Baseball vying for spot in tournament
The Tigers will play Kansas at Kauffman Stadium Wednesday.
Published April 24, 2007
MU baseball coach Tim Jamieson had two goals for the 2007 season: to win every series at home and to make it to the playoffs. But on April 14-15, MU played host to Texas A&M at Taylor Stadium and lost its first series at home. Losing to Big 12 Conference rival A&M affected MU's chances of making it to the NCAA Tournament, and therefore, made the team's recent two wins against Baylor critical.
Jamieson said he thought a lack of confidence was the reason for the series loss to A&M and the main reason his team struggled in the clutch against the Aggies.
"I think there are some guys that are confident, and there are some guys that aren't," Jamieson said. "The guys that came up when we needed hits aren't confident."
The players' confidence showed more in Waco, Texas, this weekend, when MU won two games with plenty of offense and scored a combined 25 runs in the wins.
In the third game Sunday, the Tigers struggled offensively with the exception of junior Evan Frey, who had five hits in the 8-3 loss.
The wins helped the Tigers' conference standing, but they weren't a good measure of production against elite Big 12 teams. The Bears sit in ninth place in the 10-team league.
Sophomore Ryan Lollis said after the team made it to the Super Regionals last season, he knows how important it is to win conference games to get to the playoffs.
"We definitely need to win some more series," Lollis said. "We need to pick it up, get focused and start hitting the ball. The pitchers are doing a good job."
But some of MU's key hitters have struggled this season. Senior John McKee, who started the season strong, has seen his average dip to .246. Although Junior designated hitter Jacob Priday struggled earlier in the season, his batting average has risen to .270.
"We just have to try to make some adjustments in our swings and our approach," McKee said. "We have to get more hits."
The Tigers will have another chance to face a Big 12 competitor Wednesday at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City against rival Kansas. The game doesn't count as a conference game or as a Border Showdown game but is merely an exhibition on a neutral field.
The Tigers will play host to Texas Tech this weekend at Taylor Stadium. Texas Tech sits in seventh place in the conference.
Jamieson said he looks at conference games the way he looks at every game, regardless of the opponent.
"Every game's a must win when you play 27," Jamieson said. "We need to try to get better as a baseball team, and if we're one of the best in the league, the team will finish there. You want to win every game you play, but we're still ahead of a lot of people right now, and we have a chance to move up."