Oxford Education: Missouri Tigers

■ Official Website: MUTigers.com

• Roster

• Schedule

• Statistics
Team BA: .270
Team ERA: 4.97

■ Despite ugly stats, Missouri baseball continues to win (Columbia Missourian):

The Tigers finished last in hitting in Big 12 Conference games, finished fifth in pitching, finished sixth in team fielding and often used its bullpen to pitch an entire game. Only two hitters finished with a batting average over .300 and only outfielder Greg Folgia hit more than six home runs.

Yet, at the end of the season, Missouri (35-26) stood in third place in the conference and played for the Big 12 tournament championship Sunday.

“If people look at our numbers, they’re going to underestimate us,” coach Tim Jamieson said. “We’ve had timely hitting, we’ve had timely pitching and when we’ve pitched well enough, the offense has scored enough runs.”

■ Athletic success now nearly routine at Missouri (AP)

Baseball coach Tim Jamieson remembers the dark days well. Now in his 21st year as a Missouri coach, including six as an assistant, he described an athletic department in disarray, save for Norm Stewart's basketball program.

"When I first got here, in all sports other than basketball, it was as bad as bad could be," Jamieson said. "The atmosphere within the department, the facilities, the budget ... you can't imagine a school in a big-time conference being any worse than we were."
. . .
"It's the complete package now," said Jamieson. "The first 18, 19 years of my career, Missouri athletics was a stepping stone (for coaches). Now it's a destination."