Missouri baseball prevails in final game of season
Despite being eliminated from Big 12 Championship contention, the Missouri Tigers fought to earn a victory in their final game of the season.
Sophomore left fielder Ryan Gebhart hit a three-run home run in the seventh inning against Texas Tech to put Missouri up 7-3 for good. The game had been tied at three going into the inning, before the Tigers scored on an error. Junior third baseman Brett Nicholas also homered for the Tigers. Nicholas hit a solo home run to lead off the fifth inning.
The Tigers got solid pitching from juniors Jeff Emens and Zack Hardoin. Emens allowed one run and struck out three in four innings, and Hardoin allowed two runs and struck out seven in his four innings. Junior Phil McCormick closed out the game with a shut out inning.
The win gave the Tigers a 2-1 finish in the Big 12 Tournament and a final record of 29-26. Texas A&M’s win over Missouri on Thursday eliminated the Tigers and put the Aggies in the Big 12 Championship game.
Senior first baseman Aaron Senne went 0-for-4 on Saturday against Texas Tech, but still finished the season with a .400 batting average. Senne is the first Tiger to accomplish this feat since Mike Rogers in 1986. Senne also ends his career as the all-time hits leader at Missouri with 291.