Mizzou Baseball Quotes & Notes

RockMNation posts a graphic showing Big 12 fan interest by school and by sport, based on fan posts on the various SBNation sites. Baseball is not a big contender at any school.

Recruits

Three MU recruits matched up in a game at Rock Bridge High School yesterday: John Miles of Rock Bridge, plus Brett Graves and Jake Ivory of Francis Howell

■ Miles leads Rock Bridge baseball team to decisive victory (Columbia Missourian)

John Miles pitched a complete game and went 2-for-2 at the plate while also reaching on a walk and an error in the Bruins' 13-3 six-inning victory.

After getting off to a slow start because of the delay, Miles got comfortable around the third inning and ended the game with eight strikeouts.

“It just kind of sucked because we were all just waiting,” he said. “When I saw that umpire coming up, I threw like three warm-up pitches. I probably was stale and cold.”

MU vs. KSU GameDay: What's at stake

■ Big 12 Baseball notebook: NCAA bids outlook (Austin American Statesman)

Although the Big 12 standings show no clarity after the fourth spot, the league is likely to earn at least one more invitation.
. . .
Baylor and Kansas State have the best shots , with Texas Tech also in the discussion. The Bears (38 RPI) are banking on a 9-7 road record . The Wildcats' 28 RPI is almost too good to ignore. The Red Raiders (42 RPI) need a strong finish.

■ Stat of the Week:

34

Teams that have earned at-large bids to the NCAA tournament with losing records in conference play, since 2002. The last two Division I Baseball Committees under the leadership of Tim Weiser have made it clear they do not emphasize conference records, taking five teams with sub-.500 conference records in 2009 and six in 2010. Over the previous seven years, an average of just about three teams per year got at-large bids with losing conference records.
. . .
All of which suggests that Louisiana State need not panic about its 7-14 SEC record, that Kansas State is still doing fine with an 8-12 mark in the Big 12 . . . All those teams rank in the top 35 in the Ratings Percentage Index, and Weiser's committees have valued RPI more highly than conference records.

Mizzou Baseball Game Day: Kansas State Wildcats

■ Numbers and Rankings (boydsworld.com, 5/5):

• Record (Overall/Big 12): MU 19-26/ 6-11; T-9th; KSU 27-18/ 8-12; 8th
• RPI: MU 100th; KSU 28th
• ISR: MU 130th; KSU 33rd
• Strength of Schedule: MU 43rd; KSU 39th

■ Did you know that Kansas State was the first Big 7 team to include a black player on the roster? And did you know that player was Earl Woods, Tiger Woods' father, who was a catcher for the Wildcats in 1952-53 . Read more about it HERE.

■ Bakersfield bats too much for Cats (TheMercury.com, 5/5)

Kansas State led Cal State Bakersfield 8-3 after two innings, and it looked like the Wildcats' bats were showing no signs of stopping.

But Martin Medina — the Roadrunners' closer — entered the game and everything turned around.

Medina pitched eight innings, allowing four earned runs, but only one over the final six innings while striking out nine. Medina's performance on the mound allowed the Roadrunners' hitters to battle back, and they did, as a four-run fifth gave them a 10-9 lead they would never relinquish as they defeated the Wildcats 13-10 Wednesday night.

"You get kind of a lead like that and we didn't recover offensively," K-State coach Brad Hill said. "Their guy came in, did a great job, then we left the (strike) zone and our swings got long.

"We were very good the first three innings, we were short and flat. But his slider just exposed our long swings and we started swinging at some bad pitches."

■ KSU's Allen named Big 12 Co-Pitcher of the Week (TheMercury.com, 4/27)

K-State junior pitcher James Allen was named the Big 12 Co-Pitcher of the Week after his performance last weekend against Texas Tech, the conference office announced Tuesday.

It is the first career distinction for Allen, while he is the second K-State pitcher this season to earn the nod after starter Kyle Hunter was honored two weeks ago.

Allen recorded a save in all three games against the Red Raiders, the first Wildcat with three saves in a conference series in the Big 12 era and the first by a conference pitcher since 2009.

In the process, the right-hander broke two school records, as he tallied his 13th save of the season and his 27th of his career on Saturday. Allen eclipsed the records held by Daniel Edwards, who had 12 in 2008 and 26 in his career.

■ Kivett producing as Cats' new leadoff man (TheMercury, 4/21)

Ross Kivett is only a true freshman, but Kansas State's new leadoff hitter is swinging the bat like an upperclassman.

Kivett moved to the leadoff spot just last week, and in his four games at the top of the lineup, he's produced at a high level. Since the move, the Ohio native is 8-for-17 at the plate, including a 4-for-5 performance in Tuesday night's 10-4 victory over Missouri State.
. . .
"I think Coach (Brad Hill) was looking for the right fit," said Szefc, who is also the Wildcats hitting coach. "We tried a few guys and I think we put Ross in there just because of his toughness, kind of how he plays. He plays in fifth gear the whole time.

■ Are there a bigger set of Jekyl & Hyde teams out there than Stanford and Kansas State? (College Baseball Today, 4/10)

These two teams come from different ends of the spectrum, but give off similar shine. Let’s just hope it’s not light from a dead star, right? Today, KSU pulled out a second win over No. 7 Oklahoma with a 6-2 win, giving the Purple Cats their first series win over the Sooners since 2001. But they’ve also had some bruise-ugly losses, like to teams like Long Island (?), Western Kentucky and Cal.

■ Nick Martini: Kansas State record-breaker (boxofmess.com, 4/6)

Last Sunday, junior K-State baseball standout Nick Martini broke the supposed NCAA Division I record for consecutive games reaching base safely, as he notched his 87th straight game against the Texas A&M Aggies. Martini broke the record during the second inning of Sunday’s contest with a double that also notched him two RBI’s.

“I think it’s something cool, something I strive for to get on base a lot,” Martini said. “It’s a much better feeling getting it that way, you don’t catch as much flak from your teammates.”

The record, which began on May 1, 2009 against Rice, is a feat that is certainly hard to achieve, as even the best hitters at the highest levels of baseball have the occasional off day where they fail to reach base.

“It’s pretty amazing,” Kansas State head coach Brad Hill said. “It’s hard to describe, I don’t know how that happens. His ability to be unselfish and not swing at bad pitches, that’s a lot of at bats that you’re talking about. For him to be able to string that many games together and get on base is pretty phenomenal.”

While Martini, who is the reigning Big 12 player of the year and leads the team with a .354 batting average often gets on base with a hit, there were times where it came down to a last at-bat or a walk to keep the streak going. On Saturday, Martini went 0-3 with an intentional walk on his final at-bat, which kept the streak alive.

“It’s really tough, especially in the conference that we play in and the pitchers that we face day in and day out,” Martini said. “It’s a great personal achievement for me to get on base all those games. There was a game in last year’s regional against Washington State where I was 0-4 going into the last at-bat, and they brought in a tough lefty and I forced a walk, I think that was one of the closest calls I had.”

While a walk is not as pretty as a base hit, it is still a skill to draw a walk, and a testament to a player’s ability to draw an intentional walk, such as what happened on Saturday.

“It means I’m on base [to get a walk],” Martini said. “I can steal bases and use my legs for the other guys behind me.”

Not only did Martini’s record-breaking hit come at a pivotal point in the game for the Wildcats, but also he did it against one of the best teams in the country and against his old hitting coach, Andy Sawyers. The Aggies’ head coach Rob Childress said that if the record were to happen to someone, it would happen to a Nick Martini.

“That’s definitely great praise,” Martini said. “He’s high up there in baseball and I think that’s cool that someone looks at me like that, and it’s a great honor that this happened to me.”

Martini will look to extend his streak to 88 games on Friday, as the Wildcats play host to the No. 7 Oklahoma Sooners.

Mizzou Baseball in the Majors

■ Crow ties McClure's pitching feat (mlb.com)

Small world, this baseball. When Royals rookie Aaron Crow pitched scoreless ball in his first 13 appearances, he matched a feat done previously for this franchise by his pitching coach, Bob McClure.

Crow, who's been so effective that he's become the eighth-inning setup man, reached a total of 15 1/3 shutout innings in his 13th game, Tuesday night's 10-inning, 6-5 win over the Orioles.

McClure, in his first 13 appearances over the 1975 and 1976 seasons, worked a total of 16 scoreless innings. After 35 years, they're matched up and wearing the same uniform.

Another one bites the dust: Cleveland State drops Baseball

■ Cleveland State University ends baseball program (csuvikings.com)

Pending budget cuts and the lack of adequate facilities have forced Cleveland State University to announce the end of its NCAA baseball program at the conclusion of the 2011 season.

"This team has had a long and proud history, but the cost of maintaining baseball in Northeast Ohio has become increasingly prohibitive," said CSU Athletic Director John Parry. "My heart goes out to the players, coaches and alumni who have honored this 79-year-old program and made it an important part of this University and of their own lives."

Over the past decade, the NCAA baseball season has progressively started earlier in the year, favoring southern teams in warmer climates. Northern schools have been forced to practice indoors and build expensive all-weather fields.

Compounding the problem, CSU has no baseball facilities and has resorted to playing in a facility in Avon, Ohio, more than 20 miles from campus. Considerations to build a new ballpark on the University's North Campus were eclipsed this year by a lack of public and private funding. The costs involved with playing and practicing off site simply could not be maintained in this economic climate, Parry said.

The decision will not affect CSU's classification as a Division I athletic school, nor will it affect its membership in the Horizon League. Existing baseball scholarships will be honored throughout their terms, and players will be allowed to transfer to other schools at no penalty.

■ Q&A on CSU decision to drop baseball (csuvikings.com)
Why was baseball chosen to be cut? Three reasons:

• The relative high cost ($450,000 per year) 3rd most expensive sport
• No on campus facility for practice or games
• The weather in Northeast Ohio

Did Title IX play any part in the decision making?

Indirectly; in order to be in compliance with Title IX’s M/F participation percentages, a decision to drop a women’s sport would most likely have required us to drop more than one men’s sports.

Mizzou Baseball Quotes & Notes

■ Blake Brown made the list on CB360 Primetime Performers Weekly Honor Roll

■ Missouri baseball riding offense to improved play (Columbia Missourian)

Jamieson has targeted some of those improved bats. The coach pinpoints the play of junior outfielder Conner Mach, sophomore outfielder Blake Brown and sophomore first baseman Eric Garcia as a key to the turnaround.

“Their improvement in their offensive game has been considerable,” Jamieson said. “Everyone else has stayed the same but those three guys have elevated and it’s a big reason why we’re scoring runs.”

Mizzou Baseball in the Minors & Majors

■ Former Yukon star happy to have another chance at the Big leagues (NewsOK.com)

He was claimed off waivers by the Milwaukee Brewers last November and optioned to Nashville late in spring training. Nashville is in Oklahoma City for a four-game series at Bricktown Ballpark.

James, who is 0-1 with a 2.70 ERA in seven appearances so far this season, couldn’t be happier.

“Sometimes, you’ve got to hit rock bottom to realize what’s going on,” James said. “I’m grateful to have another chance.”

■ Rookie reliever has more to Crow about (Kansas City Star)

It’s hard to pick the most impressive part of Aaron Crow’s first month in the majors for the Royals, but he was chosen Sunday as the club’s pitcher of the month for April.

Crow, a 24-year-old rookie right-hander from Topeka who pitched at Missouri, was 2-0 in a setup role with 11 strikeouts in 12 1/3 scoreless innings for the month.

■ Rangers give fatigued-looking Ian Kinsler a day off (Dallas News)

His approach at the plate and his play in the field, however, have both been a bit ragged lately. Though he has 16 walks this season, he's taken only four of them in his last 12 games. He took 12 in the Rangers' first 16 games. He's also made three errors in the Rangers' last three games. He had only one error entering the series. Perhaps the most egregious of those mistakes was a dropped foul pop on which Kinsler dropped his glove below his eye while making the attempted catch. It looked sloppy.

Mizzou Baseball Game Day: Missouri State Bears again

■ Records and Rankings (boydsworld.com, 5/2)

• Record: MU 19-25; MSU 24-17
• RPI: MU 111th; MSU 85th
• ISR: MU 129th; MSU 88th

■ Evansville survives, secures series win over Missouri State (Evansville Courier Press)

Clinging to a 5-4 lead and needing just three more outs to clinch the series against Missouri State on Saturday, University of Evansville closer Jake Naumann instead went looking for trouble at Braun Stadium by loading the bases.

“I was just too amped up,” said Naumann, a sophomore right-hander who eventually earned his fourth save after relieving Cole Isom with two outs in the eighth.

On Friday night Naumann had faced the minimum in the ninth to secure a 3-1 victory over the Bears.

But on Saturday he quickly got into a huge jam, giving up a walk, hitting a batter and surrendering a base hit to load the bases with only one out.

■ Back in the hunt, despite loss (Columbia Tribune)

“It’s disappointing that you don’t get to finish the game,” MU Coach Tim Jamieson said. “By the same token, maybe we should’ve been the team with the lead when the tarp got put on, too.”

Though Jamieson’s comment might have been directed toward the umpires, who never huddled to discuss the weather until the Aggies had slipped into the lead, it was more likely pointed toward his own team.

Mizzou Baseball: Ouch

■ Mizzou downed in rain-shortened loss, unable to sweep A&M (KBIA Sports Extra)

Texas A&M couldn’t have expected when this weekend started that “pray for rain” would be their best strategy. But, after losing the first two of the three-game set against last-place Missouri, the Aggies got a break from Mother Nature when the series finale was called after seven innings with A&M getting the win, 3-2. The game was delayed for about half an hour before being officially cancelled.

■ Series win over Texas A&M gives Missouri baseball team confidence (Columbia Missourian)

"Getting Eric Anderson back is a big boost," Jamieson said. "He's a legitimate guy, and even though he's still not all the way back, he gives us three guys on the weekend."

On Sunday, Jamieson was disappointed Missouri couldn't maintain an early 2-0 lead by the time the rain started. But as the players waited eagerly for the rain to stop, he saw the confidence Schmidt spoke of.

"That's a big step forward," Jamieson said. "It hadn't been that way all year."

■ The Ouch List (College Baseball Today)

TEXAS A&M. Sunday Result: Won 3-2 at Missouri.

But let’s Big Picture this weekend by the Aggies. A&M’s vaunted pitching staff took some big time shots to its ego, losing 10-9 and 9-1 on Friday and Saturday to the formerly punchless Tigers. In addition, the Maroons lost 8-5 at home to Sam Houston State back on Tuesday. Their tenuous hopes of a national seed took a big hit this week.

Mizzou Baseball Game Day: Upsetting & Uptrending

■ It's mathematically possible for Mizzou to jump from 10th place to 7th place in the Big 12 standings by the end of today. . . if MU beats A&M, NU beats BU, KU beats Tech, and KSU beats OSU. That's a big IF.

■ According to BoydsWorld.com, Texas A&M has dropped from 9th to 16th in the RPI standings this weekend, and Mizzou has risen from 122nd to 111th. In spite of MU's success this weekend, Boyd's RPI Needs Report has actually dropped Missouri off the chart as being statistically viable for an at-large bid. This report does not factor in potential additional opportunities to make up ground in the post-season conference tournament. It still hold true, though, that the Tigers would need to finish out the regular season 9-0 and then do well in the Big 12 Tourney in order to have any shot at an at-large bid.

■ Freshman baseball player C.J. Jarvis bolsters Missouri lineup (Columbia Missourian)

"We put him out there to see what would happen, and he's taken full advantage of it," Jamieson said. "I don't know whether it's directly related or not, but we've certainly been playing better since we put him in there."

"I have nothing to lose," Jarvis said. "I'm taking it for what it is and playing with a sort of reckless abandon. The worst thing that can happen is ending up back on the bench."

And that's a much better place than he was in this fall, when he ended up at Missouri unexpectedly. He struggled with the University of Oklahoma's rejection of him and moving farther away from his family.

■ Mizzou baseball downs No. 6 Texas A&M for second straight day (KBIA Sports Extra)

In addition to the big offense, the Tigers got very effective pitching from starter Matt Stites who, making his 11th appearance of the season threw eight innings, giving up just six hits and surrendering only one run, a homer by Texas A&M catcher Kevin Gonzalez in the fifth. Stites struck out eight and ran his season record to 3-3 on the season. Dusty Ross pitched the ninth for MU, retiring the Aggies in order, although Stites said he wanted to keep going. “I tried to convince (assistant coach Matt) Hobbs to let me throw the ninth. They wouldn’t have it,” said Stites.

■ Stites' gem helps Tigers claim series (Columbia Tribune)

Missouri controls its own destiny for a berth in the Big 12 Tournament, as the Wildcats, the Red Raiders and the Cornhuskers remain on the Tigers’ schedule.

“We’re not looking past Game 3 against A&M,” Stites said. “We want the sweep in our hometown, and we just want everybody in the Big 12 to know that we’re here.”

■ Yea though I drive through the valley of death, I fear no evil (College Baseball Today)

Once again the Aggies must be letting somebody else wear their uniforms this weekend, dropping a second straight game to Missouri. But this time it was by a stunning 9-1 slapdown. A&M pitching has taken another black eye with Michael Wacha going 5.2 innings, giving up eight hits, nine runs (just four earned), three walks and one hit batsmen in what must be his worst effort of the season. The Aggie defense committed three errors, helping to explain the five unearned runs. Yuck!