Baseball Continues Season-Opening Road Swing at FIU

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The Missouri Tigers will look to build on a promising opening weekend to the 2023 season when they travel to Miami for a four-game series against the FIU Panthers, beginning Thursday (Feb. 23) at FIU Baseball Stadium.

The Tigers took two of their three games against ranked Big 12 Conference opponents last weekend at the College Baseball Showdown in Arlington, Texas. After dropping its opening game against No. 11 Oklahoma State, Mizzou won back-to-back games against Texas and TCU by mounting go-ahead rallies in its final at-bat of each contest.

This weekend’s series begins with a pair of 5:30 p.m. (Central) games, Thursday (Feb. 23) and Friday (Feb. 24), following by a 4 p.m. game Saturday (Feb. 25) and an 11 a.m. tilt Sunday (Feb. 26).

Fans can once again catch Mizzou baseball on the airwaves all season long on KTGR and the Tiger Radio Network. Tex Little and Matt Michaels return to the booth for the call. Additionally, Friday and Sunday’s contests will be streamed live on CUSA.tv.

PITCHING PROBABLES

Thursday – RHP Chandler Murphy vs. LHP Ryan Cabarcas
Friday – LHP Ian Lohse vs. LHP Christian Santana
Saturday – LHP Javyn Pimental vs. RHP Angel Tiburcio
Sunday – TBD vs. TBD

SERIES HISTORY

• Mizzou brings an official 5-2 all-time edge against FIU into this weekend’s series
• The Tigers have actually won six of the seven meetings in the series that dates back to 2007, but had one of those victories vacated (2016).
• Each of the previous seven meetings have taken place in Miami, with the Panthers winning the most recent matchup (11-5) in February 2018, despite the Tigers claiming two of the three games in that series.

MEET THE TIGERS

• Mizzou’s 2023 roster features a heavy helping of talent from within the state of Missouri’s borders, with 16 players from the Show-Me State.
• Additionally, Mizzou head coach Steve Bieser has brought in players from a total of 16 different states, plus the territory of Puerto Rico.
• A host of newcomers should bolster a group of 14 returning letterwinners; 10 freshmen will join 10 transfers to give the Tigers a new look across the diamond in 2023.
• Ty Wilmsmeyer led all Mizzou hitters with a .583 (7-for-12) average last weekend in Arlington.
• As a team, the Tigers hit .325 with an on-base percentage of .398 over the season’s opening weekend.
• Grad transfer Zach Franklin made an immediate impact out of the Mizzou bullpen, logging two shutdown performances, including a seven-strikeout effort to earn the win over No. 15 TCU on Sunday.
• Another newcomer, Rorik Maltrud, picked up the win Saturday vs. Texas with 2.2 innings of shutout relief.
• Sophomore lefty Tony Neubeck and freshman right-hander Sam Horn also sparkled out of the pen, combining for 12 strikeouts over 6.2 combined innings.

MEET THE PANTHERS

• FIU dropped two of three home games to George Mason last weekend, but defeated Bethune-Cookman Tuesday to even their season mark at 2-2.
• Designated hitter Ryne Guida has been the Panthers’ top performer at the plate, bringing a .438 batting mark and eight RBIs into the series.
• Outfielder Mike Rosario has accounted for half of the Panthers’ four home runs on the season.
• FIU is batting .254 as a club through four games.
• The Panthers have committed just two errors in the field, good for a team .987 fielding percentage.
• On the mound, three of FIU’s four starting pitchers to date have yielded one run or fewer.
• As a staff, the Panthers have logged a 3.75 ERA to date.

MANN-ING UP

• Luke Mann continued his ascent toward the top of the Mizzou home run chart, belting his 29th career round-tripper vs. Texas (Feb. 18).
• Mann moved into a tie for 10th on the Tigers’ career chart, matching Tom Ciombor and needs three more to catch Chris Wyrick in the No. 9 position on the list.
• The St. Louis native also extended his hit streak to eight games (dating back to May 14, 2022).
• Mann was tabbed for first-team preseason laurels, becoming the first Tiger honoree since Kameron Misner’s second-team selection five years ago.
• The fifth-year third baseman from St. Louis belted 15 of his 17 home runs last season in SEC play.
• Mann’s 17 homers were the most by a Tiger in the BBCOR era (2011-present), surpassing Trey Harris’ 12 long balls in 2017.
• Mann’s 17 blasts were the most by a Tiger since Cody Ehlers hit 18 round-trippers in 2004.
• The lefty went long nine times in April 2022, which tied for the most in the SEC.
• His 15 home runs in SEC games ranked second among all league batters.

WHAT A RELIEF

• Mizzou’s bullpen turned in a weekend to remember in Arlington, registering 29 strikeouts over the first three games of the season.
• As a group, the seven Tiger relievers who worked at the College Baseball Showdown went 2-0 with a 2.04 ERA, allowing just eight hits over a combined 17.2 innings.
• Sophomore Tony Neubeck established a personal career high with nine strikeouts in his 3 2/3 innings vs. Oklahoma State.
• Grad transfer Zach Franklin made two appearances out of the MU pen, fanning 10 while allowing just one hit over his 4.2 innings.

BIESER BELIEVER

• Mizzou head coach Steve Bieser is in his seventh year guiding the Tigers, entering the weekend with a 160-132-1 record as MU’s bench boss.
• Bieser is just two wins shy of the 300-victory plateau through 10 seasons as an NCAA Division I head coach, bringing a 298-229-1 mark into action Friday.
• The Tigers have finished with an overall record above .500 in five of Bieser’s six seasons.
• Bieser’s 104 wins from 2017-19 were the most ever by a Mizzou baseball coach in his first three campaigns.
• Additionally, Bieser’s win total marked the winningest three-year stretch by the Tigers since 2008-10 (103 victories).
• Mizzou produced 39 wins in Southeastern Conference play from 2017-19 as well, marking its top three-year stretch in league play since joining its new conference in 2013.

TY TAKES TEXAS

• Ty Wilmsmeyer enjoyed the Texas hospitality last weekend in Arlington, recording seven hits over the Tigers three games at the College Baseball Showdown.
• The senior outfielder started his season off with a two-hit performance vs. No. 11 Oklahoma State.
• Wilmsmeyer capped the weekend with a career-high four hits against No. 15 TCU, scoring the go-ahead run in the 10th inning after drawing a one-out walk.
• The Springfield, Mo., native extended his personal hit streak to six games as well.

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