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Baseball gets another sweep

The pitching staff has been essential to MU's 13-2 record.

By Lenny Goldman
March 18, 2008

Junior pitcher Ian Berger throws a pitch against Toledo on Saturday at Taylor Stadium. Berger pitched a shutout, helping the Tigers in a 10-0 win.

Photo/Nick Forrester

Junior pitcher Ian Berger throws a pitch against Toledo on Saturday at Taylor Stadium. Berger pitched a shutout, helping the Tigers in a 10-0 win.

It wasn’t until the seventh inning of game three against the Toledo Rockets that Missouri gave up its first run of the weekend series.

“Coming off the field I felt terrible,” sophomore pitcher Kyle Gibson said about giving up the first run of the series. “It’s part of the game. We’re not always going to throw shutouts. We would have liked to have a series shut out, but I mean, that’s how it goes ... I just got to be able to move on. A run’s a run.”

Dominant pitching was the key to Missouri’s four game sweep of Toledo, and with a 13-2 record the Tigers are currently ranked fourth in the nation according to Baseball America’s rankings.

“They don’t talk a lot about it (the No. 4 ranking) which tells me they’re very confident and they expect to be there at the end,” coach Tim Jamieson said.

Junior pitcher Aaron Crow set the bar high in the series opener Friday when he pitched a complete game shut out and racked up 15 strikeouts.

“Strikeouts are just part of the game,” Crow said. “I wasn’t trying to get them. I wasn’t doing more than I normally would. That’s the way it happened Friday.”

In game two, junior pitcher Ian Berger followed suit by putting in eight innings of scoreless work and recording nine strikeouts of his own.

“I think we can be a great team,” Crow said. “I think we can be more successful than we were last year. Hopefully we can capitalize on our talent and what we have going for us.”

MU displayed just about all of its talent during Sunday’s doubleheader.

Nine different pitchers worked the mound, including seven in the second game of the day.

“We got a lot of people involved,” Jamieson said. “I think we are still finding out who we are and creating depth.”

Freshman pitcher Brad Buehler showed off his skills after he received the starting nod in game two of the doubleheader.

He pitched three innings and gave up one hit for no runs.

“I felt pretty good once I settled in,” Buehler said. “I was a little nervous, but then I felt pretty good. I’m just trying to follow in their footsteps, trying to be as good as they are.”

Throughout the weekend the Tigers also showcased their defense by committing only one error compared to the Rockets’ nine.

“I’m not sure we’re as good as our numbers defensively, but we’ve been making plays and that’s the main thing,” Jamieson said. “I still get a little nervous sometimes, particularly up the middle on defense, but we’re getting better. Our numbers are great. I’m not sure we’re that good, but we’ll take it while we get it.”