Missouri baseball’s Tuesday night clash against in-state opponent Southeast Missouri State certainly did not have the excitement of a Southeastern Conference game, but the Tigers pulled away late in an emotional 9-3 victory at home.
Not only was it an in-state rivalry game, but Missouri head coach Steve Bieser also faced his alma mater and former team. Bieser played for the Redhawks during his college days and coached them from 2011-16.
“It’s not a game that I enjoy playing in to be honest,” Bieser said. “When I was at SEMO it was always nice to come here and play. It’s a tough game; it could have been an easy trap game. So, you know, there was a lot of anxiety going into this game.”
The first three runs of the game came on two hit-by-pitches in the second inning and a wild pitch in the third inning, giving the Tigers a three-run lead despite only registering one hit.
Graduate pitcher Christain Wall provided a strong outing on the mound for the Tigers, pitching four innings while giving up two runs on only one hit and striking out six batters.
SEMO senior infielder Tyler Wilber put the Redhawks on the board with a two-run home run to right center in the fourth inning, but Wall limited the damage and closed out his day with a ground out.
Sophomore left fielder Trevor Austin responded quickly in the bottom of the fourth with a home run of his own to give Missouri a 4-2 lead.
In the top of the fifth, senior pitcher Jacob Kush took over for Wall and pitched for two innings, allowing one run on one hit and striking out three batters. The one run came on junior catcher Andrew Keck’s solo home run in the top of the sixth, which cut the Tigers’ two-run advantage in half.
Missouri once again responded in the next half-inning when redshirt junior infielder Luke Mann grounded an RBI single through the right side to make it 5-3.
Bieser called upon junior pitcher Nathan Landry to take over in the seventh inning, and Landry struck out the side in his one inning of action.
In the bottom of the seventh, graduate infielder Fox Leum hit his first moonshot home run of the evening to make it a 6-3 game in Missouri’s favor. The very next inning he did it again, this time with two men on base, to make it 9-3.
“On the first one I was mainly trying to jump on a fastball because it was a fastball count,” Leum said. “So that’s really what I was looking for, and I was able to get it and do some damage. On the last one they threw me another fastball, and I was able to get it out of the park.”
Senior pitcher Austin Cheeley pitched the final two innings of the game for the Tigers, allowing no runs on two hits, along with one strikeout, to earn the save for Missouri.
It was not only a special game for Bieser, but it was also an emotional one for Cheeley. Cheeley’s uncle, the late Missouri pitching coach Brian DeLunas, would have celebrated his birthday on Tuesday.
Missouri celebrated DeLunas’ birthday by inviting Cheeley’s parents onto the field before the game, and Brian DeLunas’ father, Les DeLunas, threw the ceremonial first pitch to Cheeley. Cheeley leads the team with five saves, but this one was a little special.
“To have the ceremonial first pitch for Brian on his birthday and to go out there and be a part of it and also finish the game was big for me,” Cheeley said. “Getting the family on the field with me to go out there and be a part of something like that … It’s not something that you get to do everywhere.”
The Tigers took care of business for DeLunas, beating their in-state rival 9-3.
“It’s just a little emotional just thinking and wishing that we had Brian here to experience this,” Bieser said. “But tonight, there was extra emotion. It’s a sad thing that our team has gone through this, and it’s sad he’s just not here with us.”
Missouri will face Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi, this weekend.
Edited by Brandon Haynes | bhaynes@themaneater.com