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COLUMBIA, Mo. – Missouri baseball returns to the road this week, kicking off a four-game swing Tuesday (April 11) with a 6:30 p.m. nonconference matchup against in-state rival Missouri State at Hammons Field in Springfield.
Tuesday’s contest will be the first of two 2023 meetings for the Tigers and Bears, with the two clubs squaring off again next Tuesday (April 18) at Taylor Stadium in Columbia.
Mizzou (20-11) rallied for a 5-4 victory over No. 4 Vanderbilt in the middle game of the Tigers’ weekend Southeastern Conference series with the Commodores, seizing the walk-off win on Matt Garcia’s two-run single in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Missouri State (16-14) swept its Missouri Valley Conference series with Bradley in Springfield over the weekend, putting the finishing touches on the sweep with a five-run ninth to overcome a late deficit.
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, the contest will be streamed live on ESPN+, with Don West and Mike McClure calling the action.
PITCHING PROBABLES
• TBD (Mizzou) vs. TBD (Missouri State)
SERIES HISTORY
• Missouri officially trails Missouri State in the two clubs’ all-time series by a 29-31 margin.
• Including a 2016 Mizzou win which was later vacated due to NCAA sanctions, the Tigers trail the Bears by a narrow one-game margin in a series that dates back to 1975.
• Last year, the two teams split their season series, with the Tigers claiming a 6-5 win in Columbia (April 19), before the Bears returned the favor in another one-run affair a week later, taking a 3-2 decision in Springfield.
• MSU has won 17 of the previous 28 meetings in Springfield, but the Tigers have gone 8-8 vs. the Bears at Hammons Field since the facility opened in 2004.
MEET THE TIGERS
• Missouri is off to a 20-11 overall start this season.
• The Tigers are receiving votes in at least one poll for the seventh-straight week, peaking as high as No. 15 in Collegiate Baseball’s March 20 poll.
• 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.
• Hank Zeisler has been the Tigers’ most consistent power threat and run producer, totaling nine home runs and 33 RBIs to date.
• Luke Mann is hitting .341 to go along with nine homers, three of which came in a single game against No. 9 South Carolina on March 24.
• Zach Franklin leads the club with five victories and two saves in 11 total appearances.
• As a team, the Tigers are batting .271 through the first 31 games of the season.
• The Mizzou pitching staff has logged double-digit strikeout totals in 18 of its 31 games and rank 14th nationally in K’s/9.0 IP (10.9).
MEET THE BEARS
• Under the direction of 41st-year head Keith Guttin, the Bears enter the week 16-14 on the season.
• The Bears completed a three-game Missouri Valley Conference series sweep of Bradley on Sunday, running their conference mark to 5-4 this spring.
• MSU is hitting .265 as a squad with 45 home runs, the latter of which ranks 47th among all Division I clubs.
• Sophomore outfielder Spencer Nivens paces the MSU attack, bringing a .350 batting mark and Valley-leading nine homers into the week.
• Freshman outfielder Zack Stewart has enjoyed success in his rookie campaign as well, logging a club-best 31 RBIs to date.
• On the mound, junior right-hander Brandt Thompson (3-3, 3.35 ERA) leads the MVC in strikeouts, pacing a staff that has logged 294 K’s in 271.1 combined innings.
• Graduate right-hander Trey Ziegenbein has registered a save and 37s in 15 relief outings to date.
SUPER-MANN TAKES FLIGHT
• Luke Mann continued his climb up the Mizzou home run chart, hitting his 37th career home run in Thursday’s series opener vs. Vanderbilt to move into a tie with Cody Ehlers for the No. 6 spot on the list.
• Mann became the second Tiger in 10 days to hit three home runs in a game March 24 at No. 4 South Carolina as part of a career-best four-hit performance.
• Mann needs one more long ball to tie Griffin Moore (38) and climb into Mizzou’s career top five.
• The St. Louis native logged a career-best 12-game hit streak (Feb. 24-March 15).
• The fifth-year third baseman hit .400 (18-for-45) with four homers and 11 RBIs during his hit streak.
• Mann was tabbed for first-team preseason laurels, becoming the first Tiger honoree since Kameron Misner’s second-team selection five years ago.
• Mann’s 17 home runs in 2022 were the most by a Tiger since Ehlers hit 18 round-trippers in 2004.
MIZZOU BY THE NUMBERS
• Missouri has six wins over RPI Quadrant I clubs to its credit, including five vs. teams rated among the top 25.
• Since claiming five of their first six meetings with ranked foes, the Tigers have dropped eight of their last nine contests against top 25 teams.
• Mizzou leads all SEC clubs in doubles (25) during league play.
• The Tigers pitching staff ranks eighth nationally—and fifth in the SEC—in hits allowed per nine innings (7.16).
• MU out-hit No. 4 Vanderbilt in two of its three meetings over the weekend, including a 5-4 walk-off victory in the middle game of the series (April 7).
• Mizzou has out-hit the competition in 23 of its 31 games, going 19-4 in those contests.
• Dalton Bargo has been the Tigers’ top two-out hitter this season, logging 12 hits in 36 at-bats (.333).
• Hank Zeisler has produced 14 of his team-leading 33 RBIs with two out and has drawn a team-best 26 walks to rank 10th in the SEC.
• Trevor Austin has driven in runs in 11 of his 12 chances with runners on third base and less than two out.
• Ty Wilmsmeyer has swiped 12 bases this season, good for seventh in the SEC; Mizzou is tied for sixth overall in the SEC in team steals (36).
• Luke Mann is hitting a team-best .393 (24-for-61) with five home runs in road and neutral-site games this season.
• Dylan Leach has gunned down five would-be basestealers to lead all SEC catchers.
• Rorik Maltrud leads all SEC pitchers in opposing batting average (.143) during conference play.
PRIMETIME TY
• Springfield native Ty Wilmsmeyer returns to his home turf Tuesday after enjoying a strong start to his senior season; the Glendale High product brings a .308 batting average and 12 stolen bases into the contest.
• Wilmsmeyer has been at his best when the lights have been brightest, hitting .327 vs. ranked opponents this spring.
• The Tigers centerfielder has logged five multi-hit performances in SEC play, homering in back-to-back games last weekend vs. No. 4 Vanderbilt and going 2-for-3 in each game for a combined four runs scored and five RBIs.
• Wilmsmeyer also logged a career-best four hits in Mizzou’s Feb. 19 win over No. 16 TCU, as well as a pair of two-hit performances against No. 9 South Carolina (March 25).
• He also worked the final 5.0-plus innings of the series finale vs. South Carolina to bolster a depleted Mizzou pitching staff and keep the Tigers even with the Gamecocks in the 12-inning contest.
• Wilmsmeyer struck out a career-best four batters and held one of the nation’s top offenses scoreless over his first five innings of work.
TALK OF THE TOWN
• Missouri’s strong start to the 2023 season has brought with it plenty of attention, as the Tigers are receiving votes in at least one national poll for the seventh straight week and check in at No. 24 in this week’s RPI ratings.
• The Tigers spent two weeks ranked among the top 25 clubs in the nation, peaking at No. 15 in Collegiate Baseball’s March 20 poll.
• Mizzou have opened the home portion of its schedule by winning 12 of its first 15 games at Taylor Stadium, drawing nine different crowds of 1,000 or more and a total of 17,632 fans over 12 home dates, good for an average of 1,469 spectators per date.
• That marks a 71.8-percent increase in year-to-date home attendance compared to the first 12 home dates of the 2022 season, when Mizzou drew an average of 855 fans per game.
NON-CON DOMINATION
• Mizzou’s 16-3 mark against non-SEC foes continues a string of recent dominance in nonconference play.
• The Tigers went 18-3 in nonconference play last spring, giving them an overall mark of 34-6 in non-SEC competition since the start of the 2022 season.
• The SEC continues to dominate the top spot in the conference RPI ratings, bringing a Division I best 0.6078 rating into the week; the league’s 235 nonconference victories and 0.8393 win percentage are tops among all conferences as well.
• Mizzou is hitting .302 against non-league foes and averaging nearly 10 hits per contest, while also posting a 3.94 team ERA.
• Individually, Luke Mann is hitting .378 with five homers and 16 RBIs during nonconference play.
• During Steve Bieser’s tenure as head coach, the Tigers have posted a cumulative 115-39 record in nonconference play, good for a .747 win percentage.
THROWING SMOKE
• Mizzou’s pitching staff is off to a blazing start, with 18 double-digit strikeout totals in 31 games.
• With 313 K’s, the Tigers could threaten the program’s single-season record for strikeouts (559 in 2019).
• The Tigers rank 14th nationally as a staff in strikeouts per nine innings (10.9).
• Mizzou’s team WHIP of 1.30 ranks 25th among all Division I pitching staffs, while the Tigers’ 7.16 hits allowed per game ranks eighth in the nation.
• As a staff, the Tigers have limited the opposition to a collective .214 batting average, with four different pitchers logging averages against of .200 or less.
• Individually, Zach Franklin’s season total of five wins is tied for 31st among all Division I pitchers.
• Rorik Maltrud has been dominant as well, ranking among the conference’s leaders in opposing batting (1st), strikeouts (7th) and ERA (8th) and during SEC play.
BIESER BELIEVER
• Mizzou head coach Steve Bieser is in his seventh year guiding the Tigers, entering the week with a 178-142-1 record as MU’s bench boss.
• Bieser topped the 300-victory mark with Mizzou’s 10-4 win at FIU on Feb. 25, and enters Friday’s game with a career 316-239-1 mark in 11 seasons as a collegiate head coach.
• 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.
TIGERS ON THE TUBE
• Missouri is slated to appear in at least nine linear broadcasts on the ESPN family of networks over the course of the 2022 season, including this Thursday’s (April 13) series opener at Texas A&M, which will appear on ESPNU.
• The Tigers will play in eight matchups televised on the SEC Network.
• Additionally, four regular-season dates have been designated as potential wild cards, allowing the league to select additional games for broadcast.
• Mizzou’s SEC matchups and select non-conference games will stream on SEC Network+.
FOLLOW THE TIGERS
For all the latest information on Mizzou Baseball, please visit MUTigers.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Tigers on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
