Mizzou Baseball in the Minors & Majors

■ Return to Rangers a thrill for Mathis (mlb.com)

Doug Mathis (05)was driving back from AT&T Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City when he got the call. It was after midnight, but he had stayed at the stadium late Tuesday night after the RedHawks, the Rangers' Triple-A affiliate, lost to Memphis.

It was a message from the big club -- turn that car around and get your stuff. We need you for Wednesday's game.

"That call is always so unexpected," Mathis said. "It's always so exciting. You just never expect to hear that, no matter how many times you've heard it before."

The Rangers announced before Wednesday's game against the Yankees that they had called up Mathis to join their bullpen and optioned reliever Warner Madrigal to Oklahoma City. Right-hander Willie Eyre was moved from the 15-day disabled list to the 60-day DL to clear room for Mathis on the 40-man roster.

Mathis, a righty, had been the RedHawks' best starting pitcher this season, going 4-2 with a 2.89 ERA in 10 starts, including two complete games. He pitched in eight games with Texas last season, including four starts, going 2-1 with a 6.85 ERA in 22 1/3 innings.

■ Kinsler relishes 'under the radar' role (ESPN.com)

His path to the majors wasn't as arduous as some; rather, Ian Kinsler (03) says, his high school and college teams were the tougher test.

"I always knew I'd get a chance and get drafted, but I basically had to prove myself to put myself on the map," he says. "I think that almost worked to my benefit, flying under the radar a little bit."

■ In the first, Pill's RBI single drove in leadoff man Brock Bond (06-07), who singled and hustled to second on an error. Bond has been an on-base machine, reaching base seven times in his last nine at-bats. (TheDay.com)

■ Reliever Andy Shipman (03), who was waived by Kansas City last week, was getting a physical on Tuesday and is expected to replace Pecci on the roster of the Gary SouthShore RailCats. (Post-Trib.com)

■ There are a quartet of pitchers in A-ball making names for themselves. Leading the charge for Delmarva is Rick Zagone (06-07), who has absolutely dominated (except for last night) the Sally League. Last week he threw seven innings with six strikeouts and just two walks, numbers very indicative of his overall performance: 53.2 IP, 20 BB, 54 K, 3 HR, 2.43 GO/AO, .206 BAA. This comes on the heels of an equally dominating performance last year in the New York-Penn League (79 K, 14 BB in 65.1 IP). (thelosscolumn.com)

■ Tough Night on the Farm (masn.com)

Kannapolis routed Delmarva 10-3. Starter Rick Zagone gave up six hits and nine earned runs in just two innings. Zagone had given up 11ER all year and tonight gave up nine as his ERA rose from 1.92 to 3.35.

■ 1B Hunter Mense (04-06)could use some time off. He has only six hits in his last 40 plate appearances for a .150 average. (milb.com)

Mizzou Baseball History: A grandfather's shining moment

I received an e-mail a few weeks back, from a young man who is a freshman at Murray State. I won't tell his name, but here a few lines from his letter to me:

I was wondering if you reference James A. Waechter Jr. anywhere on your site. I looked briefly at the History blog but didn't look at everything. He is my Grandfather, or was. He was an All-American baseball player as well as a lefty quarterback for the football team. He died like 5-7 years ago at the age of 86. I can't remember the year he was born, but remember knowing that he was at Mizzou in early to mid 1930's.
. . .
My uncle has told me before that Bob Broeg (legendary St. Louis baseball writer) always said that my grandpa was the best baseball player to ever come out of St. Louis. He also told me that he got drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals and a few other teams, but his mother unfortunately told him to get a "real job."

Because someone as qualified as Mr. Broeg said this, one would think that I would be able to find something on the internet about him, but I try to do my research but can never find anything on my grandpa and his successes at Mizzou.

I've always wanted to see stats or anything on my grandpa from his days at Mizzou, because I looked up to him so much, also partly because he fought in WWII. He was the coolest ever. One time, my family was over at his house, and he told me and my brother that he faced the great Satchel Paige and that he didn't get out. I think he said he walked or something. But he was the biggest MU fan I knew. We would go over to his house on Saturdays and watch football games. He had season football tickets for over 60 years, and every year, he would take me, my brother, and my dad and one of his friends to a game. My brother, a junior at Mizzou, and I are the Missouri sports fans that we are today because of him.

Being a sucker for anything related to Mizzou Baseball history, I started digging.

As it turns out, Jim Waechter played for MU Baseball in 1937 and 1938. In '37 he didn't play much at all, occasionally pinch hitting or playing a few innings in the field.

But in 1938, John "Hi" Simmons named Waechter his starting 1st baseman, and he played every game that season. For the most part Waechter's name appears seldom in the newspaper reports, just a name and numbers in the Box Scores. I was unable to find any final stats for the players that season.

I did, however, stumble upon a story about a remarkable game that involved Waechter and another very notable member of the Tigers, Carl Miles.

Carl Miles, whom I have met, is considered by some to be the oldest living Major Leaguer, even though he only played one season in the big leagues.

In 2006, Bill Clark wrote a column in the Columbia Daily Tribune championing Miles for inclusion in the MU Sports Hall of Fame, and wrote of this very same incredible game that also featured Waechter.

Miles deserves inclusion in the Hall of Fame

The date: May 17, 1938.

The place: Rollins baseball field at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

The situation: Oklahoma had come to town for the final two games of the Big Six Conference baseball season with a one-game lead over the MU Tigers. The Tigers needed to win both games to defend their conference title. Even a rainout would wash away the Tigers’ title hopes.

The rains had come early on the 16, and the field had to be burned to allow the series to begin. MU hung on to win 3-2 behind Charley "Smoke" Mason, bringing the season
down to the last game with MU and OU dead even.

Carl Miles, a smooth, hard-throwing lefthander from Cameron called "King," drew the crucial pitching assignment.

What followed was, without a doubt, the greatest performance in Missouri baseball history.

Bill Clark continues on to describe the game and Miles' life and career (LINK). But I'll pick up the story by quoting from the actual Columbia Tribune story about that game, which I dug up in the microfilm archives at the Columbia Public Library:

Mr. Warren Morris pitched a one-hit game for Oklahoma.
Mr. Carl Miles - his mates call him king - pitched a one-hit game for Missouri.

Missouri won the game, one to nothing.
. . .
The Tiger youngster turned back 25 batters without faltering in the first eight and one-third innings of mound duty. He had a one-run lead, four strikeouts to his credit and two more men to face, before writing up a perfect game -- no hits and not a man to first base.

Coach Jap Haskell of the Sooners called for a pinch hitter - Sam Blackwell. Blackwell popped back of first base and Jim Waechter raced into the crowd sitting on the grass to make the catch. Haskell sent another pinch hitter, Joe Craddock, to bat, and Craddock was already at the plate before Tiger players and Tiger fans learned that Umpire W.I. McBride had ruled the catch illegal because of a ground rule, and was ordering Blackwell back to the plate. The pinch hitter drove the next ball into center field - and there went Miles' perfect game. Craddock sacrificed, with Blackwell going to second, where he was stranded when Jeffrey Cross rolled out to Johnny Daleo.

Missouri had gained its winning run in the fifth when Waechter was sacrificed, and scored when when Cross heaved the ball into the crowd as he attempted to throw Jimmie Klaus out at first. Waechter collected the only hit off Morris in the seventh, but was forced at second by Daleo for the third out.

Jim Waechter is listed in the box score with 2 AB, 1 H, 1 R and 15 Put-outs at 1st.

The 1938 Tigers did end up winning the Big 6 Championship that year - partially helped, ironically, by a rainout of the final double-header scheduled against Kansas.

Carl Miles has attended various functions at Mizzou, and he has always been obliging to share a story about his days on the diamond, and his memories of John "Hi" Simmons, who was in his first two years as Missouri baseball coach in '37 and '38.

I never met Jim Waechter, unfortunately. From the description provided by his grandson, I'm sure he would have been a great man to get to know - certainly a hero, both as an athlete and as a soldier.

And, perhaps most important, as a grandfather.

Mizzou Baseball Quotes: 2009 MLB Draft

■ Check out out Draft Day Cometh, our previous summary of the 2009 ML Draft, with all the Draft details, links and a list of eligible MU players.

■ Jonathan Mayo at MLB.com looks in his Crystal Ball and projects the first 20 picks:

4. Pittsburgh Pirates: Aaron Crow, RHP, Fort Worth Cats

The Pirates aren't definitely taking a pitcher, but with the strength of the Draft being on the mound, it does make some sense. Their general manager was at Crow's last outing, along with some other GMs who will be picking in the top 10. The other side of that coin, of course, is that the Pirates could take a bat here, thinking the pitching depth will extend to their sandwich-round pick and beyond. If that's the case, USC shortstop Grant Green is in the mix.

11. Colorado Rockies: Kyle Gibson, RHP, University of Missouri

A year ago, the Rockies picked at No. 25 and were pleasantly surprised that college lefty Christian Friedrick dropped in their laps. They won't have to wait for as big of a slide this time at No. 11, but they could take advantage of a similar scenario. That could mean Mizzou's Gibson or North Carolina's White. For now, the thinking is Gibson. If one of those two doesn't fall, someone like lefty Rex Brothers could be considered and ASU's Leake probably enters into every conversation from this spot forward.

■ The Latest on Crow (Baseball America)

Crow hasn’t allowed a run in his first two starts for the Fort Worth Cats, striking out 13 in 11 innings and retiring 31 of the 38 batters he’s faced. His stuff has been nearly as good as it was when he starred at Missouri last spring—and good enough that he could go as high as No. 3 to the Padres or No. 4 to the Pirates. He’s believed to be seeking at least the $4 million his advisers, the Hendricks brothers, asked for at the Aug. 15 signing deadline last year.

"He looks just a tick behind 2008, almost like he’s in the middle of spring training," an American League front-office official said. "I’ve seen him flash 95 mph with his fastball, and I’ve seen him flash a hard, 87 mph slider. He’s just a little inconsistent, but he’s not far away. And physically, he looks better than ever."

■ Departing, emerging players spark Cats (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

Crow is expected to be drafted in the first round of next month’s Major League draft after being selected ninth overall in 2008.

He opened the game with a three-pitch strikeout. The second inning turned on Crow as a pair of walks and a single left him facing a one-out bases loaded scenario. However, Zach Goldberg hit into a double play.

Crow ended the night after six innings with six hits, two runs, three walks and four strikeouts in what was the least effective of his three outings with Fort Worth. Crow gave up the lead atop the fourth inning when Wichita scored two runs.

"It was good," Crow said. "We played good baseball. The whole time I pitched really well, so I’m really happy with how I did. The team’s doing great and this has been a really fun experience."

■Draft Preview: Kyle Gibson (McCovey Chronicles)

The long-winded intro is all to introduce Kyle Gibson, the Missouri right-hander with the draft's shiniest "safe" label. In order to earn that label, Gibson had to have
• above-average control
• a good-not-great fastball
• a couple of developed off-speed pitches
• and a certain je ne sais quoi package of gritty bulldog gamer grittiness

Gibson has it all. So he's the safe pick that should remind folks of Grilli or Reynolds -- a mid-ceiling guy whose polish and proximity to the bigs is one of his more attractive
qualities.

And I'm kind of hoping he falls to the Giants.
. . .
But he's not a safe pick. Don't hope for the Giants to draft Gibson because he'll be up soon, or because he'll bring back a shiny hitter in trade soon. Hope for the Giants to draft him because you have wild visions of a Brandon Webb with less sink, more slide, and plus control, even if he has a 10% chance of ever being that pitcher.

■ Winners and Losers at the NCAA Regionals (baseballrumormill.com)

Undecided: Kyle Gibson, RHP, Missouri: The outing was fine (8IP, 0R, 6H, BB, 8K) but his velocity (82-86mph) was suspect. Interestingly, Churchill was not concerned about Gibson's velocity and listed him as improving his draft stock.

■ Regional wrap-up -- AKA the Money Round (mlbblogs.com)

Kyle Gibson, RHP, Missouri: On the results side, it looked just fine. He tossed eight shutout innings against Monmouth on Saturday, allowing six hits and a walk while striking out eight. Perhaps he should have pitched Friday, but the plan was to have him for Saturday against Ole Miss. But since Mizzou lost on Friday, it had to play Monmouth. But the real reason for the question mark are reports coming from that start that had the right-hander throwing in the 82-86 mph range. Is he overworked? Perhaps. But if the velocity reports are true -- and I've heard they are from two different national scouts (who, granted, weren't at that particular start) -- teams are going to be concerned.

■ MLBDraftSite.com has Aaron Senne being drafted in the 3rd round, #82 overall, to San Diego. Nothing on the site indicates when this mock draft was conducted.

2010 again

After I posted my analysis of the situation heading into next year, I've gotten all sorts of e-mails, message board comments and read the opinions of some others, which leads me to some further thoughts.

■ Rumor has it that Mr. Intensity, Greg Folgia, has some intense feelings about returning to Mizzou for his senior year. His return - or the the possible return of other Tigers whose draft status has dropped from their preseason expectations - would obviously change the whole equation for 2010.

■ Garrison McLagan is reportedly getting a lot of consideration for the 1st base job, which makes a lot of sense.

■ Brian Carr is reportedly transferring to Central Arizona, one of the top JUCO's in the nation (the same JUCO Ian Kinsler attended).

■ Predicting what will happen to a college team from one year to the next is a difficult task. I'll repost here my comments in that regard from Tigerboard, and the post that prompted it:

BruceInLA: Tiger Baseball 2010 - I'm pessimistic. Hope I'm wrong but the way I see it the Tigers will be fighting to stay out of last place in the B12 next year.

Here are some stats: The Tigers hit .272 as a team this year. Subtract the averages for the seniors, Coleman, Senne, and Folgia and the rest of the team hit .232 among them. And dig this, the rest of the team combined to hit THREE home runs. Gulp.

Pitching: The team had a combined ERA of 5.08. Subtract the seniors and Gibson and the rest of the team had a combined ERA 0f 5.91.

I realize there may be some impact jc's and freshmen coming in and perhaps Senne, Folgia, and Coleman all won't leave. Someone please give me a reason not to be so bummed out about our prospects for next year.

My answer:

Someone comes up with that same analysis every year, and every year, amazingly, freshmen become sophomores and sophomores become juniors and the result is they tend to get better.

Look at some real numbers:

After the 2007 season, the Tigers lost some very key players: Evan Frey, Brock Bond, Gary Arndt, John McKee. The 2007 team had a .283 BA. Without those guys, the BA would have been only .274. So, by your logic, 2008 should have seen a big drop in BA. But the 2008 team had a .301 batting average.

How did they do that ???

Well, a bunch of freshmen and sophomores boosted their averages from 07 to 08:

- Senne .289 to .347
- Lollis .294 to .339
- Coleman .282 to .295
- Folgia .111 (18 AB) to .293 (225 AB)

On the other hand . . .

If you look at 2008, and remove the players who left (Priday, Calvert, Pietroburgo, Fischer), the 2008 team average would actually have been .304 instead of the .302 it was. Go figure.

But then, without those 4, the 2009 team BA drops to .272

So you tell me. IF the Tigers lose those guys (which I'm not convinced they'll all be gone), will the ones stepping into their shoes maintain, get worse, or improve on their 2009 numbers?

I would bet money (if I was a betting man), that

• Ryan Ampleman, given the chance to start regularly, hits better than .264
and and 1 HR

• Conner Mach will likely raise his BA by at least 50 points from this year's .246

• Michael Liberto, with a full year at D-1 under his belt, will probably up his average at least somewhat from .243

• And Gebhart, Turner, McLagan and Meyr, given more playing time (which they will get with all the holes in the lineup) will almost certainly improve their numbers.

Or they won't. The point is, you really can't tell anything for sure by that kind of math.

Mizzou Baseball Recruits

Someone sent me final 2009 stats for another MU Recruit: Jack Dudenhoeffer

.500 BA (36-for-72), 23G, 87 PA, 29 R, 9 2B, 7 3B, 4 HR, 32 RBI, 10 BB, .986 Slg %, .563 OB%, 3 SB.

Dudenhoeffer holds the following Pembroke Hill HS records:

Single season Hits, Triples, RBI

Career Doubles, Triples, RBI

Mizzou Baseball Recruits: Final Stats and more

■ Eric Garcia: .480 BA (48-for-100), 36 R, 94 TB, 17 2B, 4 3B, 8 HR, 47 RBI, 3 SF, 2 HB, 17 BB, 11 K, 8 -8 SB, 1 GDP, .940 SLG%, .549 OB%

■ Brannon Champagne: .429 BA (39-for-91), 10 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 42 R (1st in Conf), 13 RBI, 27 SB (1st in conf), OB% .540, Slg % .648

■ Andy Heifner: 4-2, 1.69 ERA, 45-2/3 IP, 70 K, 10.73 K/Game (1st in conf), Opp BA .191, 0 HR allowed, 3 CG, 22R, 11 ER, 1.20 WHIP

■ Eric Anderson:

Batting: .507 Avg (38-for-75), 38 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 10 HR, 33 RBI 5 SO, 14 BB, 8-FOR-9 SB, .602 ob%, .960 slg %, 21 PO, 3 #, .909 Fielding %

Pitching: 9-0, 1.806 ERA, 26 G, 5 CG, 2 SHO, 62 IP, 34 H, 21 R, 16 ER, 19 BB, 81 SO, 4.263 K/BB, 0.45 K/7, 0.855 WHIP

■ Kale Gaden: .434 BA, 13 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR, 31 RBI, 30 R, 8 SB


■ Zach Hardoin: 7-0, 3.44 ERA, 11 APP, 11 GS, 3 CG, 65-1/3 IP, 64 H, 36 R, 25 ER, 15 BB, 58 SO, 9 2B, 6 HR, .256 Opp BA, 6 WP, 6 HBP

■ Cody King: 6-2, 2 Saves, 1.72 ERA, 2 CG, 2.143 OB%, 40-2/3 IP, 18 R, 10 ER, 32 H, 20 BB, 62 K, 8 HBP, 8 GS

■ Brett Nicholas: .391 BA (68-for-1674), 14 2B, 3 3B, 7 HR, 39 RBI, 3 SB, 29 BB, 9 HBP, 3 @F, .493 OB%

■ Scott Sommerfeld: .545 BA, .624 OB%, 1.091 Slg%, 77 AB, 34 R, 442 H, 6 2B, 3 3B, 10 HR, 44 RBI, 84 TB, 0.054 K/PA, 12 BB, 5 K, 4 HB, 8 SB

Dane Opel's season is not yet over. No final stats available for other recruits.

■ Brown Out: Normal West Star Bigger, Better (CentralIllinoisProud.com)

It's hard to believe but Blake Brown might be getting better. Just ask his head coach."He is a special player and he's getting better every year. That's the key -- hard work and the weight room," said Normal West baseball coach Chris Hawkins."Blake has done some things the right way. But he's still not as good as he's going to be. His best baseball is ahead of him, that's what is scary."

Video of Brown:

2010

Every year at this time the same question comes to mind: Who do the Tigers have that can possibly replace the departing veterans on the staff?

This year, the Tigers are losing what seems to be an inordinately large number of regular starters:

■ Position players: Seniors Ryan Lollis, Kyle Mach, Steve Gray and Austin Holt will be gone; Juniors Greg Folgia, Aaron Senne and Trevor Coleman will likely be drafted this coming week, and most, if not all, will sign professional contracts and not be back with the Tigers in 2010.

■ Pitchers: Seniors Ian Berger, Scooter Hicks and Ryan Gargano will be gone. Junior Kyle Gibson will most certainly be drafted - probably in the first round - and will be gone.

■ The only likely 2010 seniors will be SS Michael Liberto and RHPs Ryan Allen and Andrew Mueller.

So who will lead the 2010 Tigers?

C: Ryan Ampleman has proven himself as a capable catcher and productive hitter. He will likely be given every chance to grab hold of that starting job, competing with the returning Ben Turner and Andreas Plackis, plus newcomer Brett Nicholas, a JuCo transfer, and incoming freshman Brannon Champagne (OF/C).

1B: Ben Turner started 4 games at 1B early in the season, the only returning player to start at that position this year. Jonah Schmidt, who has some experience at 1B, will also be back. There was a rumor floating around that Kelly Fick, who was a productive every day player in high school, has been taking some fielding practice at first. Two incoming freshmen could also compete for the job: Ryan Crowley is both a pitcher and a first baseman, and Scott Sommerfeld is an all-around utility player (OF, 1B, C). First base is usually a position where offense is the most important qualification, so whoever is hitting the best among the candidates will likely win the starting job.

SS: Returning Junior Michael Liberto filled this position nicely in 2009, both in the field and at the plate. He would have to suffer a complete breakdown in both categories to lose his job here. If he does falter, though, incoming freshman Eric Garcia has put up stellar numbers in his senior year in high school.

2B / 3B: Sophomore Conner Mach will almost certainly grab one of these starting jobs, having shown flashes of the offensive capabilities everyone expects from him (and which should become more consistent and solid in his 2nd year at this level). Junior Andrew Thigpen could have a head start on the other starting job, if he shows increased consistency in offense and defense. Returning redshirt Sam Lind, Junior TJ Scheiber, and Junior OF/IF Rex Meyr will also be in the competitive mix for the infield. Among the incoming recruits, Eric Anderson (RHP/IF) and Jack Dudenhoeffer (3B/RHP) will have their shot to be noticed. And the wildcard is, again Eric Garcia. If both he and Michael Liberto have stellar performances in the fall, both could earn starting jobs, pushing someone else out of the 2B or 3B position.

OF: The biggest hole in the field is in the outfield, where Lollis, Folgia and Senne will all likely be gone from their every-day positions. Returning players with significant OF experience are Junior Rex Meyr and Sophomore Ryan Gebhart. Also returning are Juniors Russell LaFleur and Jonah Schmidt, who have seen little playing time in the past two years but will be working hard to earn an everyday job in a wide-open OF competition. Sophomore Garrison McLagan saw action only as DH in 2009, but is an outfielder as well, and his capable bat may give him a leg up in the battle for the OF. Also in the mix could be redshirt Andre Rodriguez. The incoming recruit class features some outfielders as well: Blake Brown (OF/P), Brannon Champagne (OF/C), Scott Sommerfeld (OF/C/1B), and, perhaps most notably, Dane Opel (OF) - IF Opel isn't enticed by what will almost certainly be a rather lofty position in the MLB Draft and jump ship altogether.

P: The pitching staff, other than the Outfield, is the area that is of most concern to many fans. All of our pitchers with a significant number of starts will be gone, except for Nick Tepesch. But Nick, while he will hopefully take command as the Friday night starter and the the heir-apparent to the Scherzer-Crow-Gibson mantle (which may be an expectation unfair to put on anyone), cannot pitch 56 games by himself. But there are some real prospects among the returning pitchers:

■ Tyler Clark, 3-0, 2.86 ERA, 1 start, 28-1/3 IP
■ Jeff Emens, 0-1, 4.07 ERA, 0 starts, 24-1/3 IP
■ Kelly Fick, 2-3, 5.71 ERA, 3 starts, 34-2/3 IP
■ Brad Buehler, 1-3, 4.29 ERA, 0 starts, 8 saves, 35-2/3 IP
■ Ryan Clubb, 3-2, 6.03 ERA, 3 starts, 31-1/3 IP
■ Phil McCormick, 1-1, 7.25 IP, 2 starts, 22-1/3 IP

That group represents the returning players most likely to compete for starting jobs and for the closer role (Buehler, if he gets back to his mid-2009 form, is the likely closer again). Filling in the gaps and vying for inclusion in 2010's version of Johnny Wholestaff will be Andrew Mueller and Ryan Allen. Brian Carr is reportedly transferring to a Junior College.

And then there are the newcomers. The incoming recruit class has a number of highly successful high school pitchers: Eric Anderson (RHP), Blake Brown (), Ryan Crowley (LHP), Jack Dudenhoeffer (RHP), Andy Heifner (RHP) and Cody King (RHP). Plus, a successful JuCo transfer, Zach Hardoin (LHP) from Blinn College. We've all learned not to expect too much too quick from freshman pitchers coming into the NCAA D-1 level. But several of these guys will be making their mark with the Tigers at some point in the 2010 season.

Now that I've typed all that out and see it spelled out in front of me, I'm feeling a lot better about next year. I hope you are too.

Go Mizzou!

Mizzou Baseball in the Minors & Majors

■ Scherzer sensational in second MLB win (mlb.com):

Scherzer, meanwhile, was carving up the San Diego bats. The right-hander struck out 10 and had scattered four hits through the first seven innings. With his pitch count inching ever higher, D-backs manager A.J. Hinch decided to send him out for the eighth.

■ Over his last two starts, Max Scherzer (04-06) has posted a 20:2 K:BB ratio over 13.0 innings, revealing his high ceiling. He’s still too inefficient to pitch deep into games and remains an injury risk, but not many pitchers can flash that strikeout rate while inducing so many groundballs (1.31 G/F), which is the type of combo that leads to staff aces. More wins are sure to follow. (Rotosynthesis.com)

■ Ian Kinsler (03) Chat (mlb.com):

• Top 5 players of all time? Rickey Henderson, Ty Cobb, Craig Biggio, Carl Yaz. [Yastrzemski] and Hank Aaron

• When you're up to bat, you kinda turn towards third base and back to the mound before the pitch, like a flinch ... what's the deal with that? It's to make sure both of my eyes are on the pitcher. I had a problem with hiding my right eye when I was younger.

• What runs through your mind in the batter's box? McDonald's Big Macs.

■ Andy Shipman (03) was given his release by the Kansas City T-Bones.

■ "Evan Frey (05-07) continues to look overmatched at the plate. his .217 ba and 32 k are not a leadoff hitters stats." (AZSnakepit.com)

Mizzou Baseball Quotes: The Day After

■ Toppers topple Tigers in Oxford (Columbia Tribune)

The Hilltoppers came in with a potent offense and lived up to expectations. Through four games, WKU has amassed 36 runs on 59 hits with 12 home runs.

“Ian wasn’t bad,” junior catcher Trevor Coleman said. “They have a bunch of Babe Ruths on that team. It’s incredible the way they come out and swing the bat. This team can hit with anybody in the nation.”

■ MU eliminated from NCAA baseball tournament (Columbia Missourian)

Missouri senior Ian Berger won’t want to remember the last pitch of his college
baseball career.

Western Kentucky outfielder Chad Cregar hit the pitch about 450 feet onto a tennis court outside of Oxford-University Stadium to help the Hilltoppers beat Missouri 11-6 on Sunday, eliminating the Tigers from the NCAA Oxford Regional.

■ Oxford Regional (Baseball America)

Western Kentucky smashed its way to a pair of wins Sunday to force a decisive game against Ole Miss on Monday. As we outlined in our regionals capsules, WKU is by far the most offensive team in this regional, and the Hilltoppers would have to ride their bats to have a chance. Right fielder Chad Cregar led the assault Sunday, going 4-for-5 with a homer and five RBIs against Missouri, then adding three more hits against Ole Miss. The Rebels actually led that game 7-1 heading into the seventh inning, but the ‘Toppers scored nine times over the next three frames against the Ole Miss bullpen. Closer Jake Morgan (0.0 IP, 5 H, 6 ER) took the brunt of it. That’s a crushing collapse for the Rebels; we’ll see if they can bounce back from it Monday

■ Stunning reversal (Clarion Ledger)

In the seventh inning here on Sunday night, all was grand in the Ole Miss baseball world. Matt Smith had just smacked a two-run homer to give the Rebels a six-run lead as the music blared and 8,377 fans rejoiced in the team's inevitable march to a fourth Super Regional in five years.

The disaster that was about to unfold was undetected.

"You don't ever see a team coming back like that," said a red-eyed Smith during a subdued postgame press conference.

But Western Kentucky did it, scoring seven runs in the final two innings to beat Ole Miss 10-9 as a shellshocked Oxford-University Stadium crowd looked on in disbelief. Slowly, the fans shuffled out of the stadium in near silence.

And many will be back today when the Rebels try to avoid what would be a nearly unbelievable collapse. Ole Miss (42-18) and Western Kentucky (42-19) will play in a winner-take-all championship game at 7 p.m.

■ Six Big 12 baseball teams eliminated (Austin American Statesman):

While Florida State was setting all kinds of NCAA baseball playoff and school records in a 37-6 romp over Ohio State, it was a lousy day for the Big 12, with top-eight national seed Oklahoma among the conference's half-dozen teams eliminated.

The Sooners were nearly no-hit, in fact, finally managing a single with one out in the ninth inning during an 11-0 thrashing by Arkansas in the Norman Regional. Texas A&M, Baylor, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma State also were eliminated. The Aggies' loss to Oregon State was the most disappointing because many expected A&M to advance to a super regional against Texas.

Two Big 12 teams are alive — Texas and Kansas State.