Friday, May 11
Columbia, S.C.
6 p.m. (CT)
University of Missouri
at
South Carolina
@MizzouBaseball Heads to Columbia East for Series at Carolina
5/9/2018 2:28:00 PM | Baseball
Mizzou and South Carolina each look to improve NCAA Tournament resumes
- Mizzou Baseball makes its final SEC road trip of the year, facing a red-hot South Carolina team that has won eight of its last 10 games as of Wednesday (May 9). Game one will be Friday at Founders Park at 6 p.m. (CT) and game two is slated for a 3 p.m. (CT) first pitch. Sunday's finale will begin at 12:30 p.m. (CT). All three games will air live on SEC Network+ and KTGR in the Mid-Missouri area.
- Mizzou was off during the midweek as the players took their final exams. Mizzou was last in action last weekend at home against Georgia. The Dawgs swept the three-game, Thursday-Saturday set as Mizzou will not have played a game in five days when it takes the field Friday in Columbia East. That is the longest off period for Mizzou since the start of the season.
- Mizzou has played 13 of its last 16 games against ranked opponents, going 7-9 in that span. The three games played against unranked teams all came in the midweek with two of those three games coming against RPI top-50 teams in Missouri State (No. 47) and on the road at Iowa (No. 49).
- Mizzou is currently No. 33 in this week's RPI rankings, making this weekend's series at South Carolina (No. 39) big for both team's postseason hopes. Mizzou has played an incredible 26 games against RPI top-50 teams this season, going 13-13 in those games. Only four teams in the country have played more games vs. the RPI top-50 than Mizzou. They are listed below with their corresponding RPI ranking:
- No. 1 Florida: 30 games (22-8 in those games)
- No. 10 Florida State: 28 games (16-12 in those games)
- No. 6 Auburn: 27 games (14-13 in those games)
- No. 42 Vanderbilt: 27 games (12-15 in those games)
- No. 33 Mizzou: 26 games (13-13 in those games)
- South Carolina is making its push towards an NCAA Regional, winning eight of 10 games and its last three SEC series. The only SEC team to beat the Gamecocks in a series at Founders Park this season is No. 1 Florida. South Carolina has played 22 games vs. the RPI top-50 and is 8-14 in such games.
- Mizzou and South Carolina have met 17 times in the history of the two programs with Carolina leading, 11-6. Below are quick hits on the all-time series:
- Last meeting: May 25, 2017 - 10-2 loss in the SEC Tournament
- First meeting: March 15, 2013 - 4-1 loss in Columbia, Mo.
- Record at Founders Park: 0-6 (sweeps in both 2014 and 2016)
- Record at Taylor Stadium: 5-4 (series wins in 2015, 2017 and a 2-1 loss in 2013)
- Record at SEC Tournament: 1-1 (win in 2015, loss in 2017)
- Mizzou won last year's series, taking two of three in Columbia, Mo.
- Mizzou is hoping for a similar finish as it had to the 2017 season under then first-year head coach Steve Bieser. The Tigers were hoping to secure an NCAA Tournament berth heading into the final two weeks of play, coincidentally playing the same two teams it closes this year's schedule with: South Carolina and Tennessee. Mizzou went 6-1 in its final seven regular season games, claiming a series win over the Gamecocks while sweeping Tennessee in Knoxville. If the Tigers have that type of post-finals success this year, with their RPI at No. 33, Mizzou should be in good shape for the NCAA Tournament.
PROJECTED STARTERS
- Friday: Sophomore LHP T.J. Sikkema (3-5, 3.81 ERA) vs. RHP Logan Chapman (3-0, 4.72 ERA)
- Saturday: Junior LHP Michael Plassmeyer (5-2, 2.79 ERA) vs. RHP Adam Hill (5-5, 4.58 ERA)
- Saturday: TBA vs. RHP Cody Morris (6-3, 4.74 ERA)
Players Mentioned
LHP
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