Baseball wins weekend series

The baseball team won the series overall, but lost the game Sunday.

By Sam Wilson

Published May 6, 2008

After a five-game losing streak going into the weekend, Tiger fans had the opportunity to bring brooms to Sunday’s series finale against Kansas State.

With a 13-10 win on Friday and an 11-7 victory on Saturday, the team had the potential to take the sweep.

The sweep was not to be. The team lost Sunday’s game 4-3 in 10 innings.

The Tigers had three errors while the Wildcats did not commit any.

“We failed to keep the ball in front,” coach Tim Jamieson said. “On a fly ball line drive to right, you’ve got to keep the ball in front.”

Putting up more than 10 runs both Friday and Saturday, the MU offense went cold Sunday.

The team had only seven hits in the game. But with an RBI double from junior first baseman Steve Gray in the eighth inning, the team had a 3-2 lead.

“We did have some momentum,” Gray said. “But they were able to scratch a run across. We just didn’t play good enough in the ninth and 10th.”

Kansas State scored the tying run in the ninth inning on a sacrifice fly from sophomore infielder Justin Bloxom.

In the tenth inning, the Wildcats’ sophomore outfielder Adam Muenster scored on a wild pitch and an error by MU sophomore catcher Trevor Coleman. The Tigers went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 10th inning to end the game.

After throwing 143 pitches the week before at Texas A&M, junior Rick Zagone started Sunday. He pitched seven innings, giving up five hits and two runs, both of them earned.

“I felt a little bit more sore this week,” Zagone said. “I was definitely ready to go out there and pitch today. It was exciting to go as long as I did last weekend.”

Junior Aaron Crow pitched Friday’s win. He went 5.1 innings and gave up six runs, four earned.

“It felt good for the most part early in the game,” Crow said. “I was able to throw strikes until the sixth inning.”

Crow left the game with the team up 10-6. Sophomore Ryan Allen came in to relieve him. Allen pitched 2.2 innings and gave up one run.

“I felt good,” Allen said. “I felt confident that I could get the job done, just to come in and attack hitters.”

Senior Jacob Priday hit two of Missouri’s four home runs in Friday’s win.

Sophomore Kyle Gibson was the starting pitcher Saturday.

He went seven innings and gave up three runs, all earned.

“My fastball was basically the only pitch I had today,” Gibson said. “My slider was really nowhere to be found this weekend, but that’s how it is sometimes.”

Gibson got plenty of run support in the 11-7 win.

The Tigers had 16 hits, including a few on balls Wildcat fielders lost in the sun.

“I didn’t think it was too difficult to deal with,” sophomore outfielder Aaron Senne said. “I didn’t have any high fly balls like they did. I looked up and was checking it out, I didn’t think it was going to be that bad.”

After the weekend, the team has a 31-16 record and an 11-10 mark in Big 12 play.

It has nonconference home games this week against Creighton at 4 p.m. Tuesday and against Missouri State at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.