Junior Hunter Mense had four hits and junior Gary Arndt added three, including a home run on Wednesday night as Mizzou snapped its three-game losing skid with a 14-2 win over Illinois at T.R. Hughes Ballpark in O'Fallon, Mo. With the victory the Tigers improve to 26-24 on the season, while Illinois falls to 27-25.

Mense drove in four runs on the night, going 4-for-5. Arndt was 3-for-5, driving in three and scoring three times.

Missouri jumped on the Illini early with a six-run bottom of the first, as the Tigers batted around in the inning, sending 10 batters to the plate. With MU already holding a 3-0 lead, Arndt connected for his fourth home run of the season with a three-run shot with one out in the first. Mense also had an RBI hit, knocking in two runs on a one-out single in the inning.

The Tigers put two more runs on the board as senior J.C. Field drove in a pair of runs with a single in the third inning. Field drove in another run with a bases loaded single as part of a four-run bottom of the fifth inning. The first five batters to the plate in the fifth reached safely including sophomore Evan Frey who drove in two runs with a single.

Mense drove in two more runs with a single with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Illinois scored its first run of the game in the sixth inning as Mike Rhode singled to drive in Kyle Hudson for an unearned run as an error aided the Illini in the inning. UI added a second run in the eighth inning as Trevor Huisinga scored on a sacrifice hit. Huisinga reached on an error, making both runs on the night scored by the Illini unearned.

Junior Nathan Culp pitched the first two innings on Wednesday night, facing the minimum and was credited with the win, improving to 10-5 on the year. Culp threw just 20 pitches, 17 of which were for strikes. He did not throw a ball until his 14th pitch of the game.

Missouri will close out the regular season with a three-game series this weekend at Taylor Stadium against Texas. Game one of the weekend will get underway at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. For tickets, call 1-800-CAT-PAWS (884-PAWS in Columbia) or visit mutigers.com. All games can be heard on KTGR 1580-AM in Columbia and at ktgr.com. Live stats will also be available on mutigers.com.

Missouri guard Thomas Gardner has signed with an agent, ensuring that he will remain eligible for the NBA draft and not return to school for his senior season.

Gardner, a junior, signed with Los Angeles agents Bill McCandless and Happy Walters of Immortal Sports Entertainment, the agents said Thursday.

The Tigers' leading scorer this past season had previously declared for the draft in March after Tigers coach Quin Snyder resigned, but delayed signing with an agent.

"It was a tough decision for me to leave Mizzou," Gardner said in a statement. "I feel like it was the right time for me to pursue my dream to play in the NBA."

The 6-foot-5 Gardner was the Big 12's No. 2 scorer and top 3-point shooter last season.

Twenty-one standout student-athletes have signed a National Letter of Intent (NLI) to attend the University of Missouri and play football for Head Coach Gary Pinkel, as announced today by Mizzou's head coach.

According to the Rivals.com rankings, Mizzou's 2006 recruiting class rates ahead of 27 other schools that participated in bowl games during the 2005 season.

Five of Mizzou's 2006 class hails from the state of Missouri, including two of the state's top four players, according to Rivals. Once again, the state of Texas was a big focal point for MU's recruiting efforts, turning in 9 players. Mizzou also signed two student-athletes from the states of California and Oklahoma, and one each from the states of Florida, Georgia, and Louisiana.

Mizzou's quarterback class rated 13th-best in the country, according to Rivals.com, and MU also fared well in the wide receiver position (17th-best class in the nation). The defensive back class (featuring seven players, the second-largest DB class in the nation, according to Rivals) ranked 30th.

 

 

Rick Lyle, has been selected as the assistant strength and conditioning coach for the NY Jets. 

Lyle, 34, played nine seasons in the NFL after entering the NFL as an undrafted rookie free agent from Missouri in 1994. The former defensive lineman, one of the most versatile lineman in the league during his tenure, played virtually every position at one point or another during his career, which began with the Cleveland Browns in 1994, them moved with the franchise to Baltimore, where he played in 1996, and then spent five seasons with the Jets (1997-2001), before concluding with the Patriots (2002-2003). Lyle, a native of Hickman Hills, MO played in 113 career regular season games, notching 250 career tackles and 11 sacks, earned a Super Bowl trophy with the Patriots in 2003 (Super Bowl XXXVIII).

Random note: Lyle was the 1993 NSCA All-American Strength and Conditioning Athlete of the Year at the Universtiy of Missouri.  The program recognizes collegiate athletes whose athletic accomplishments, in the opinion of the strength coach, reflect their dedication to strength training and conditioning. These athletes are also recognized for their academic and personal accomplishments as well as their integrity as student athletes.