Tigers take game one over Arkansas-Pine Bluff
The Missouri baseball team blew out visiting Arkansas-Pine Bluff 9-0 in the first game of a two-game series Tuesday night. The victory was the Tigers’ second straight shutout and their fourth consecutive win at home.
Missouri struck first in the inaugural meeting between the two teams, as the Tigers plated five in the second inning. Freshman right fielder Blake Brown and senior first baseman Aaron Senne each crushed two-run homers in the inning.
Brown’s bomb was the first of his career, making him the third freshman in the past week to go deep for the first time. Freshman infielder Eric Garcia and outfielder Kale Gaden each homered against Xavier.
The Tigers continued to pour it on, adding three more runs in the third inning and one in the fourth. The four runs were earned on just four hits as Brown, Garcia and senior shortstop Michael Liberto all doubled.
Defensively, Missouri’s pitchers held the Golden Lions scoreless all night. Arkansas-Pine Bluff recorded five hits but could not piece together a run in the loss.
Junior lefthander Jeff Scardino earned his first win of the season, striking out four and giving up four hits in five innings of work. Each inning afterward belonged to a different reliever, as four Tigers pitched in to hold the shutout.
After scoring nine runs through four innings, Missouri went cold and both teams posted zeros across the board the rest of the game. Coach Tim Jamieson thought the game split in two in terms of scoring.
“I thought everybody was dialed in at the plate in the first half of the game,” Jamieson said. “The second half wasn’t quite as clean. But with the pitching that we got, I thought the offense was good enough tonight.”
Missouri moves to 11-6 overall with just one game remaining before conference play. Wednesday’s game two against the Golden Lions will cap off Missouri’s long home stand, during which they are 7-1.
The teams return to Taylor Stadium at 3 p.m. Wednesday.