The Missouri baseball team will look to continue its strong second-half surge today.
The eighth-seeded Tigers open play in the Big 12 Tournament at 12:30 p.m. against top-seeded Texas in Oklahoma City. Missouri (24-30, 11-15 Big 12) will then play either Oklahoma State or Baylor in its second game Thursday.
After starting the season with a 2-9 record in Big 12 play, it appeared Missouri would miss the tournament for the first time in nine seasons. At one point, the Tigers lost eight straight conference games.
But Missouri won four of its final five Big 12 series and clinched the tournament's final spot with a victory against Nebraska on Friday in Lincoln.
Missouri's strong second half can be credited to its reborn offense. The Tigers hit just .237 as a team in their first 11 conference games and averaged only two runs per game. But in the last 15 games, Missouri hit .279 and averaged more than seven runs per game to secure the final spot in the tournament.