Missouri is set to take to the diamond and rekindle Tigers fans’ passion for America’s national pastime Friday. This year, Missouri baseball will play 56 games against 28 different opponents at 10 different venues.
Before the team takes the field, here’s a guide to five opponents you’ll definitely want to watch the Tigers face this season.
**March 28: vs. Southeast Missouri State Redhawks**
The Tigers take a quick break from Southeastern Conference play when the SEMO Redhawks come through Columbia for a Tuesday battle on Mar. 28. For new Missouri coach Steve Bieser, this won’t just be a battle with another in-state opponent. Bieser coached SEMO’s baseball team from 2013 until he left for Columbia this season. The two teams split a series at Taylor Stadium last season. The Redhawks finished with an impressive 39-21 record in 2016.
**March 31 to April 2: vs. No. 2 Florida Gators**
This weekend series is the can’t-miss matchup of the year at Taylor Stadium. Florida baseball might be the best team to come through Missouri in any sport this school year. Florida finished 2016 with an astounding 52-16 record and received a No. 1 seed in last year’s College World Series. In addition to their success as a team, according to MLB.com’s Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo, Florida right handed pitcher Alex Faedo is projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft. If Faedo and Missouri’s Tanner Houck, a top-10 projected pick himself, face each other in one of these games, it could be one for the ages. Unfortunately, this game falls during academic spring break, but if you can’t make it back to Taylor Stadium for one of these games, it’s definitely worth watching on SEC Network.
**April 28-30: vs. No. 20 Texas A&M Aggies**
Texas A&M has seen recent success, appearing in the NCAA tournament for three straight seasons. RHP Corbin Martin is projected as a top-10 pick on MLB.com, but the Aggies also bring a high-powered offense that could provide many exciting games at Taylor Stadium.
**May 5-7: at No. 7 Vanderbilt Commodores**
Vanderbilt has been one of the most successful teams in the NCAA in recent years, winning the College World Series in 2014. They have produced a No. 1 overall pick (Dansby Swanson in 2015) and once again have a squad with no shortage of talent. Right-handed pitcher Kyle Wright, another top draft prospect, is a player to keep an eye on.
**May 12-14: vs. No. 4 South Carolina Gamecocks**
The Gamecocks have emerged as a preseason favorite to challenge Florida for the SEC Championship. It will definitely be worth taking a study break during finals week to watch the Tigers take on the two-headed monster that is the South Carolina combo of right-handed pitchers Wil Crowe and Clarke Schmidt. This late-season matchup will give a good sense of how the Tigers’ bats will fare against strong pitching.
**Evaluating the rest of the schedule**
The rest of the Tigers’ home opponents are Illinois-Chicago, Eastern Illinois, Western Carolina, Appalachian State, Chicago State, Arkansas, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Kentucky,
Murray State and Eastern Kentucky. The most captivating matchup will be the weekend SEC series against Arkansas, a team that finished in a similar spot to the Tigers in the SEC standings last season.
The Tigers will also play in an opening weekend neutral site tournament from Feb. 17-19 in which they will face Eastern Michigan in Fort Myers, Florida. They will take on Texas A&M- Corpus Christi, Houston and Illinois in Corpus Christi, Texas. On the road, they’ll face SEC foes Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss and Tennessee, along with visiting Illinois and Missouri State for separate road single-game matchups. An interesting matchup could be on hand when Missouri plays Alabama for the first time since the 2015 season, when the Crimson Tide took two out of three games from the Tigers in a weekend series.
The Tigers open up their season Friday night against Eastern Michigan at 7 p.m. in Fort Myers, Florida.
_Edited by Eli Lederman | elederman@themaneater.com_
