Season Stats | Mizzou | Auburn |
| Series History | Mizzou leads, 6-2 |
| Last Meeting | Mizzou won, 4-1, in Columbia // Took series, 2-1 |
| Streak | Mizzou - Won 2 |
| Social Media | @MizzouBaseball,| Mizzou Network  |
FIRST PITCH - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Mizzou will hit the road again this weekend as it heads to Auburn for a three-game series with a Tiger team that has won nine of its last 11 while sitting atop the SEC standings at 4-2 in league play. Auburn, under first-year head coach Sunny Golloway, enters the weekend at 17-8 overall while Mizzou checks in at 11-12 after being swept at No. 14 Ole Miss. The series will open Thursday on ESPNU at 6:30 p.m. and the two will play another night game Friday at 6 p.m. The series will close at Noon Sunday on Fox Sports.
This weekend will mark the first time that Mizzou will be on the SEC Thursday Night Baseball Game on ESPNU, and it is the first nationally-televised game of the year for the Tigers. It is also the first SEC Thursday Night Game this season. Dane Neal, Kyle Peterson and Chris Burke will have the call.
This weekend's matchup will feature two former Big 12 stalwarts in Mizzou skipper Tim Jamieson and first-year Auburn head coach Sunny Golloway. The two played each other annually for the eight seasons that Golloway was at Oklahoma. In those eight years, Mizzou was 10-16 against Golloway's Sooners, including an 8-7 win in the 2012 Big 12 Championship game. Jamieson is 14-16 all-time against the Auburn skipper, dating back to Golloway's time at Oral Roberts.
Mizzou has owned the all-time series with Auburn in recent memory, winning four of the last six meetings dating back to 2012. Mizzou has won the last two series. In all, Mizzou leads Auburn, 6-2.
RECAPPING LAST WEEK
Mizzou had a tough go last weekend at No. 14 Ole Miss, being swept for the first time since May 5 of last season. It was a Murphy's Law-type weekend for Mizzou that started to unravel Friday night. Just 30 minutes before first pitch Friday, projected starter Brett Graves was struck by an errant throw in the side of the head during Ole Miss' in-and-out warm-up as he was walking to the bullpen to begin throwing. That scratched him from the start and John Miles, the projected Saturday starter, was moved up a day. He had just finished conditioning to prepare for Saturday's start when he got word he would pitch. He scrambled and gave up three hits (two homers) and three runs in the first before shutting the Rebels down for the next 6.1 innings, allowing just one run in that span. He kept Mizzou in the game, but a late rally fell short as the Tigers fell, 4-3. The Tigers were hopeful that Graves could pitch Saturday, but he wasn't ready to go and neither was Sunday starter Eric Anderson so the Tigers staffed the game and fell, 7-1. Graves pitched seven dominating innings on Sunday and was in line for the win before six eight-inning runs off of closer Keaton Steele doomed the Tigers as they fell, 8-3.
SCOUTING AUBURN
First year head coach Sunny Golloway has the Auburn Tigers clicking on all cylinders so far this season. Last year, Auburn finished 33-23 but just 13-17 in SEC play as they struggled down the stretch, leading to the coaching change. This year, Auburn is out to a 17-8 start and is ranked as high as No. 20 in the national polls. Pitching has been the strength, especially on the weekends. Auburn's weekend starters all have ERAs under four while Dillon Ortman and Keegan Thompson check in under 2.00, led by Thompson's 0.78 mark in six starts (5-0). Ortman is 5-1 with a 1.96 ERA and Justin Camp is 1-3 with a 3.55 ERA. The Tigers hit .294 as a team and limit opponents to a .224 clip. Damek Tomscha leads the team with his .380 average and has a team-high 19 RBI and six doubles. he also leads the team with five homers. Auburn will run when on base, stealing 45 bags in 62 attempts.
THE LAST MEETING WITH AUBURN
Last year, Mizzou took two of three games from Auburn in Columbia, including a Sunday doubleheader sweep of two seven-inning games. Mizzou hit just .208 to Auburn's .247 in the series win, but allowed just four earned runs over the three games. Mizzou hit .214 with RISP in the series while Auburn hit just .105, which proved to be the difference. Mizzou lost game one of the series, 3-1, despite an 11-strikeout performance over 8.0 innings from Rob Zastryzny, a future second-round pick of the Cubs. Mizzou then won 3-1 and 4-1 in the final two games of the series. Mizzou has won the last two series.
JAMIESON VS. GOLLOWAY
This weekend will pit together two former Big 12 skippers who have met plenty of times over the years. In all, Mizzou head coach Tim Jamieson trails in the all-time series with Auburn's Sunny Golloway, 14-16, including a 10-16 mark in Golloway's eight years at the helm of Oklahoma.
CURRENT PITCHERS VS. AUBURN
Mizzou and Auburn have played three-game series in each of the last two seasons and severla pitchers have thrown against Auburn in those two series.
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- Brett Graves picked up a win in game two of that series, going 5.0 innings, allowing just three hits and one unearned run in 2013. He walked a pair of batters in 0.0 innings at Auburn in 2012. He has a career ERA of 0.00 vs. Auburn.
- Keaton Steele also earned a win in the series, tossing 7.0 innings, allowing just six hits and one earned run. He has a career ERA of 1.29 vs. Auburn.
- Eric Anderson took a loss in game one of a 2012 series, going 6.0 innings, allowing seven hits and two earned runs while striking out four and walking none. He then pitched a perfect 0.1 innings in 2013. He has a career ERA of 2.84 vs. Auburn.
- John Miles has one appearance in his career vs. Auburn, going 0.1 innings with a walk. He has a career ERA of 0.00 vs. Auburn.
CURRENT HITTERS VS. AUBURN
As noted, Mizzou and Auburn have played a pair of series over the last two years, which means plenty of Tiger batters have faced the Auburn pitching staff. Below are a few notable hitters.
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- Shane Segovia is hitting .500 in his career vs. Auburn with a run and two RBI. He has reached base in four of seven career plate appearances.
- Logan Pearson is a career .429 hitter and has reached base in six of his 10 career plate appearances against Auburn.
- Keaton Steele is a career .250 hitter against Auburn. He has two hits and both are homers as he has driven in three and scored a pair in three career games vs. Auburn.
- Dylan Kelly is a .222 career hitter with two RBI and a run scored while reaching in three of his 10 plate appearances.
TIGERS LEAD SEC IN WALKS ALLOWED
Under the direction of pitching coach Matt Hobbs, the Tiger hurlers have done a great job limiting walks this season. In fact, the Tigers lead the SEC in walks allowed with just 41, seven ahead of second-place LSU which has 48. The Tigers rank third nationally and first in the SEC with their miniscule 1.82 BB/9 average. Only Cal State Fullerton (1.29) and Houston (1.53) rank ahead of the Tigers and both teams are in the top-25 in all four of major polls.
TIGERS RANK HIGHLY IN BB/9 TOO
Mizzou also checks in at sixth nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 3.73, a mark that ranks them third in the SEC. The five teams that rank ahead of Mizzou in that stat are all ranked in the top 25 polls nationally
ANDERSON IN THE LEADOFF SPOT
Another key to the Tigers' success over the last 14 games has been the emergence of a leadoff hitter as fifth-year senior Eric Anderson has been very good at the top of the order. He became the first player under Tim Jamieson to hit in the leadoff spot while starting a game on the mound as well, doing so in his last two pitching starts. In his last 14 games Anderson is hitting .340 with an OBP of .413 while slugging .491. He has scored a team-high 13 runs and driven in five more in that span. He also hit his first Division I homer against Alcorn State and has reached base safely in 16 straight.
GRAVES DEALING
Junior righty Brett Graves has put together as impressive of a five-game streak as there is in the country this season in his last five starts. He has owned some impressive streaks this season, going 16.1 shutout innings and 30.2 without an extra-base hit. He has went at least 7.0 innings in his last five starts and owns an ERA of 1.22 in 37.0 IP over those five starts. He is limiting batters to a .160 average in that span and has struck out 30 against just five walks (6:1 ratio). He has allowed just five earned runs in that span, going 3-0 with a 0.70 WHIP.
He has allowed just 26 baserunners in his last five starts and given up just two extra-base hits, both of which came against Tennessee.
GRAVES IN THE SEC RANKS
- 3rd - IP - 41.2
- 4th - 2B allowed - 2
- 8th - OPP BA - .169
- 8th - Ks - 33
- 9th - BB allowed - 6
- 12th - ERA - 1.51
TRIBBY IRONMAN OF THE `PEN
So far this season, pitching coach Matt Hobbs has relied heavily on sophomore lefty Austin Tribby as the team's lefty specialist. He leads the team and is first in the SEC with 16 appearances and has done a great job. In fact, he is leading the team in opponent batting average at .119. Five of his team-leading 16 appearances have been to get one batter - usually a lefty - out. He leads the Tigers in ERA at 1.50 and has struck out 14 batters against just three walks, allowing five hits in 12.0 IP.
ANDERSON BACK IN WEEKEND ROTATION
Senior righty Eric Anderson moved back into the weekend rotation in each of the last two starts before missing last week due to the Brett Graves injury on Friday night. He is coming off of one of the best outings of his career, firing 6.0 innings, allowing just five hits and no walks while striking out a career-best eight vs. Tennessee. He allowed just one earned run in the start last Saturday vs. #17 Tennessee.
SCORING EARLY
Mizzou has scored in the first inning in nine of the last 14 games, winning seven of those games. In fact, Mizzou has scored in the first inning in 10 games this season and owns a 8-2 mark in those contests.
SIXTH INNING SENSE
Another trend developing is the Tigers' ability to score in the sixth inning this season. The Tigers have plated 19 runs in the sixth, their most in any inning, limiting opponents to three.
FILLING IT UP
The Tiger pitching staff has been very good at striking out batters while limiting walks. In fact, the Tigers average 3.83 strikeouts per every walk. The strikeout-walk ratio has been a staple of pitching Coach Matt Hobbs as he works with Tiger pitchers. Since he took over the Tiger pitchers in 2011, the Tigers have seen their strikeout -to-walk ratio improve from 1.92 in 2011 to 2.25 last season and seen even better this year with the 3.83 clip.
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YR K-BB - Ratio
2014: 110-29 - 3.71
2013: 342-152 - 2.25
2012: 352-193 - 1.82
2011: 409-213 - 1.92
TIGERS LIMITING WALKS
When looking more into the Tiger pitching staff this season, it is easy to see where the point of emphasis from Coach Hobbs has been placed - limiting walks. So far this season, Mizzou is averaging just 1.82 walks per nine innings, by far the best clip during Hobbs' four-year tenure at Mizzou. In fact, since his first year, he has seen that number shrink from 3.70 in 2011 to 3.11 last season and the minuscule 1.82 this season. In Mizzou's first inning against Cincinnati, the Tigers had a streak of 32 innings without a walk snapped.
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Yr. BB/9
2011: 3.70
2012: 3.24
2013: 3.11
2014: 1.82
FRANCIS HOWELL CONNECTION
This year, the Mizzou baseball roster features five players that have played together for quite sometime. Brett Graves, Case Munson, Jake Ivory, Brett Peel and Steven Diel all played high school ball for Francis Howell in St. Charles, Mo., winning a state championship together during their senior season.
MILES IMPRESSES OVER THE SUMMER
Junior righty John Miles led Mizzou with a 2.35 ERA coming out of the bullpen last season, but as if that weren't impressive enough, he really turned heads this summer. Playing his summer ball in the NECBL, he set a league record with a .135 opponent batting average and started the league's annual All-Star Game, alongside Tiger teammate Brett Graves. He led all starters in the league with a 1.20 ERA. He closed his summer with a complete game, one-run outing. He was 3-1 in Vermont and allowed an ER in just three of his starts.
60 YEAR ANNIVERSARY
The 2014 season marks the 60-year Anniversary of Mizzou's 1954 team that won the College World Series for the school's first ever National Championship in baseball. Under legendary Tiger head coach John 'Hi' Simmons, the 1954 team was 22-4 overall and went 5-1 at the College World Series, defeating Rollins, 4-1, to claim the Championship. Mizzou also defeated Lafayette, UMass, Oklahoma State and Michigan State at that College World Series.
NEW FACILITY FOR TIGERS
As the Mizzou baseball program continues its transition into the SEC, the Mizzou Department of Athletics made a major commitment to the program by spending $4 million on a new facility, including a new locker room, coaches office and improved seating at Taylor Stadium. The new facility will be one of the best baseball facilities in the nation and will give players all they need to succeed on site. A state-of-the-art lockerroom, modeled after many big league lockerrooms, along with a team room, an auditorium and training room have been added on site at Taylor Stadium. Also, increased bleachers have been added down the LF line and the old bucket seats have been replaced with new seat-back stadium seats in order to help with the comfort level of the fans.
CROW INDUCTED INTO MIZZOU HOF
Former Mizzou standout Aaron Crow was inducted into the Mizzou Athletics Hall of Fame this year. Crow established himself as one of the most feared pitchers in the nation during the late 2000s in a time of great success for Tiger baseball under Head Coach Tim Jamieson. During his junior season of 2008, Crow was arguably the most dominant pitcher in the game, as he won the Roger Clemens Award, given annually to the top pitcher in college baseball, in addition to being named a consensus 1st-Team All-American. His stats in 2008 were stellar - a perfect 13-0 record, an earned run average of 2.35, four complete-game shutouts and 127 strikeouts (10.65 per nine innings). Had a 43-inning scoreless streak during the 2008 season.
LLWS CONNECTION
When Josh Lester and Ryan Phillips committed to play baseball at Mizzou, they were unaware that they had a unique connection. In fact, both players played in the 2006 Little League World Series and Lester's team won the tournament. Lester and Phillips never met in the series as the two were in different pools, but both remember watching the other play. Lester's team that won the Little League World Series kept that core group of players intact and went on to win three Georgia State Championships in high school.
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 103.1-FM, 100.5-FM and 1580-AM. The games can also be heard online at KTGR.com. Tex Little is in his 24th season of calling Tiger Baseball and is joined in the booth by Hunter Mense, who is in his fourth year as part of the MU broadcast team.
UP NEXT
Mizzou will play a pair of midweek games in the St. Louis area midweek. The Tigers play SIU at T.R. Hughes Ballpark in O'Fallon Tuesday and Illinois at Busch Stadium Wednesday. For all the latest on Mizzou baseball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on twitter @MizzouBaseball.
