Missouri Tigers Baseball Takes Series Over No. 6 South Carolina
By Ron Davis
The Missouri Tigers baseball team is off to one of their best starts in school history with a 18-6 (5-1 in SEC play) record. That one loss came Sunday afternoon after the Tigers fell to No. 6 South Carolina 7-5.
That loss shouldn’t damper the weekend for the Black and Gold, they took two out of three from a pretty good Carolina team who is also now 18-6.
Head coach Tim Jamieson’s squad entered the weekend ranked No. 26 in the country, and now has the attention of the entire conference after sweeping Georgia and winning the series against the Gamecocks. The five wins in league play is just one shy of their total last year, where they went 6-24 and finished last in the conference.
Each game this weekend featured a comeback by the winner.
GAME 1:
Ace of the season Reggie McClain took the mound Friday and the Gamecocks quickly jumped on him with a 1-0 lead in the top of the 1st. The Tigers’ bats came alive in the bottom of the 2nd when they loaded up the bases, setting up freshman Trey Harris’ two run single.
Carolina couldn’t do much until the top of the 5th when Jordan Gore ripped a one-out triple to score a run, evening the score at 2-2. A costly error in the bottom of the 7th gave Mizzou runners in scoring position at 2nd and 3rd, and that’s when Zach Lavy drove in the go-ahead run with a single.
McClain ran into some trouble in the top of the 9th when Carolina reached first on an error. A sacrifice moved the runner to 2nd, and Jamieson went to the bullpen and brought out closer Breckin Williams to seal the deal. The runner advanced to 3rd, but Breckin shut the door giving him his sixth save of the season as the Tigers took Game 1 3-2.
GAME 2:
Freshman sensation Tanner Houck got the start in the second game, and much like the first game, Carolina got their offense going early. In the top of the 2nd, the Gamecocks hit back-to-back two out singles with runners in scoring position and grabbed a 2-0 lead.
It was a pitchers duel throughout the whole game and more runs weren’t scored until the 7th. That’s when Josh Lester and Brett Bond led of the inning with back-to-back singles, giving the Tigers runners on the corners with no outs. Zach Lavy drove in Lester on a fielder’s choice, but that was it for inning as Carolina retained the lead.
Houck struck out the side in the 8th, and he finally got some more help from the offense as he ended his day. The Tigers had runners at the corners again and Ryan Howard delivered by smacking a single to left, scoring Brett Peel and tying the game at 2.
A steal in the bottom of the 9th by Trey Harris put a runner in scoring position, but back-to-back strikeouts sent the game into extra innings.
Carolina took the lead back with a leadoff single, a sacrifice bunt, an intentional walk, and a hit-and-run. Though they had runners on 2nd and 3rd, closer Breckin Williams was able to get out of the jam with just one run.
Jake Ring led off the bottom of the 10th with a single, and Howard followed putting Ring on third. Josh Lester drove Ring in on a sacrifice fly, tying the game at 3. Brett Bond then popped out for the second out, and Lavy drew a walk, putting the winning run at second.
Harris got to be the hero again when he smacked a grounder up the middle and Howard was safe at the plate, giving Missouri the win. The Tigers did not lead until the final pitch, but clinched the series in dramatic fashion.
GAME 3:
Peter Fairbanks took the ball in the series finale Sunday and this time it was the Tigers who struck first. Brett Peel lead of the game with a walk and stole 2nd. Jake Ring then reached on an error, and Ryan Howard sacrificed both of them to 2nd and 3rd. After a Josh Lester walk, Brett Bond drove in Peel with a dribbler single.
Zach Lavy continued his clutch hitting with a double down the left field line giving Mizzou a 3-0 advantage in the 1st inning. The Tigers had a chance to blow the game open in the second with the bases loaded for Lester, but just missed a grand slam by a few feet, ending the threat.
Carolina’s offense got going in the 3rd with an RBI triple by Gene Cone, and a fielder’s choice eventually brought Cone in, cutting the lead to 3-2. Jamieson pulled Fairbanks and inserted Austin Tribby in the top of the 6th and the Gamecocks captialized with an RBI single to tie the game.
Tribby was replaced by Andrew Schwaab after a leadoff double in the top of the 7th, and much like the 6th inning, an RBI single brought another run in, and the Gamecocks took the lead for the first time. The Tigers continued to struggle on offense as the pitching began to fall apart. Another Carolina run put freshman Bryce Montes De Oca on the mound, and he had a wild pitch to give a 6-3 lead to the visitors.
Trey Harris was the hero in game two and started the rally in game three. After back-to-back walks to Howard and Lester, Harris stepped up to the plate. He smacked a double down the line to score both runners and cutting the lead to 6-5.
Unfortunately that was it for the Tigers. Carolina brought another run in off new pitcher John Miles and Mizzou didn’t have another rally to counter. The Gamecocks took game three 7-5.
The loss shouldn’t discourage any Missouri fan. South Carolina is a really good team and the fact that the Tigers took two out of three from the No. 6 team in the country is a sign that the program is moving forward.
Trey Harris established himself as a clutch hitter and will likely be a big part of the reason Missouri keeps winning games this year.
The Tigers have a day off on Monday before hosting a two-game series with Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Missouri hits the road next weekend at No. 4 Texas A&M for another big SEC showdown.