When the Missouri baseball team hosts the Texas Longhorns for a three-game series starting Friday at Taylor Stadium, it will be the last time the two teams face off in the Big 12 Conference and the last Big 12 series the Tigers will host.
The series could end up being a crucial turning point for the Tigers or it could be the first nail in their coffin. With a 7-11 Big 12 record, Missouri still technically has a chance to finish with a winning record in conference play, but it would need to sweep both this series and its season-ending set against Kansas in Lawrence, Kan., beginning May 17.
That’s entirely possible. Missouri has shown an ability to go streaking, as evidenced by the 10 straight wins they reeled off in their season-opening home stand and the five-in-a-row the team strung together against Kansas State, Missouri State and Texas Tech.
The Tigers have an on-base percentage of .365 to Texas’ .357 and Kansas’ .339, and sophomore Rob Zastryzny and junior Blake Holovach, Missouri’s top two starters, have shown potential to be true shut-down arms. Zastryzny threw a complete-game shutout against Texas Tech, the third-best hitting team in the conference, and Holovach threw five no-hit innings against Texas A&M.
A trademark of Missouri this season has been its massive inconsistency and propensity for losing close games. The Tigers swept Kansas State, winning two games by definitive margins, and took a game on the road from Missouri State, the Missouri Valley Conference leader. But Missouri also had a 15-1 loss at home to Indiana State and dropped two of three to Texas Tech, a team with a 5-13 Big 12 record.
The Tigers also have walked on a wire in other conference games. They lost a two-run and one-run game at Texas A&M and dropped a pair of two-run contests to No. 2 Baylor. They also led the Bears for the majority of the third game of that series before falling 12-7.
A key for Missouri this weekend will be whether the team can finally get its offense rolling. The Tigers have only scored six runs in their last four games and managed a mere eight hits in a midweek two-game series against Arkansas. Only one regular player, junior outfielder Scott Sommerfeld, is hitting .300 or more.
Texas will put up a large amount of resistance. The Longhorns’ 3.18 team ERA is fourth in the Big 12, and they have a juggernaut bullpen, led by Corey Knebel and Hoby Milner, who carry .172 and .221 batting averages against, respectively.
The recent history between Missouri and Texas only serves to cloud predictions. The teams are 15-15 over their last 30 matchups and the Tigers’ wins have ranged from a 2-0 pitchers’ duel in 2009 to a 31-12 massacre in 2008, when Jacob Priday hit four home runs for Missouri.
History has shown anything can happen between these teams, and the fact Missouri has so much on the line this weekend will only serve to heighten the series’ tension.
The opener is set for 6 p.m. Friday at Taylor Stadium.
