March 23, 2006

KANSAS STATE AT MIZZOU
COLUMBIA, MO.
MARCH 24-26, 2006

First Pitches: Friday- 6:30 p.m. / Saturday- 2 p.m. / Sunday- 1 p.m.
Stadium: Taylor Stadium/Simmons Field (Capacity: 2,200)
Records: Mizzou: 13-7, 3-0 Big 12. Kansas State: 16-1, 0-0 Big 12.
Series History: MU leads series 153-96-1
Last Year: Mizzou swept KSU last year in Manhattan by scores of 3-1, 6-5, 3-2
Coaches:MU- Tim Jamieson (377-269-2/12th year at MU and overall)
KSU- Brad Hill (72-56/3rd year at KSU; 490-147 12th year overall)
Radio: KTGR 1580-AM, flagship. Also on 900-AM in Fulton and 950-AM in Jefferson City
Live Audio: KTGR.com
Live Stats: Gametrackeron mutigers.com
Live Video: Mizzou All-Access on mutigers.com

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LEADING OFF...
Big 12 Conference leader Mizzou will host Kansas State this weekend in its first Big 12 home series of the season. The three-game set will get underway at 6:30 p.m. on Friday night at Taylor Stadium. Game two of the series is at 2 p.m. on Saturday with the series finale set for 1 p.m. on Sunday. Missouri is 13-7 overall and 3-0 in the Big 12 Conference after recording a sweep last weekend over Texas A&M in the opening week of conference play. KSU is 16-1 on the season, having won 15-consecutive games heading into the series with MU. This weekend will be the first conference action for the Wildcats. The Tigers swept Kansas State in Manhattan last year and have won the last four contests between the two teams dating back to the 2004 season. MU leads the all-time series with the Wildcats, 153-96-1. Following the series with Kansas State, Missouri will travel to Cape Girardeau, Mo. for a midweek matchup with Southeast Missouri State at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, before heading to Lawrence, Kan. for a three-game series with the Kansas Jayhawks next weekend.

QUICK HITS
• Missouri's game at Illinois State, originally scheduled for last Wednesday (March 22), was postponed because of inclement weather and rescheduled for May 3rd at 3 p.m. in Normal, Ill.

• Last weekend, Mizzou swept Texas A&M for the second-straight season, wining the last six games against the Aggies.

• The sweep over Texas A&M was the first three-game sweep for the Tigers since sweeping the Aggies last year in Columbia.

• Sophomore Evan Frey carries an eight-game hitting streak into the weekend series with Kansas State.

• This is the second-consecutive season Missouri has opened the Big 12 schedule 3-0. Last year it swept Kansas State in the conference opening series.

• Senior Zane Taylor's .419 batting average is fourth best in the Big 12 Conference.

• Senior Trevor Helms leads the Big 12 Conference with 20 walks on the year.

• Heading into the weekend, the Tigers have outscored their opponents 156-76.

• Missouri's 2.69 ERA is the fourth best in the Big 12 Conference.

• With his 10 appearances this season, senior Taylor Parker has pitched in 84 games as a Tiger, which places him in a tie for second in the Mizzou record books with Bunky Moeller. Scott Black holds the record with 108 appearances on the mound.

• Sophomore Jacob Priday was named the Big 12 Conference Player of the Week on March 14 after hitting .533 with a home run and 11 RBI in the four games last week. He drove in six runs in the middle game of the three-game series with Purdue, becoming the first Tiger to do that since James Boone at last year's Big 12 Tournament.

MIZZOU'S PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
Friday: Nathan Culp (Jr., LHP): 5-1, 1.60 ERA, 39.1 IP, 29 K
Nathan Culp enters the weekend with a team-best five wins and is coming off a victory over Texas A&M last Friday when he matched a career high with eight strikeouts. He allowed just one unearned run on four hits in 7.2 innings pitched. He has not allowed an earned run in four of his six starts and has walked only two batters in hits 39.1 innings of work this season. Both walks came in the first inning of his start against Purdue on March 11.

Saturday: Aaron Crow (Fr., RHP): 0-2, 4.25 ERA, 29.2 IP, 27K
Aaron Crow has struck out 27 batters in 29.2 innings pitched this season and carries a 4.25 ERA into the weekend. He went a career-long eight innings against Wisconsin-Milwaukee on March 5, but took the loss. He struck out a career-high seven in his first start as a Tiger, against Kennesaw State on Feb. 11 in Charleston, S.C. In that game, he allowed just two runs on seven hits and walked only one, but did not factor in the decision.

Sunday: TBD

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Kansas State has won a school record 15-straight games heading into this weekend and is off to the best start in the program's history at 16-1. The 15-game streak is tied for the nation's longest active streak. Senior OF Joe Roundy leads the Big 12 Conference with a .530 batting average and has hit safely in 15-straight games. The Wildcats are coming off a three-game sweep of North Dakota State last weekend in Manhattan, outscoring the Bison 30-6 in the three games. Kansas State is currently ranked No. 24 in Collegiate Baseball's Top 30, marking the program's highest ever ranking. The Wildcat starting pitchers are 14-0 on the season, with a 2.32 ERA. They have struck out 89 batters in 104.2 innings and walked just 17. Brad Hill is in his third season as the KSU head coach, compiling a record of 72-56 with the Wildcats.

SERIES HISTORY
Mizzou has won the last four meetings with Kansas State and hold a 153-956-1 lead in the all-time series. The Tigers are 69-40-1 against KSU in Columbia. Since the start of the Big 12 Conference, MU is 17-10 against the Wildcats. Last year, MU swept the Wildcats in Manhattan to open the Big 12 Conference season.

LAST SEASON VS. KANSAS STATE
Missouri recorded a three-game sweep over Kansas State last year in Manhattan in the opening weekend of the 2005 Big 12 Conference season. Max Scherzer allowed just one run and only three hits in seven innings pitched, striking out eight in the series opener to lead MU to a 3-1 win. In the second game of the series, Mizzou scored two runs in the top of the eighth and held on for a 6-5 win. Doug Mathis allowed just one run on four hits in seven innings on the mound in Sunday's game as Mizzou finished off the three-game sweep with a 3-2 win.

ON TAP
The Tigers will travel to Cape Girardeau, Mo. on Wednesday for a midweek match up with Southeast Missouri State at 6 p.m. at Capaha Field. Next weekend, MU will take on Kansas in a three-game series in Lawrence, Kan. getting under way at 6 p.m. on Friday.

LAST TIME OUT
Missouri opened the Big 12 Conference season last weekend by sweeping Texas A&M in College Station. It is the second-straight season in which the Tigers have swept its opening conference series. Missouri opened the three-game set with a 3-1 victory on Friday behind the pitching of junior Nathan Culp. Culp allowed only one run, which was unearned, on four hits in 7.2 innings pitched and matched a career high with eight strikeouts to record his fifth win of the season. In Saturday's game, Mizzou scored a run in the top of the 12th inning on a wild pitch to take a 6-5 win over the Aggies. Trailing 4-1 in the ninth, the Tigers scored four times to take a 5-4 lead, but Texas A&M scored one in the bottom of the ninth to send the game to extra innings. In the top of the 12th, sophomore Brock Bond drew a one-out walk, advanced to second on a passed ball, moved to third on balk and scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch. Freshman David Cales then retired the Aggies in order in the bottom of the 12th to give MU the 6-5 win and a 2-0 lead in the series. Freshman Rick Zagone pitched 5.1 scoreless innings in his first start as a Tiger, helping Missouri to a 3-0 shutout to complete the three-game sweep. Sophomore Jacob Priday homered for the third time this season in the top of the ninth and senior pitchers Travis Wendte and Taylor Parker were impressive in relief of Zagone to help close out the win.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
The excitement level on Friday nights this season will be high as junior Max Scherzer is slated to take the mound on Fridays again this season. Scherzer made his first appearance under the Taylor Stadium lights on Feb. 3. He struck out nine batters in five innings pitched and recorded the win, his third in as many starts. Scherzer was named the Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 28 after leading the Tigers to a victory over No. 1 Florida on Feb. 24. In the win against Florida, he struck out eight in seven innings, allowing just one run on only three hits to record his second victory in a many starts. Scherzer, who was the Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Year and a second team All-American last year has already begun to receive honors this year. Scherzer was named a first team preseason All-American by all major collegiate baseball publications. He has also been named to the watch lists for the Roger Clemens Award, which is awarded to the nation's top pitcher. Scherzer was one of 10 semifinalists for the Clemens Awards in 2005. Scherzer is also on the Wallace Award watch list, which recognizes the nation's top player and is another award he was a semifinalists for last season. Last season, he led the Big 12 with 131 strikeouts and a 1.82 ERA. The 131 strikeouts is a new school record, passing John Dettmer's 127 K's in 1991. He spent last summer with Team USA, where he had pitches clocked as high as 99 miles per hour.

TAYLOR MADE HITTING
Senior Zane Taylor leads the Tigers and is fourth in the Big 12 Conference with a .419 batting average heading into this weekend. He had an 11-game hitting streak snapped with an 0-for-3 outing in the series finale against Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Taylor's career long hitting streak was a 13-game streak coming in 2004. After opening the year with a 0-3 outing in the season opener against East Tennessee State, Taylor had a hit in each of the next 11 games, including eight games in which he has had multiple hits. He was 4-for-5 and scored three runs in Mizzou's win over Florida.

TGI-PRIDAY
On Friday, Feb. 24, sophomore Jacob Priday turned in a 5-for-6 performance to help lead Mizzou to a 14-5 win over then-No. 1 Florida. It was Priday's second career five-hit game. Ironically, his second career five-hit game came nearly a year to the day after his first. He was 5-for-6 against Navy on Feb. 25, 2005, driving in four runs and scoring four times. On Feb. 24, 2006, Priday was again 5-for-6, driving in three runs and scoring twice. For the weekend at the Pepsi Baseball Classic, Priday was 7-for-12 (.583), with three doubles and four RBI, earning him a spot on the All-Tournament Team. On March 14, Priday was named the Big 12 Conference Player of the Week, after he hit .533 with two home runs and 11 RBI in the four games last week. Priday was 3-for-4 and drove in a career-high six runs in the Tigers 22-2 win over Purdue in the second game of the three-game series.

MIZZOU IN THE POLLS
Mizzou received its highest ever preseason ranking, when Baseball America picked the Tigers No. 10 in its poll. It marked only the second time MU had appeared in the preseason poll and the first since it was No. 19 in 1983. Missouri was No. 21 in the final Baseball America poll last year.

TAKING DOWN NO. 1
Mizzou defeated No. 1 Florida on Feb. 24 in Gainesville, Fla. 14-5, knocking off a No. 1 team for the first time since it defeated then-No. 1 Texas, 8-0 on May 1, 2004. The win over Texas was actually the second-straight victory over UT for the Tigers, who recorded a 4-1 win the night before. In the win over the Gators, Missouri pounded out a season-high 22 hits, the most since it recorded 26 hits against Navy (2/25/05). Sophomore Jacob Priday was 5-for-6 against UF, and the top two in the Tiger lineup (Trevor Helms and Zane Taylor) were a combined 8-for-11. Helms 4-for-6 and Taylor finished 4-for-5. Junior Max Scherzer kept Florida in check all night, striking out eight in seven innings pitched. He allowed one run on just three hits to the top-ranked Gators. Mizzou led 14-1 before UF scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth and added a pair of runs in the ninth inning.

MENSE NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN TEAMS
Junior Hunter Mense was named to preseason All-American teams by Baseball America and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association. He also was named to the watch list for the Wallace Award, which is given to the nation's top college baseball player. Last year, he was a second team All-Big 12 Conference selection after hitting .327 on the year, which was second best on the team. Mense was also second on the squad in runs scored (62) and stolen bases (10) and was third in hits (67) and slugging percentage (.473).

MIZZOU WELL REPRESENTED ON TEAM USA
Mizzou Head Coach Tim Jamieson was selected to serve as an assistant coach on the USA Baseball National Team last summer and was joined by two of his Tiger players. Juniors Max Scherzer and Hunter Mense were also selected to the squad, marking the first Team USA selections for MU since 1991. The National Team went 16-4 over the summer, playing games in Japan and Taiwan, along with hosting teams from around the world stateside. Scherzer made four appearances, including two starts, and was 2-1 for Team USA with a 2.70 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 20 innings of work. Mense made the team after a very impressive showing at the trials. He played in 17 games for Team USA, hitting .259 with a home run, two triples and two doubles.

TIGERS SELECTED THIRD IN THE BIG 12 PRESEASON POLL
The Big 12 Conference Baseball Coaches selected Missouri to finish third in the conference this season, according to the preseason poll. The Tigers received 66 points, including one first-place vote. Texas (56-16 in 2005), the defending National Champion, has been selected to win the conference crown, garnering 79 total points in voting with nine points for first place, eight for second, seven for third, etc. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams. Nebraska (57-15) was No. 2 in the balloting with 70 points and one first place vote. Missouri (40-23), ranked in the top 15 in the pre-2006 national polls, was selected as the third team with 66 points and one first-place vote. Baylor (46-24) nailed down the fourth spot while Oklahoma (35-26) was fifth. Oklahoma State (34-25) nabbed sixth position, and Texas A&M (30-25-1) pulled up in seventh. Kansas (36-28) and Texas Tech (34-25) tied for eighth while Kansas State (30-25) was 10th.

WHAT'S RETURNING
Mizzou is loaded with experience in 2006, as all but one position starter, its top two pitchers and three of its most experienced relief pitchers return for the Tigers. Only All-Big 12 selection James Boone is gone from Missouri's starting lineup of 2005. The infield of senior Derek Chambers (1B), senior Trevor Helms (2B), junior Gary Arndt (SS) and junior John McKee (3B) remains in tact from Junior Hunter Mense will anchor the outfield, returning for his third season with Mizzou after hitting .327 last year. Senior Zane Taylor has been a valuable asset to Missouri because of his ability to play numerous positions. He has played third base, shortstop and second base during his first three seasons and will move to the outfield in 2006. Jacob Priday, who was a Freshman All-American last season, returns for his sophomore campaign where he will likely split time between the outfield and catcher. J.C. Field had the most starts of any Tiger behind the plate last year and is back for his senior season. Senior Bryson LeBlanc and sophomores Evan Frey and Dan Pietroburgo saw their first playing time as a Tiger last year and add more experience to this Mizzou squad. On the mound, MU has one of the top 1-2 combinations as the front of its rotation with juniors Max Scherzer and Nathan Culp. Scherzer was the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year in 2005 and is a preseason first team All-America selection. He led the conference in strikeouts with a school record 131 K's in 2005. Culp tied Scherzer with a team-best nine wins a year ago and was a second team All-Big 12 Conference selection. He tied for the team lead with 16 starts last year, compiling a record of 9-2 for a .818 winning percentage. Three seniors add a wealth of experience to the Tigers pitching staff. Taylor Parker, Nick Admire and Travis Wendte have made a combined 179 appearances for Missouri. Parker was second on the team last year with 28 appearances and earned All-Big 12 second team honors. Admire has started in 13 of his 47 career appearances, recording six wins for the Tigers over the past three years. Wendte, who missed the 2004 season due to injury, is in his fifth year at Missouri. His 14 career saves, eight of which came in his freshman campaign, is tied for third most in Mizzou history.

TIGERS ARE THREE FOR THREE
Mizzou is one of just two teams in the Big 12 Conference that has advanced to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last three seasons. Texas, the defending National Champions, is the only other team out of the powerful Big 12 Conference to reach the postseason in the last three years.

KTGR, MIZZOU BASEBALL RENEW RADIO AGREEMENT
The University of Missouri and the Zimmer Radio Group have extended their partnership that will keep Mizzou Baseball on Zimmer through 2009. Mizzou Sports Properties, the multi-media rights holder of the University of Missouri Department of Athletics, announced a four-year renewal of the radio rights agreement for Tiger Baseball. All of Mizzou's regular season and postseason games will air on KTGR 1580 in Columbia. In addition, a majority of the games will be simulcast on KWOS-AM 950 in Jefferson City and KFAL-AM 900 in Fulton. Tex Little will return for his 16th season of calling Tiger Baseball

HE STOOD TALL
He Stood Tall is the story of former Mizzou coach John "Hi" Simmons as told by the men who knew him best. Dozens of players from the 1930s to the 1960s share their stories about their former coach in the recently released book. There are also chapters dedicated to Simmons' theories about the game, his colorful vocabulary and his enduring legacy at the University. To order the book, visit mutigers.com or call 913-219-0338. The book can also be purchased at the Tiger Team Store. All proceeds from the book sales will go the Tiger Bullpen, benefiting Mizzou Baseball.

ALL-ACCESS
Video webcast for all Mizzou Baseball home games in 2006 will be available at mutigers.com as part of the new All-Access. New to mutigers.com this year, 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.