Road Test With SIUE Awaits Baseball Wednesday Evening

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Missouri baseball embarks on a four-game road swing this week, beginning with a 5 p.m. (CDT) nonconference contest against SIUE Wednesday (April 26) at Roy E. Lee Field in Edwardsville, Ill.

Mizzou is a perfect 8-0 in midweek action (Tuesday and Wednesday games) this season and brings an 18-3 overall mark against nonconference foes into Wednesday’s game. The Tigers have gone 36-6 in nonconference play over the last two seasons, including an 11-3 mark in road games.

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.

PITCHING PROBABLES

LHP Javyn Pimental (Mizzou) vs. RHP Teague Conrad (SIUE)

SERIES HISTORY

  • Missouri holds a 19-5 all-time edge over SIUE in a series that dates back to 1973.
  • The Tigers have won the last five meetings in the series since 2015, including a 12-2 run-rule decision in Columbia in their last matchup on March 30, 2022.
  • Mizzou claimed the only previous meeting in Edwardsville, winning a 10-3 decision four years ago (April 9, 2019) at Roy E. Lee Field.
  • MU is 58-22 all-time vs. the current membership of the Ohio Valley Conference, including a pair of wins over OVC foe Lindenwood this spring.

MEET THE TIGERS

  • Missouri is off to a 23-16 overall start this season.
  • The Tigers received votes in at least one major poll for seven straight weeks (Feb. 27-April 10), 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.

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.
  • Mizzou is 13-6 at home thanks in part to a pitching staff that has limited the opposition to a .218 batting average and 4.1 runs per game at Taylor Stadium.
  • As a team, Mizzou ranks fourth in the SEC in hit by pitches (64) and fifth in triples (10) and sac flies (21).
  • The Tigers pitching staff ranks 21st nationally in hits allowed per nine innings (7.87).
  • Mizzou has out-hit the competition in 25 of its 39 games, going 21-4 in those contests.
  • Tre Morris has been one of the Tigers’ top two-out hitter this season, logging eight hits in 25 at-bats (.320).
  • Trevor Austin has driven in runs in 13 of his 14 chances with runners on third base and less than two out.
  • Ty Wilmsmeyer’s total of 18 steals ranks second in the SEC, while Mizzou ranks fifth as a team (51).
  • Luke Mann is hitting a team-best .390 in road/neutral-site games, with eight of his 12 home runs coming in such contests this spring; the fifth-year third baseman currently sits in the No. 5 spot on the Tigers’ all-time home runs list with 40 career round-trippers.
  • Dylan Leach has reached base safely in 13 straight games since March 28, logging a .420 OBP, which ranks third on the club over the same span.
  • Rorik Maltrud ranks 21st nationally in strikeouts/9.0 IP (13.07) and seventh among all SEC pitchers in overall strikeouts (61).
  • Hank Zeisler has been one of the Tigers’ most consistent offensive threats, totaling 11 home runs and 40 RBIs to date, while ranking third in the SEC in triples (3) and ninth in walks (34); the first baseman has produced 19 two-out RBIs this season.
  • Zach Franklin leads the club with six victories and two saves in 15 total appearances; the graduate transfer has allowed just one run in his last five appearances spanning 8.2 IP since April 7.
  • The Tigers are 20-2 when scoring at least six runs, but just 3-14 when failing to do so.
  • The Mizzou pitching staff has logged double-digit strikeout totals in 20 of its 39 games and ranks 21st nationally in K’s/9.0 IP (10.4).

MEET THE COUGARS

  • Under the direction of seventh-year head coach Sean Lyons, the Cougars enter Wednesday’s game with a 22-17 overall mark.
  • SIUE is averaging 6.5 runs per contest, hitting .273 as a team entering the week.
  • The Cougars are also permitting 6.4 runs per outing, registering a team 6.09 ERA through their first 39 games.
  • Junior first baseman Brennan Orf leads the Cougars with a .348 average, 14 home runs and 34 RBIs; he leads the OVC in runs scored and walks, while ranking second in homers, slugging (.761) and total bases (105).
  • On the mound, SIUE junior lefty Tyler DeLong ranks third in the OVC in ERA (2.75), while sharing the No. 2 spot on the conference’s strikeout leaderboard with fellow Cougar Jake Bockenstedt with 62 K’s.

SUPER-MANN TAKES FLIGHT

  • Luke Mann continued his climb up the Mizzou home run chart (see above), hitting the 39th and 40th homers of his career in Mizzou’s April 15 win at Texas A&M to gain sole possession of the No. 5 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 two more long balls to match the career totals of Aaron Senne and Ryan Fry, currently tied in the No. 3 position with 42 round-trippers.
  • 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.

FAB FROSH FINDING SUCCESS

  • Mizzou’s pitching staff has received a needed boost from its talented freshman class, which features five hurlers—Sam Horn, Brock Lucas, Logan Lunceford, Nic Smith and Daniel Wissler—who have combined to post a 9-3 mound mark through the first 39 games of the season.
  • Lunceford has been a revelation for the Tigers, ranking fourth in the SEC in opposing batting (.175) and 11th in overall strikeouts (56) while earning a role in Mizzou’s weekend rotation.
  • Led by Lunceford’s three victories and Smith’s 3.79 ERA, the group has posted a combined 111 strikeouts over 100.2 innings.

NON-CON DOMINATION

  • Mizzou’s 18-3 mark against non-SEC foes continues a string of recent dominance in nonconference play.
  • The Tigers went 18-3 in nonconference play last spring as well, giving them an overall mark of 36-6 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 0.5988 rating into the week; the league’s 254 nonconference victories and 0.8247 win percentage are tops among all conferences as well.
  • Mizzou is hitting .300 against non-league foes and averaging nearly 10 hits per contest, while also posting a 3.89 team ERA.
  • Individually, Luke Mann is hitting .361 with six homers and 17 RBIs during nonconference play.
  • During Steve Bieser’s tenure as head coach, the Tigers have posted a cumulative 117-39 record in nonconference play, good for a .750 win percentage.

TALK OF THE TOWN

  • Missouri’s strong start to the 2023 season has brought with it plenty of attention, as the Tigers received votes in at least one national poll for seven straight weeks (Feb. 27-April 10)
  • Mizzou checked in at No. 40 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 has opened the home portion of its schedule by winning 13 of its first 19 games at Taylor Stadium, drawing 13 different crowds of 1,000 or more and a total of 25,005 fans over 16 home dates, good for an average of 1,562 spectators per date.
  • That marks a 57-percent increase in year-to-date home attendance compared to the first 16 home dates of the 2022 season, when Mizzou drew six crowds of 1,000 or more and an average of 993 fans per game over the same stretch.

THROWING SMOKE

  • Mizzou’s pitching staff is off to a blazing start, with 20 double-digit strikeout totals in 39 games.
  • With 378 K’s, the Tigers could threaten the program’s single-season record for strikeouts (559 in 2019).
  • The Tigers rank 21st nationally as a staff in strikeouts per nine innings (10.4).
  • Mizzou’s team WHIP of 1.39 ranks 50th among all Division I pitching staffs, while the Tigers’ 7.87 hits allowed per game ranks 21st in the nation.
  • As a staff, the Tigers have limited the opposition to a collective .231 batting average, with nine different pitchers logging averages against below that figure.
  • Individually, Zach Franklin’s season total of six wins is tied for 29th among all Division I pitchers.
  • Franklin, who leads the SEC in games finished (14), has logged all six of his victories out of the bullpen, fashioning a 3.45 ERA and 45 of his 46 strikeouts in relief appearances.
  • Rorik Maltrud has been dominant as well, turning in a 1.17 ERA over six relief outings, striking out 23 hitters in 15.1 innings.
  • Maltrud rates among the conference’s leaders in total strikeouts (61), strikeouts/9.0 IP (13.07) and strikeout-walk ratio (5.08).

PRIMETIME TY

  • Ty Wilmsmeyer has enjoyed a strong start to his senior season, bringing a .309 batting average and 18 stolen bases into the week, the latter of which represents the top season total for a Tiger since 2019.
  • The Springfield, Mo., product was a perfect 4-for-4 on the basepaths last week and ranks second in the SEC in steals.
  • Wilmsmeyer has been at his best when the lights have been brightest, hitting .333 vs. ranked opponents.
  • The Tigers centerfielder has logged seven multi-hit performances in SEC play, homering in back-to-back games vs. No. 4 Vanderbilt (April 6-7) and going 2-for-3 in each game for a combined four runs and five RBIs.
  • Wilmsmeyer logged a career-best four hits in a 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.

BIESER BELIEVER

  • Mizzou head coach Steve Bieser is in his seventh year guiding the Tigers, entering the weekend with a 181-147-1 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 Wednesday’s game with a career 319-244-1 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.

FOLLOW THE TIGERS

Single-game tickets for all Mizzou baseball home games in 2023 are on sale now and can be purchased by calling 1-800-CAT-PAWS, or by visiting MUTigers.com/feature/BSBTix.

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.

This article is provided by University of Missouri Athletics
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