HI NOTES: One and Done, Chemistry 101, We Want Gibby

♦ Missouri Beats Kentucky in Series Opener (Columbia Tribune)

The numbers don't always add up.

But for whatever reason, when senior outfielders Scott Sommerfeld and Brannon Champagne got back into the Missouri lineup, the Tigers have played a more complete game.

Sommerfeld and Champagne, who have spent most of the season on the bench, combined to score three runs in Missouri's 4-2 victory over Kentucky last night on Simmons Field in the opening game of a key Southeastern Conference series...

♦ Tigers One Win Away From SEC Tourney (PowerMizzou)

Tiger relievers Jake Walsh and Keaton Steele shut down the Kentucky bats in the final four innings, moving the Tigers to 17-30, and 9-19 in SEC play. If the Tigers win on Fridat, they clinch a spot in the SEC Tournament.

"You always play for postseason. Us still having a shot is huge," Champagne said...

♦ Seniors Sommerfeld and Champagne continue resurgence for Missouri baseball team (Columbia Missourian)

Although Missouri coach Tim Jamieson called Champagne "mainly a defensive replacement" earlier in the season, he had a hunch that the time was finally right to get him and Sommerfeld back in the lineup.

"If you look at numbers it doesn’t make any sense because the guys we replaced had better numbers, but they gave us a spark in the Friday night game against Alabama," Jamieson said. "It’s a chemistry thing."...

♦ Thursday Roundup (PerfectGame)

Hurt its case: Kentucky

It's rather safe to say at this point that Kentucky is in a must-win situation the next two days against Missouri. UK already entered Thursday bad shape, but dropped a 4-2 decision to the Tigers to drop to 10-18 in the Southeastern Conference. That wouldn't be worth of an at-large bid at this point. UK starting pitcher A.J. Reed allowed four runs on nine hits in 4 1/3 innings of work. The silver lining for UK is that it clinched an SEC tourney berth with Tennessee's loss to Texas A&M.

♦ Vols lose 5-1 to Texas A&M for must-win situation (GoVolsXtra)

Not long after the Vols finished, Missouri beat Kentucky 4-2 and edged closer to the 12th and final spot in the SEC tournament.

As a result, Tennessee (21-29, 7-19 SEC) must win the last two games against Texas A&M, and Missouri (17-30, 9-19) must lose twice to Kentucky in order for the Vols to make the SEC tournament.

“We’ve put ourselves in this situation, and I knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” UT coach Dave Serrano said. “We haven’t made anything easy on ourselves this year, so why should it start now in Game 50?”...

♦ If Mizzou were to sweep Kentucky, not only would they guarantee a spot in the SEC Tournament, they would pass Kentucky and be the 11th seed. (Standings at D1Baseball.com)

By virtue of the Tennessee loss tonight, #UKbaseball has clinched a berth in the 2013 SEC Tournament.
— Kentucky Baseball (@UKBaseball) May 17, 2013

♦ The Minnesota Twins Need to Make the Call to Bring Up Kyle Gibson (Yahoo.com)

The major leagues are a whole different beast for any prospect, but with the rotation failing changes need to be made.

The current group of starters are not getting the job done, so it's time to go young and see what some of the prospects can do.

Gibson would be the first domino to fall in what will be a complete overhaul of the rotation that will take place in the next several years. His arrival will open the door for Alex Meyer and Trevor May to make their way up to the major leagues by the end of the season and eventually tap into the lower levels of the system as things progress.
The Twins have played hard over the first couple of months, but their pitching has made the surprising start feel like a misnomer. With a chance to add a boost to a stale staff, calling up Gibson to see what he can do is in the best interest for the 2013 roster and beyond...

Base Cadet

And people wonder why I named our annual Tip of the Cap Base Cadet Award after former Tiger Ian Kinsler.

The Magic Number is 1; Interesting Quotes; Smart Alum

♦ Missouri defeated Kentucky Thursday evening, 4-2, while Tennessee lost to Texas A&M, 5-1.  That bring's Mizzou's "magic number" down to 1 -- Just 1 Missouri wins and/or 1 Tennessee loss over the final two days of the regular season will guarantee Mizzou a spot in the SEC Post-Season Tournament.

♦ The Columbia Tribune has an article, A lot of work to be done': Renovations begin as Missouri set to close SEC regular season, with a photo and details about the beginning of construction at Taylor Stadium, plus some interesting quotes and comments from Tim Jamieson:

Missouri was never expected to finish in the top four — or even the top eight — in a league where the schools have so-called "baseball palaces." But Jamieson envisions a future in which Taylor Stadium is a humble manor that feels like home for top players.
...
"We have to be better. We have to be better coached," Jamieson said. "We have to embrace what we have. We have to take it to another level. So there's a lot of work to be done."
...

Not a shock! '04 Academic All-Amer. MT @trripleplay: Former #Mizzou pitcher Garrett @broshuis graduated 1st in his class from SLU Law School
— Mizzou Athletics (@mutigersdotcom) May 16, 2013

SEC WEEKEND: Kentucky Wildcats @ Mizzou

NOTE: This final SEC Weekend is a Thursday-Friday-Saturday series rather than the usual Friday to Sunday schedule. Unless, as the weatherman, predicts, it rains, in which case who knows when these games will happen? Given the way this whole season has gone, why would we not get games rescheduled because of weather on the final weekend?

♦ Be sure to check out Sam Nasci's Mizzou Matchup preview of the Kentucky Wildcats here at SimmonsField.com

♦ Also check out our off-season South By Southeast posts about Kentucky Baseball:

• Lexington, KY
• Bat Cats
• Gary Henderson's Kentucky Wildcats
• Kentucky Baseball History

♦ And for you Wildcat fans coming into Columbia, MO, for the weekend, check out The SEC Fan's Guide to Mizzou Baseball for everything you need to know.


JUST ANOTHER BUNCH OF COLLEGE GUYS

Watching narnia #kidatheart
— Kyle Barrett (@BSEBALL4LFE) May 14, 2013

Having a clean organized locker is a good feeling.
— Paul McConkey (@paul_mcconkey) May 10, 2013

Anyone know where I can take my truck and have fun in the mud?
— Corey Littrell (@clittrell21) May 6, 2013

Just finished last final *walk up to teacher* *fake handshake/nut tap* *double pistols to the class* "IM DONE BABAY" *slam door*
— Walt Wijas (@walt_wijas8) April 30, 2013

WILDCAT BASEBALL

♦ Kentucky baseball team struggling to reach postseason (Courier-Journal)

This season began with talk of a trip to the College World Series, but now the University of Kentucky baseball team is down to its final two weekends and has work to do just to secure an invitation to the NCAA Tournament. Making matters worse, the Cats’ penultimate Southeastern Conference series is the tallest order yet. Vanderbilt, off to the best start in league history and ranked No. 1 in two major polls, is coming to town.
...
While Henderson won’t, Baseball America’s Aaron Fitt will put a number on it. A rough estimate, anyway. With six SEC games to go, Fitt figures Kentucky needs three wins at minimum to feel any measure of postseason security. Four and the Cats could really breathe easy.

“Certainly they need to win that Missouri series at the end of the year. That’s a must-win series,” Fitt said. The Tigers rank 143rd in the RPI. “I expect they’re going to lose this series against Vanderbilt, but if they could avoid being swept, that would be good.”
...
“There’s not a whole lot of margin for error,” Fitt said. “I think if they get swept, that puts them in a position where they have to sweep Missouri, really, in order to feel good about their chances.”
...

MIZZOU MATCHUP: Kentucky Wildcats

Head Coach: Gary Henderson (158-121 in 5^th season as Alabama Head Coach)

Taylor Stadium at Simmons Field - Columbia, MO

Thursday @ 6 PM CT

Friday @ 6 PM CT

Saturday @ 1 PM CT – Fox College Sports

Kentucky (29-22, 10-17 SEC) @ Missouri (16-30, 9-19 SEC)

Missouri will close out their season with a weekend series at home against a Kentucky team that has spent much of their year in Baseball America’s top 25. They have struggled lately, dropping five of their last six conference games, which includes getting swept at home by No. 1 Vanderbilt last week. Vandy taking over the top spot marks the first time all season North Carolina has relinquished it. Mizzou will try to at least break even at home this year coming in 10-11. Kentucky will try to do the same as they are 7-9 on the road.

Projected Lineup

RF Kyle Barrett (L) .351

LF Zac Zellers (R) .239

P A.J. Reed (L) .291

C Greg Fettes (R) .250

2B J.T. Riddle (L) .286

CF Austin Cousino (L) .256

3B Max Kuhn (R) .251

1B Michael Thomas (R) .240

SS Matt Reida (L) .235

Position Players

The lineup below is the best that I can anticipate for Thursday’s game, as it changes up a bit when AJ Reed is not on the bump. The rest of the weekend, expect Michael Thomas behind the plate, Greg Fettes taking care of the DH duties in the middle of the order, and Reed moving over to play first.

This is the most lefty-heavy lineup the Tigers have faced this year, which can cause problems for the back end of their rotation. Leadoff man Kyle Barrett is making a statement as a freshman, leading the team with a .351 average and .405 OBP, mostly getting on with singles. He has to rely on teammates behind him to move him over though as he has only swiped four bases, something they’d like to see more of out of the leadoff spot. They can’t really complain though with the amount he reaches.

He sets up all around athlete A.J. Reed, who resides in the three spot in the order. Reed, who earned first-team Freshman All-America honors from Baseball America and Louisville Slugger last season, will likely be drafted next month for the second time (25^th round by NY Mets out of high school in 2011). His 13 dingers and 51 RBIs are both more than twice anybody else on the team, and his homer total puts him third in the SEC (Mississipi St. C Hunter Renfroe leads with 15). This naturally gives him the best slugging percentage on the team by over .100, at .548.

Kentucky has power spread throughout the lineup, with six players that have gone deep on three or more occasions. This makes for a very strong and consistent lineup top to bottom; they just have struggled putting it all together to close out the season. They will look to use this weekend as a tune-up for the SEC tournament, as they have the capability of going deep in the postseason if they return to the form they were at when the season began.

Projected Pitching Matchups

RHP Eric Anderson (0-3, 3.98 ERA) vs. LHP A.J. Reed (2-7, 3.81 ERA)

RHP Brett Graves (1-5, 3.95 ERA) vs. RHP Kyle Cody (3-3, 4.82 ERA)

LHP Rob Zastryzny (2-9, 3.64 ERA) vs. LHP Corey Littrell (5-5, 3.92 ERA)

Pitchers

These matchups may be a little off depending on what Kentucky coach Gary Henderson wants to do going into the SEC Tournament, but regardless all three projected pitching matchups should be fun to watch. Two-way player A.J. Reed can get lit hit from time to time, as his batting average against is .293, highest of any starter the Tigers will see this weekend, but he does not walk many. Corey Littrell and Kyle Cody both have decently high strikeout totals, so the Tigers should jump on them early in counts. Relying on walks will not work, as all three have shown they are very efficient.

Matchup Wrap-up

Do not be fooled by their SEC record, this Wildcat team has the capability to go deep in the conference tournament when they put it all together. On the flip side, Missouri has the opportunity to capitalize off Kentucky struggles of late and finish the season on a high note. If they play well, we could see the Tigers as a low seed in the tournament; but if they proverbially poop the bed, it could mean watching from home. Kentucky defense can be suspect at times, while 58 errors may not seem like too many over 51 games, but those have resulted in 51 unearned runs. Their errors have come back to hurt them many times.

Other SEC games this weekend (all 5/16-18):

Alabama @ (1) Vanderbilt

(11) Arkansas @ Auburn

Florida @ Georgia

(23) Ole Miss @ (2) LSU

(14) South Carolina @ (24) Mississippi State

Texas A&M @ Tennessee

Rankings from BaseballAmerica

He Hasn't Changed a Bit

HI NOTES: UK Is Not KU; Baseball in Colorado

The Wildcat Grill in Oxford, Kansas
photo from prairiedust.net

♦ UK IS NOT KU

• KU's legendary basketball coach was Phog Allen; UK's was Adolph Rupp.  Rupp actually played for Phog Allen at KU.

• UK Coach Gary Henderson and KU Coach Ritch Price are both from the West Coast, Henderson from Southern California and Price from Oregon.

•  UK's colors are blue and white; KU's are blue and red

• UK's mascot is an actual animal;  KU's mascot is a ridiculous imaginary dodo bird

• UK has a live bobcat msacot; KU does not have a live jayhawk.

• UK fans' favorite cheer is a back-and-forth "Blue!" "White", which is is just as annoying but makes more sense than KU's nonsensical "Rock Chalk Jayhawk!"
  
  
• UK recognizes the value of a geographic and historical rivalry with a team from a different conference. The Kentucky vs. Louisville rivalry dates back to 1912, somewhat short of the Missouri-Kansas rivalry's Civil War roots.
  
  The yearly men's basketball game is called the Battle for the Bluegrass and the yearly football game is played for the Governor's Cup trophy. Many of the schools' other sports teams also play annually despite the fact that the teams are not in the same conference. (Wikipedia).
  
  Kentucky and Louisville Baseball play a home-and-away 2-game series each  year, much like Missouri and Missouri State.  The two teams split the series this year, each winning the game at their opponent's home park.

• Mizzou fans have yet to form a strong opinion about UK.  On the other hand, KU still sucks.

COLLEGE BASEBALL

♦ CU Buffs, CSU Rams should bring back baseball (Denver Post)

I've become more militant about this in the past few years because after Colorado joined the Pac-12 Conference, the time seemed ripe ... and nothing happened.

This still is the reality:

CU is the only school in the Pac-12 without an official intercollegiate baseball program. The only one.

Colorado State is one of three schools (joining Wyoming and Boise State) in this academic year's Mountain West Conference without baseball...

SEC Scramble, With a Side of Tremendous Stubble

MIZZOU SOFTBALL NCAA REGIONAL

♦ Mizzou Seeded Sixth, Set to Host NCAA Regional (mutigers.com)

The Mizzou softball team will serve as one of 16 NCAA Regional hosts this weekend, announced Sunday by the NCAA Division I Softball Selection Committee. The Tigers received the No. 6 overall seed in the national bracket and are the top-seeded squad in the Columbia Regional with a 35-11 overall record...

♦ The Third Annual RMN Tremendous Stubble Charity Drive (RockMNation)

For the third straight year, we’re proud to be raising money for the MU Children’s Hospital. You see, there are people that are smaller than you – we call them kids. There is a high likelihood that you were once one. And sometimes, those kids get sick. When they get sick, if they live in Columbia, they go to the MU Children’s Hospital, where they’re taken care of by some of the best darn doctors in the whole darn world.

As I mentioned before, this is a cause near-and-dear to coach Earleywine and the MU softball team.

Basically, there are sick kids, and you can help them. If that’s not your thing, by all means, click out of your browser now. What’s that? Literally nobody clicked out of their browser? Super.

WHAT WE’RE ASKING OF YOU

It’s simple: you pledge a certain amount for every game that the Mizzou softball team wins in the Women’s College World Series. The selection show for the WCWS is on Sunday, and Mizzou could begin play as early as Thursday, May 16...

SEC TOURNAMENT

♦ Loss to Arkansas puts Vols at mercy of rival in order to reach SEC tournament (Go Vols Extra)

For at least one weekend, Tennessee fans will also need to be Kentucky fans.

The Vols lost 10-2 to No. 14 Arkansas in front of 8,523 fans at Baum Stadium Sunday and remain on the outside looking in for the 12-team SEC baseball tournament field.

In order for Tennessee to earn its first league tournament berth since 2007, the Vols (20-28, 7-18 SEC) must win one more game this weekend at home against Texas A&M than Missouri does at home against Kentucky...

♦ SEC Baseball After Last Weekend: What's Left to Sort Out in the 2013 Season (Team Speed Kills)

The No. 11 and No. 12 seeds. In a normal year, your humble correspondent would rant even more emphatically about the stupidity of a 14-team league having 12 seeds in its baseball tournament (it's worse than professional hockey), but at least it gives us something to pay attention to this year. Tennessee and Georgia are still in this thing, technically, at least in part because they have missed two and three games, respectively. The Dawgs face perhaps the longest odds: They need to sweep Florida (stop laughing), see Kentucky sweep Missouri and see Tennessee lose at least two to Texas A&M. Tennessee has a few more routes to the Top 12, but not many...

No Baker's Dozen: Will MU Make the Tourney Cut?

The Tigers (8-19, ..296) are in 12th place right now, ahead of #13 Tennessee (7-18, .280) and #14 Georgia (5-19, .208). Only the top 12 teams, regardless of division, make the SEC Tournament next week.

Mizzou's "magic number" is 3. With 3 SEC games left for each team, any combination of MU wins and/or UT losses equaling 3 or more clinches the #12 spot for the Tigers.

The tie breaking rules (UT beat MU earlier this year) won't come into play because UT has 2 fewer games under its belt due to cancellations, and so there can be no statistical tie. The SEC Tournament Seeding rules clearly state the seedings are based on winning percentage, not on number of wins or number of losses or number of games behind.

The two division champions shall be automatically seeded number one and number two based on winning percentage in Conference competition. The remaining teams shall be seeded numbers three through 10 based on winning percentage without regard to division.

MU plays this coming weekend vs. Kentucky. UK started the season well, but have struggled in the last several weeks, posting a 4-14 record in their last 6 SEC series. Part of that stretch was going 0-3 each against SEC big-boys LSU,South Carolina and Vanderbilt. But it also included 1-2 against Tennessee.

NOTE: The Kentucky series is scheduled for Thursday/Friday/Saturday, not Friday through Sunday. Note also, though, that the forecast is calling for ran and thunderstorms Thursday and into Friday, so the chance of a Saturday double-header exists. I have no doubt both teams are very eager to get all three games in, since both need these games for their seeding and overall W-L records.

Tennessee plays at home this weekend against Texas A&M, which has a similar record to Kentucky, with similar mixed results.

Based on the records of both MU and UT and their weekend opponents as well, it’s going to come down to which team can manage to avoid shooting itself in the foot and which can focus and grit it out enough to grab the brass ring. Well, the #12 brass ring.

♦ What does the SEC Baseball Tournament field look like with 1 weekend remaining in regular season? (al.com)

Below is a look at the SEC Tournament seeding and first two days of competition if the regular season ended today.

SEC Tournament seeding (May 12)
1. Vanderbilt, 24-2
2. LSU, 21-6
3. Arkansas, 17-9
4. South Carolina, 16-10
5. Ole Miss, 14-13*
6. Mississippi State, 14-13*
7. Alabama, 13-13
8. Florida, 13-14
9. Texas A&M, 11-15
10. Auburn, 11-16
11. Kentucky, 10-17
12. Missouri, 8-19
----
13. Tennessee, 7-18
14. Georgia, 5-19

Note: Ole Miss owns a 2-1 record against MSU in conference games.

May 21 (single elimination)
Game 1: No. 6 Mississippi State vs. No. 11 Kentucky, 9:30 a.m., FSN
Game 2: No. 7 Alabama vs. No. 10 Auburn, TBD, FSN
Game 3: No. 8 Florida vs. No. 9 Texas A&M, 4:30 p.m., CSS
Game 4: No. 5 Ole Miss vs. No. 12 Missouri, TBD, CSS

♦ Vanderbilt, You Had Me At 'I'll Be Back' (College Baseball Today)

Dishonorable Mentions: - Kentucky.

I’m not anti-Kentucky, know that from the start here. In fact, head coach Gary Henderson is one of the nicest dudes I’ve dealt with in all my years of covering college baseball. Hell, I’ve got a “Kentucky baseball” magnet on my refrigerator at home… I ain’t lyin’ to ya’. But after looking at their body of work, including this weekend’s sweep at the hands of Vanderbilt, I can’t see how this team deserves to be in the at-large discussion for an NCAA tournament bid. They’re RPI coming into today was No. 29, but just like Maryland in the ACC at No. 26, there’s no way these dudes should be given much credence despite what that whack-B.S. RPI formula says. A poster child for a lackluster big money conference team getting helped out huge by the overall top-heavy state of their league.

Bright side of getting back so late with @mutigerbaseball is McDonald's breakfast starts in 15 minutes!

— Daniel Tappana (@JustTappItIn) May 13, 2013