Game Notes

Setting the Stage

• Mizzou Baseball will open its fourth year in college baseball's premier conference, the SEC, this weekend as it takes on No.1-ranked and preseason SEC favorite Florida in a three-game series beginning Friday at 6 p.m. (CT). Game two of the series will be Saturday at 6 p.m. (CT) and the finale is scheduled for a noon (CT) start on Sunday. The series should feature some very intriguing pitching matchups, which are below. 
• Saturday's matchup between Houck and Puk will feature a pair of hurlers who pitched for USA Baseball's Collegiate National Team: Houck and Puk. The two teamed to earn USA Baseball's International Performance of the Year after tossing a combined no-hitter against Cuba along with Texas A&M's Ryan Hendrix. Houck started that game and tossed 4.0 perfect innings. Houck was Team USA's top starter over the summer, leading the team in IP and his 2.16 ERA was tops among pitchers with at least three starts. He also led the team in strikeouts and K-BB ratio (14-1). He just recently accepted an invitation to pitch with Team USA again this summer. 
• The Team USA connections do not end there. In all, this weekend's series will feature six players who were with the Collegiate National Team last summer - Mizzou's SS Ryan Howard and RHP Tanner Houck and Florida's LHP A.J. Puk, OF Buddy Reed, C J.J. Schwarz and RHP Logan Shore. Howard was the team's starting SS and hit .310 with four doubles, a homer and three RIB while scoring six runs. Howard hit .370 with two outs (third-best on the team) and also drove in a pair of two-out RBIs during his times with Team USA. 
• A complete look at series history and career stats for Mizzou vs. Florida is on page seven. 

Pitching Matchups

1. Friday: Reggie McClain (3-0, 0.85 ERA) vs. Logan Shore (4-0, 2.00 ERA)
2. Saturday: Tanner Houck (2-1, 1.61 ERA) vs. A.J. Puk (0-1, 2.65 ERA)
3. Sunday: Austin Tribby (2-1, 3.33 ERA) vs. Alex Faedo (4-0, 1.42 ERA)

Series History With Florida

• Mizzou trails the all-time series with Florida, 4-11, but is coming off of a series win at Taylor Stadium a year ago. Friday's game will be a rematch of the series opener a year ago when Reggie McClain squared off against Logan Shore. Florida won that game, 5-1. Saturday's matchup will also be a rematch of pitchers with Tanner Houck facing Team USA teammate A.J. Puk. Houck was sensational last year against the Gators, allowing just four hits and one run over 8.0 innings, striking out six against no walks in a 10-1 Mizzou win. Mizzou tagged Puk for nine runs (all nine earned) over 5.1 innings. He surrendered three homers to Mizzou, two coming off the bat of 1B Zach Lavy. Mizzou then won the Sunday game, 5-3, thanks to a five-run fifth which was highlighted by a three-run homer from SS Ryan Howard to put the game out of reach. 
• Mizzou's current three-year record vs. Florida since joining the SEC is 3-6 but no current Mizzou players saw action in the 2013 series. Since 2014, Florida leads, 2-4. Below are career stats for notable Mizzou players vs. Florida:
  •     SS Ryan Howard -     5-for-23 | 1R | 5 RBI | 2B | HR
  •     OF Jake Ring -     4-for-19 |2R | RBI | 3 BB | 2B    
  •     OF Trey Harris -     4-for-11 | 2R | 1 2B | 1 RBI
  •     1B Zach Lavy -        4-for 11 | 3 R | 1 2B | 2 HR | 4 RBI
  •     C Brett Bond -         2-for-10 | 2 R | 1 HR | 1 RBI
  •     C Alex Del Rio -     1-for-4 | R | RBI | 2 BB
  •     C Jack Klages -     0-for-0
  •     RHP Tanner Houck -     1-0 | 8.0 IP | 1.12 ERA | 4H | 1R | 1ER | 0BB | 6K | .143 OPP BA
  •     RHP Reggie McClain -     0-1 | 5.1 IP | 8.44 ERA | 9H | 5R | 5ER | 2BB | 5K | .391 OPP BA
  •     LHP Austin Tribby -     0-0 | 1.1 IP | 13.50 ERA | 4H | 2R | 2 ER | 1BB | 0K
  •     LHP Lake Dabney -     0-0 | 2.0 IP | 0.00 ERA | 1H | 0R | 0ER | 0BB | 1K | .125 OPP BA

Up Next
Mizzou will host No. 2 Vanderbilt for a three-game series at Taylor Stadium next weekend. Tex Little and Trevor Coleman will have the call on KTGR. For all the latest on Mizzou Baseball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter @MizzouBaseball.