| Game | Location | Day/Time (CT) | Media |
|---|---|---|---|
| at Tennessee | Lindsey Nelson Stadium | Thursday // 6 p.m. | Live Stats | Radio | SEC Network |
| at Tennessee | Lindsey Nelson Stadium | Friday // 6 p.m. | Live Stats | Radio | SEC Network |
| at Tennessee | Lindsey Nelson Stadium | Saturday // 11 a.m. | Live Stats | Radio | SEC Network |
Leading Off - Notables About the Tigers
• Following Mizzou's first series win over a top-five team since 2008, Tim Jamieson's Tigers are ranked as high as 16th in the five major collegiate baseball polls.
• At 8-4 in SEC play, the Tigers are in sole possession of second place in the SEC East and hold the head-to-head tiebreakers with the three teams ranked immediately behind them in the east standings. Mizzou is 7-2 in games against SEC East competition as well. The 8-4 start to league play is the Tigers' best 12-game conference mark since 2003.
• Mizzou boasts five wins over top-10 teams this season and three against top-five opponents.
SERIES NOTES
• Tennessee leads the all-time series with Mizzou, 4-2, winning a pair of three-game series in each of the last two seasons. Tennessee also leads the all-time series in Knoxville, 2-1.
• Mizzou took the series opener in Columbia last season, 5-2, before being swept in a doubleheader on Saturday - 4-1 and 5-1.
• Mizzou lost the series opener two years ago in Knoxville, 4-0, before splitting a doubleheader.
RECAPPING LAST WEEKEND
Mizzou took two of three games in a weekend series with No. 4 Florida at Taylor Stadium, marking the first time since 2008 that Mizzou has won a series over a top-five team. The Tigers dropped the opener, 5-1, as Florida's Logan Shore shut the door after Mizzou threatened to break the game open in the first with the bases loaded and no outs. But he got out of that jam and shut the Tigers down for 8.0 innings. Mizzou then jumped all over Florida starter AJ Puk in a 10-1 win that was highlighted by Tanner Houck's gem on the mound. Houck took a one-hit shutout into the eighth inning and retired 21 of the first 22 batters he faced while not reaching a three-ball count in the start. He was tagged for a run on three hits in the eighth, but earned his fifth win of the season, a team-best. Mizzou then took the rubber game, 5-3, thanks in large part to a three-run homer by Ryan Howard in a five-run fifth for the Tigers. Three Mizzou pitchers combined for 11 strikeouts in the win.
BEST START SINCE 2008
Mizzou, at 20-10, is off to its best start to a season through 30 games since 2008 when the team opened the year 22-8 overall. Looking further into the Tigers' record, at 6-3 in SEC play, the Tigers are off to their best start in conference play since they opened Big 12 play with the same mark in 2007. Of course, Mizzou went on to finish that year at 42-18 overall while finishing second in the Big 12 at 16-6.
BEST CONFERENCE START SINCE 2003
At 8-4 in SEC play, the Tigers are in sole possession of second place in the SEC East, trailing only No. 1 Vanderbilt (10-2). The 8-4 start for Mizzou in SEC play is the program's best 12-game stretch to begin league play since 2003 (also opened 8-4 before advancing to an NCAA Regional).
RANKED
Following the series win over No. 4 Florida last weekend, Mizzou found itself ranked in four of the five major college baseball polls. Mizzou's highest rank comes in the Collegiate Baseball Poll, checking in at No. 16. Mizzou is also 19th in the D1Baseball.com Top 25, 20th in the Baseball America Poll and 23rd in the Coaches Poll. Mizzou is ranked in the majority of the polls for the first time since the 2009 season. The Tigers also received votes in both the Perfect Game Top 25 and the NCBWA Poll.
HOUCK EARNS PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Mizzou freshman righty Tanner Houck was named SEC Pitcher of the Week on Monday (April 6) as announced by the league office. The award comes on the heels of a dominating start against No. 4 Florida in which he retired 21 of the first 22 batters he faced while taking a one-hit shutout into the eighth inning, helping Mizzou earn a 10-1 win and clinch its first series win over a top-five team since 2008.
This is the fourth time this season that a Tiger pitcher has been dubbed SEC Pitcher of the Week with the other three coming from junior righty Reggie McClain. Houck tossed 8.0 innings against the fourth-ranked Gators, scattering just four hits (three in the eighth) while walking none and striking out six. He gave up just one run in the start and did not work a three-ball count in the outing. He earned his team-leading fifth win of the season.
RPI FUN
According the NCAA, Mizzou ranks 32nd nationally in this week's RPI, setting up Tim Jamieson's crew nicely heading into the second half of the season. Mizzou's strength of schedule ranks 35th nationally according to WarrenNolan.com and the Tigers have responded with five wins over top-10 teams and three over top-five teams this season. The schedule also doesn't get any easier as Mizzou will play 17 of its final 22 games against RPI top-50 competition while this week's opponent, Tennessee, checks in at No. 53. That means 20 of the final 22 Mizzou games will feature teams among the nation's top 53 teams according to RPI. 11 of those 20 games will be against RPI top-25 teams.
TIGERS ONE OF TOP TURNAROUNDS
Heading into the weekend at 22-11, Mizzou is one of the top turnaround stories in college baseball this season. With six more wins at this point of the season than they had a year ago, that is the nation's fiftth-largest turnaround among schools from power-five conferences. Only Texas A&M (+11 wins), Arizona (+10), USC (+10 wins) and Notre Dame (+10) rank ahead of the Tigers. Mizzou has already surpassed its win total from a season ago, both overall and in SEC play.
SATURDAY'S ARE ALRIGHT
Should the Tigers head into Saturday this weekend with a chance to win a series, they should feel pretty good about their chances. So far this season, Mizzou is a remarkable 10-1 on Saturdays with the only loss coming to Milwaukee back in March. Over the last three Saturdays, Mizzou has knocked off a top-10 team in each game. The Tigers are also an outstanding 17-5 in day games this season.
HOMERING IS THE KEY
One of the keys to Mizzou winning games this season is the long ball. The Tigers are 10-1 this season when hitting at least one homer. In last weekend's series against No. 4 Florida, Mizzou homered three times in the Saturday game and once on Sunday, both of which were wins. The Tigers are 12-10 in games in which they do not homer.
OFFENSE COMING ALIVE
Mizzou's offense has been coming alive as of late and the numbers prove it. Over the last eight games, Mizzou hit .285 with more than 10 hits in five of the last eight games. If you need a larger sample size of offensive numbers to back up the fact that Mizzou's offense is on the upswing, you must look no further than the last 19 games. After being swept by Milwaukee at home, Mizzou was hitting just .230 as a team with a team OBP of just .322. In the 19 games since, Mizzou has a .274 batting average and a .373 OBP. Four everyday starters for the Tigers are hitting above .300 in that span (Josh Lester - .309, Brett Bond - .353, Trey Harris - .338, Ryan Howard - .300). Mizzou is averaging 5.4 runs per game in that span, up from 4.0 runs per game over the first 14 contests.
HOUCK BEATING THE BEST
Over his last three starts, freshman Tanner Houck has been nothing short of sensational. In those three starts (all against top-10 teams), the righty is 2-0 with a 1.96 ERA in 23.0 innings pitched (7.2 per game). He has allowed just 22 baserunners in those three starts (20 hits, two walks) and struck out 17. Keep in mind those three starts were against No. 6 South Carolina, No. 1 Texas A&M and No. 4 Florida. Houck is one of just two pitchers to earn a win against the 30-2 Texas A&M Aggies this season.
HOUCK DRAWING COMPARISONS
Freshman righty Tanner Houck - with his 2.70 ERA in SEC play - is beginning to turn heads around the country, being billed as one of the top freshman pitchers in the nation. He is also drawing comparisons to former Tiger greats Max Scherzer, Aaron Crow and Kyle Gibson, all of whom were first round draft picks. But at 5-1 with a 2.70 ERA, Houck has better numbers than all three at this point of his career.
2015: Tanner Houck: 5-1 | 2.70 ERA | 56.2 IP | 48 H | 17-17 E-ER | 5 BB | 46 Ks
2007: Kyle Gibson: 8-3 | 4.12 ERA | 67.2 IP | 62 H | 34-31 E-ER | 19 BB | 77 Ks
2006: Aaron Crow: 1-4 | 4.06 ERA | 77.2 IP | 94 H | 44-35 E-ER | 20 BB | 60 Ks
2004: Max Scherzer: 0-1 | 5.85 ERA | 20.0 IP | 19 H | 17-13 E-ER | 16 BB | 23 Ks
Looking at the numbers at this point in Houck's season, he has the best of the bunch. Considering all four of those others guys were first round draft picks and all-time Mizzou greats, Houck's future appears to be very bright.
MCCLAIN PITCHER OF THE WEEK, THRICE
After tossing 8.1 innings of five-hit baseball in a 3-2 win over No. 6 South Carolina on March 20, junior righty Reggie McClain was named Co-SEC Pitcher of the Week.. It is the third time this season that McClain has been named SEC Pitcher of the Week. McClain is the only SEC pitcher this season to earn SEC Pitcher of the Week three times. McClain is the first SEC pitcher to earn the honor three times in a single season since both LSU's Aaron Nola and Mississippi State's Ross Mitchell did so in 2014.
HARRIS HAS THE CLUTCH GENE
In 12 SEC games, there have been few Tigers who have been more impactful at the dish than freshman Trey Harris. He is second on the team in batting in SEC games at .375 and has a team-high 12 RBI in the Tigers' 12 league games. He had a huge, three-run, go-ahead homer in the game one win at Georgia and had another huge, go-ahead two-run single in the Friday night win over No. 6 South Carolina. He then ripped a walk-off, RBI single in game two against the Gamecocks. He has been clutch as seven of his 12 RBI have either tied or given Mizzou the lead in SEC games this season. He is hitting .321 with runners in scoring position this season, including a .500 clip in SEC play.
BOND RAKING IN SEC PLAY
Trey Harris isn't the only Tiger tearing the cover off the ball in SEC play as classmate Brett Bond actually has better hitting numbers in SEC play than Harris. Bond is hitting .381 (16-for-42) in 12 SEC games, scoring eight runs and driving in six more with a pair of homers. He is also hitting .333 with runners in scoring position in SEC play.
PEEL STEALS
Senior Brett Peel is tied for the SEC lead with his 17 stolen bases this season with Georgia's Stephen Wrenn (17) and LSU's Alex Bregman. Peel is also eighth in the SEC in walks drawn (22) and has reached base safely in 30 consecutive games. He is just two games shy of matching the school record in that category (32 by Aaron Senne and Brannon Champagne).
WINNING CLOSE GAMES
Mizzou has also won its fair share of close games, winning eight one-run games already this season. Mizzou won five of those variety all year in 2014. Mizzou is also 5-0 when tied after eight innings this season after going 1-7 in such games a season ago. Most recently, Mizzou was pushed to a 2-2 tie after eight in game two vs. South Carolina and Mizzou rallied for two runs in the bottom of the 10th to overcome a 3-2 deficit for its fourth walk-off win of the season.
BECAUSE THREE IS BETTER THAN ONE
Mizzou did something that may have never been done in school history on Feb. 22 against Purdue. With the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the sixth and with the Tigers trying to preserve a 1-0 lead, Andrew Schwaab got a ground ball to third to start a 5-2-3-2 triple play. While it may have been done before at Mizzou, it is the first documented triple play in the record books. It turned out to be the play of the game as Mizzou held on to win, 1-0, behind a one-hitter from the pitching.
RECRUITNG CLASS IS GOOD
The 2014 Mizzou baseball freshman class earned a pair of top-25 national rankings as Baseball America tabbed the class 12th nationally while Perfect Game slotted the Tigers at No. 22. Mizzou now ranks in the top 31 in all of the major recruiting rankings after being ranked No. 31 by Collegiate Baseball with an average rank of No. 22 nationally. The No. 12 ranking in Baseball America is the best for the Tigers since 2007, when the team checked in at No. 11.
In the Baseball America rankings, the Tigers check in at 12th nationally and fifth in the Southeastern Conference. The 14-player class has two players - Bryce Montes De Oca (72) and Shane Benes (400) - that ranked among the top 400 recruits according to the publication. Montes De Oca was the third-highest ranked prospect to enter Division I this season. Baseball America described the class as `a frontline SEC-caliber class' and the publication goes on to tout the the pitchers in the 2014 class as all very projectable at the next level. In the Perfect Game rankings, Mizzou checks in at No. 22 nationally and ninth in the SEC.
NEW COACHES
Mizzou head baseball coach Tim Jamieson announced that Mizzou graduate and former Tiger All-American Hunter Mense has been promoted and will serve as the program's full time hitting coach. Mense, one of the brightest young minds in college baseball, had a very successful playing career both collegiately and at the next level. He has served as an undergraduate and graduate assistant over the last four seasons while completing his undergraduate degree and working towards his Master's degree in Counseling Psychology with an emphasis in sport psychology at Mizzou.
During his last four years with Mizzou baseball, Mense established a great rapport with the Tiger hitters and also used his schooling in the field of sport psychology to work as a positive coach, assisting in the mental side of the Tigers' approach. With a pair of degrees and an All-America honor, Mense is a truly Mizzou Made addition to the Tiger coaching staff.
Coach Jamieson will now handle the pitchers, a role that has been a specialty for the Tiger skipper, who has mentored the likes of American League Cy Young winner Max Scherzer and other current Major Leaguers Aaron Crow (Royals), Kyle Gibson (Twins), Nick Tepesch (Rangers) and Matt Stites (Diamondbacks). Scherzer, Crow and Gibson were all first-round draft picks under Jamieson's tutelage. Crow was an All-Star pick for the Royals and Gibson was been one of the best pitchers for the Twins last season.
Additionally, former Tiger catcher Trevor Coleman has returned to Mizzou to serve as a graduate assistant manager. He was a freshman All-American and Big 12 Freshman of the Year during his playing days with the Tigers and will work with the Tiger hitters and catchers.
A LOOK AT THIS YEAR'S COMPETITION
Mizzou has put together a very competitive schedule in 2014. Most of that is due to the Tigers' SEC slate, which should bring plenty of excitement to Taylor Stadium. In fact, Mizzou plays 19 games, including six weekend series against teams that qualified for NCAA Regional action a season ago. Mizzou will also play weekend series against College World Series qualifiers Vanderbilt and Ole Miss. Of course, Vanderbilt won the NCAA Championship a season ago.
Looking deeper into the schedule, Mizzou is 150-136 all-time against this year's scheduled opponents.
LESTER, BONE WIN SUMMER LEAGUES
Two Mizzou baseball players - Josh Lester and Logan Bone - won championships with their respective Summer League teams last summer. Lester and the Y-D Red Sox won the Cape Cod League, which is often recognized as the top summer ball league on Aug. 15. Bone and the Quincy Gems also won the 2014 Prospect League Championship on Aug. 13.
Starting in the Cape, Lester hit .280 over eight games in the playoffs, notching a double, five runs and an RBI. He helped the Red Sox to a 10-4 win over Falmouth in game two of the championship series, completing the sweep. Lester hit .279 in 40 regular season games as well, notching four doubles while driving in 14 and scoring 16 runs. He also was second on the team with 15 walks.
Moving to the Prospects League, Bone played in 33 games from the Gems and hit .239 with a pair of doubles and a homer while scoring 13 runs and driving in 13 more. He had three runs and an RBI in the playoffs while playing in all six games.
Ks FOR K9s
The Mizzou baseball team has partnered with the Puppies With Purpose program for the 2015 season in an effort to help raise money for Columbia service dogs. The initiative, dubbed "K's for K9's," will allow fans to pledge a donation amount to be paid per strikeout during the 2015 season.
"I'm a dog lover," head coach Tim Jamieson said. "I've read more and more about dogs and actually researched whether or not there were places in Missouri that train dogs for this purpose and ironically find out that there's one in Columbia and one on Mizzou's campus. So it seemed like it was a really good fit and I introduced it to our players and they are really excited about it."
DETTMER INDUCTED INTO MIZZOU HOF
Former Mizzou standout John Dettmer will be inducted into the Mizzou Athletics Hall of Fame this year. Mizzou's all-time career strikeout leader who was durable in addition to his flame-throwing achievements for hall of fame Coach Gene McArtor...Won honorable mention All-American honors in 1991 when he turned in one of the top individual pitching seasons in MU history... Won nine games that year, and struck out 127 batters in 120.0 innings while leading the team with a 2.63 earned run average in a time where bats were very lively... Finished his Tiger career with 374 strikeouts, which stands still as the most in program history, while his 332.0 career innings pitched ranks second to this day, and his 23 career wins are also eighth-most... Won All-Big Eight first-team honors in 1990, 1991 and 1992, as he led the Tigers in strikeouts each year, with 99, 127 and 123, respectively... Turned in 15 complete games during his career as he was a durable and dependable presence on the mound... Went on to become an 11th-round draft pick in the 1992 Major League Baseball Draft by the Texas Rangers, and eventually pitched in 12 games in the Majors.
LLWS CONNECTION
For most little league players, the Little League World Series is the pinnacle. No Mizzou player knows that better than junior Josh Lester. Lester's team won the Little League World Series in 2006. He was even interviewed by Erin Andrews after winning the whole thing. His team kept that core group of players intact and went on to win three Georgia State Championships in high school.
TV SLATE
Mizzou baseball will be televised nine times through the Southeastern Conference and ESPN's television package this season, including three contests at Taylor Stadium. The television slate was announced Tuesday (Jan. 20) by the SEC league office. The nine games are more than double the amount of Mizzou games that were slated for national television last season. In all, the Tigers' nine TV games will all air on SEC Network with 38 additional SEC Network+ games on the schedule. All nine Mizzou games featured on the SEC Network will be against preseason top-25 competition.
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 25th season of calling Tiger Baseball and is joined in the booth by SID Shawn Davis for road games and Sean Hamel for home games.
FRANCIS HOWELL CONNECTION
This year, the Mizzou baseball roster features three players that have played together for quite sometime. Case Munson, Jake Ivory and Brett Peel all played high school ball for Francis Howell in St. Charles, Mo., winning a state championship together during their senior season.
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 offices and improved seating at Taylor Stadium. The new facility is 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 of fans. It officially opened to the public last May in a grand opening ceremony.
UP NEXT
Mizzou will open a five-game homestand against UALR on April 14 at 4 p.m. at Taylor Stadium. For all the latest on Mizzou baseball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on twitter @MizzouBaseball.
