Baseball drops three of four in Arizona to begin season

Posted to Sports Blog by JJ Stankevitz at 8:40 p.m., Feb. 22, 2009

The Mizzou baseball team opened its season by losing three out of four games at the Grand Canyon Classic in Phoenix, Ariz. After winning the season opener against Nevada by a score of 12-1, the Tigers dropped their next three games, losing to Gonzaga 9-3, Nevada 8-4, and Gonzaga 13-9.

Staff ace Kyle Gibson started Missouri’s first game against Nevada and threw six innings while allowing one unearned run on three hits and three walks with six strikeouts. Brad Buehler, Andrew Mueller, and Ryan Gargano added a scoreless inning apiece out of the bullpen to finish out the game.

Nevada’s pitchers struggled with control all game, and Missouri’s offense capitalized by coaxing 15 walks out of the Wolfpack. Greg Folgia, Aaron Senne, Trevor Coleman, Kyle Mach and Michael Liberto all had multi-walk days while Ryan Lollis went 2/3 with a double and two RBI. Andrew Thigpen also had a multi-hit day for the Tigers.

Missouri was unable to replicate the success of its first game in the desert in the remaining three. A trio of errors handcuffed starter Ian Berger -- who committed two of the errors -- in the first game against Gonzaga, as Berger only lasted five innings while allowing seven runs (three earned) on seven hits, no walks, and three strikeouts. Ryan Allen allowed two more earned runs in 0.2 innings out of the bullpen before freshmen Jeff Emens and Ryan Clubb stopped the bleeding, allowing no runs in a combined 2.1 innings.

Missouri’s offense collected six hits and four walks, but left nine men on base. Ryan Lollis, Jonah Schmidt and Connor Mach -- who made the first start of his Missouri career -- picked up the only three RBI of the game for the Tigers.

Kelly Fick, who spent most of the 2008 season in the bullpen, took the loss for Missouri as the team’s starting pitcher in the second game of the weekend against Nevada. Fick threw six innings, allowing four runs (all earned) on nine hits, no walks, and five strikeouts before being pulled in favor of Buehler, who gave up three runs (two earned) in two innings of relief work. Emens added an inning of work out of the bullpen and allowed an earned run.

The Tigers had 18 baserunners, 13 reached on hits, but only managed to score four runs against Nevada’s pitching staff. Missouri left 14 men on base in the game, nine of whom were in scoring position. Coleman, Thigpen and Liberto all had multi-hit days for the Tigers.

In the finale of the Grand Canyon classic, Nick Tepesch was lit up for nine runs (six earned) on 11 hits, no walks and five strikeouts in just four innings of work. Scooter Hicks, Greg Folgia, Brian Carr and Tyler Clark all saw time out of the bullpen, with Hicks allowing two runs in 3.1 innings while Folgia and Carr both allowed a run in 0.2 innings of work.

Missouri’s offense had no problem scoring runs against Gonzaga, plating nine on 14 hits and two walks with eight left on base. Folgia, who began the game in left field before being called upon to pitch, hit the first home run of the season for the Tigers in the bottom of the seventh. Kyle Mach, Steve Gray, Lollis and Folgia all had more than one hit in the game.

Defense was a big problem for the Tigers over the weekend, as in four games Missouri committed nine errors. If Missouri expects to live up to the No. 10 preseason ranking bestowed upon them by Baseball America, the defense will have to improve.

Missouri will get a good early-season challenge Tuesday when the Tigers take on Arizona State Tuesday night at 7:30 pm. The Sun Devils were ranked No. 13 in Baseball America’s preseason rankings.