HI NOTES: The Numbers Game, MU Past & Future

♦ Big 12:  Only the top 8 teams in the conference will qualify for the Big 12 Tournament.  Mizzou has clinched a spot in that tournament.  MU cannot finish 8th and will be either 6th or 7th.  Either 6th or 7th place will put them in the 2nd Division of the bracket (2nd vs. 7th; 3rd vs. 6th), which would mean they would not have any chance of playing #1 Baylor until a possible Championship Game.

Next weekend, MU can reach .500 in the conference with a sweep of KU.  Kansas will be playing to avoid dropping to 9th and being left out of the Big 12 Tournament.

Current standings, next weekend series and possibilities:

• #1 Baylor (18-3) 
• plays @ Texas; cannot finish lower than 1st
• #2 Texas A&M (13-8) 
• plays @ Oklahoma State; could finish anywhere from 2nd to 5th
• #2 Oklahoma State (13-8)
•  plays Texas A&M; could finish anywhere from 2nd to 5th
• #2 Texas (13-8) 
• plays Baylor; could finish anywhere from 2nd to 5th
• #5 Oklahoma (13-10) 
• no more Big 12 games; could finish anywhere from 2nd to 5th
• #6 Missouri (9-12)
• plays @ Kansas; could finish 6th or 7th
• #7 Texas Tech (6-15)
• plays Kansas State; could finish 6th or 7th
• #8 Kansas (5-15)
• plays Missouri, could finish anywhere from 7th to 9th
• #9 Kansas State (5-16)
• plays @ Texas Tech; could finish 8th or 9th.

♦ Missouri's RPI is now .533, ranked 84th, according to BoydsWorld.com (KU is ranked 181st).

Missouri's only realistic hope of making it to the NCAA Regionals is to win the Big 12 Championship Tourney.

♦ Two more wins by the Tigers and Tim Jamieson will reach 600 career coaching wins. And he could reach that milestone in the Tigers' final Big 12 series against Kansas.


MU RECRUITS

♦ Mexico High School Baseball (Mexico Ledger)

University of Missouri recruit Hunter Haynes, a senior pitcher, is the only Mexico High School player on the all-NCMC baseball honor roll chosen by league coaches and released today.

♦ Rock Bridge's Ryan Phillips Hits the Right Note, On & Off the Field (KOMU BOTB VIDEO)

For Phillips, that next level is playing college baseball for the Missouri Tigers. He expects to play second or third base, with the possibility of picking up some relief pitching in the Tiger bullpen.

"It's something I was hoping for actually," Phillips said. "Not a lot of people get to do that."

Phillips will graduate from Rock Bridge as the school's single-season and all-time leader in hits and wins. But baseball is just one of his many talents. The talented athlete learned how to play acoustic guitar three years ago without taking a single lesson. He says he "just kind of learned it from playing."

"I just did what sounded right with certain chords. Started being inventive with different things," Phillips said.

MU IN THE MINORS

♦ Promoted from - Class A? (TidesStringer.com)

Because of injuries, extra-inning games, and roster rules, the Baltimore Orioles left the Tides shorthanded as the Tides moved on from Louisville to Indianapolis. So, the Tides had three new players in their lineup in Sunday’s game. Those three players — infielders Bobby Stevens and Ty Kelly, and pitcher Rick Zagone — were promoted not from AA Bowie, but from High-Class-A Frederick. Why would the Orioles promote players from High-A to AAA, instead of from AA?

There are several possible reasons. A couple of those reasons relate to the Bowie team itself. . .