Preview: Missouri vs LSU – Fri 7 (+) | Sat 7:30 (SECN) | Sun 2 (SECN)

#21 Missouri Tigers (28-21, 14-10) vs. #1 LSU Fighting Tigers (40-8, 16-7) at Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field in Baton Rouge, LA.

It’s senior weekend at Alex Box Stadium with the Missouri Tigers coming in for the final regular season series in Baton Rouge. The Tigers have 7 seniors on this 2015 squad: Scivicque, Foster, Bouman, Domangue, Sciambra, Person, and Hale; although several juniors are expected to be saying their goodbyes as well. This will be Missouri’s first trip to Baton Rouge since March of 1987 when the LSU Tigers won an 8-5 game. These two teams have only met 5 times in their history, the last being a series in Columbia in 2013, which LSU swept with a pair of shutouts. This will be the first weekend series that Missouri has ever played in Baton Rouge.








Missouri Tigers
Record: 28-21
Conference: 14-10, 3rd SEC East
Non-Conf: 14-11
Home: 12-12
Away: 7-8
Neutral: 9-1

Team Overview:
Tim Jamieson is the head coach for his hometown Missouri Tigers, but there is a deeper connection between Jamieson and Paul Mainieri. The two Tigers’ skippers played with each other in the 1978 and ’79 season at UNO. Missouri had a rough first couple years in the SEC under coach Tim Jamieson. The Tigers went just 16-48 in the SEC the last two seasons, but have nearly matched that win total so far in 2015 and are in great position to garner an NCAA Regional at large bid, their first since 2012 as a member of the Big 12. Missouri has some nice series wins over South Carolina, Florida, and Ole Miss. Their increased success can be attributed to solid pitching and defense, which rank 56th and 25th in the nation, respectively. Mizzou ranks over 200th in the country in batting and next to last in the SEC. Midweek games are a struggle lately for Mizzou having lost 6 of the last 7, but the Tigers’ play in the conference has put them post-season contention. A win this weekend would guarantee at least a .500 SEC record and all but secure a regional trip.


Junior Reggie McClain will take the mound on Friday night for Mizzou. McClain is a three-pitch righty with his fastball sitting 87-90mph. Command is the name of the game for Reggie. He throws all of his pitches for strikes, works down in the zone, and very often will pitch backwards. McClain has been named the SEC Pitcher of the Week 3 times this season by the league office. His secondary pitches are a changeup and a curveball, with the former being the bigger threat for a swing and miss.


Saturday night on the SEC Network, we get a battle of two of the top freshman pitchers in the league. Alex Lange for LSU will face off against Tanner Houck of Missouri. Houck is a big 6’5 RHP who draws comparisons to Aaron Nola for his ¾ arm slot, similar velocity, and outstanding command. Houck was a 12th round draft pick by the Blue Jays last summer. He ranks 2nd in the SEC in K/BB ratio. His fastball ranges 90-93 and tops out at 95 mph. He throws a nasty 81-83 mph slider, an upper 70’s curve, and a developing changeup. Houck has good movement on his pitches and paints blacks.


Peter Fairbanks will be throwing for Mizzou in the final regular season game at Alex Box this season. Fairbanks started the season as the Friday night guy, and his 2.64 ERA ranks 5th in the SEC. The 6’6 lanky junior sits in the low 90s with his fastball and upper 70s with his two offspeed pitches: a curveball and a changeup. All 3 of Mizzou’s starting pitchers rank in the top 15 in the conference in strikeouts. LSU’s official Sunday starter is TBA, but Bain will likely be the guy even if only for a couple innings.


Mizzou’s bullpen relies heavily on closer Breckin Williams, a definite draft prospect when the MLB draft rolls around in June. Breckin is 2nd in the SEC with 11 saves behind only Stallings and has picked up 4 wins in relief to only two losses. Twice this season he picked up a win and save in the same day during a double header. He works 90-94mph with a plus curve as his strikeout pitch. Austin Tribby is a left-handed specialist who leads the SEC with 28 appearances already this season. RHP Andrew Schwaab has 21 appearances and leads the SEC with 11 hit batters. Both Tribby and Schwaab are upper 80’s guys.



Offense is the weakest link for this Missouri club, ranking last in the league in scoring out-of-conference, but they have scored enough runs in SEC play to rank 7th in runs/game. Shortstop Ryan Howard is the leader at the plate for the Tigers. He is riding a 7 game hitting streak over which he has a .429 average. Howard has also hit into the most double plays in the SEC with 11 GIDPs on the year. Leadoff speedster Brett Peel is hitting just .258 on the year, but throw in the 32 free passes that he has earned and he finds a way on base. Once there, he makes things happen on the bases with 20 stolen on the season, 3rd most in the league; although no other player has been caught stealing as many times. Big lefty Josh Lester leads the team in HRs (6) and RBIs (37). Lester will be playing in his 149th game for the Tigers and enters the weekend on a 9 game hitting streak. The “sparkplug” for Mizzou is Freshman Shane Benes. After missing his HS senior season and the first 38 games of his freshman campaign, Benes played his first game on April 18th for the Tigers and recorded a hit in his first 3 collegiate at bats. Benes is son of the first-overall draft pick in 1988 Andy Benes. Shane has homered in two straight games entering the weekend.



Mizzou’s defense has been solid all year long at .976 and .978 in SEC contests. Middle infielders Howard and Peel have combined for just 10 errors on the season, but the Tigers have turned fewer double plays per game than any team in the league. The ugly part of their game is behind the plate. No team in the SEC has allowed more stolen bases (58) than Missouri. Starting catcher Brett Bond has allowed 40 stolen bags in 47 attempts.




Helpful Links
Mizzou Season Stats
Mizzou Roster
Mizzou Schedule (via Warren Nolan)
Live Stats via LSUsports.net
SEC Network + / ESPN3.com for Online Viewing (login required)
FAQ: How to watch LSU Baseball games this season