When Missouri sophomore outfielder Blake Brown stepped into the batter’s box in a 2-2 game in the bottom of the ninth inning Saturday, he knew it was time.

With the sun high in the sky and Kansas Jayhawk blue dotting the Taylor Stadium diamond, the daunting task of hitting with runners in scoring position hovered like a permanent cloud over the Missouri leadoff man. But in the shadow of a school-record nine-game losing streak, Brown knew this was a clutch moment.

“I knew he’d come with a fastball away,” Brown said. “That’s what I was looking for.”

Brown stepped in, squared up and delivered.

Sparked by senior designated hitter Jonah Schmidt’s two-out RBI to tie the game at 2-2 the previous inning, Brown provided the hit of the season Saturday with a one-out walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth to collect a 3-2 victory. In the flash of a victorious jog around the base path, the losing streak was over.

It was no doubt a monumental accomplishment for Brown to deliver the long-awaited walk-off single against the arch rival and end the longest losing streak in school history, but the dramatic ending to Saturday’s rivalry game seemingly followed a script co-written by every Black and Gold player eager to return to winning ways.

“That’s been the monkey on our back, hitting with runners in scoring position,” sophomore outfielder Brannon Champagne said. “(The walk-off) was scripted how I thought it was going to be. Beating our rival in a tough game… you don’t get a better feeling than this.”

The storybook finish was staged by what has been a trying campaign for the Tigers this season. With close losses cutting at the wound, it seemed that Missouri (14-21, 2-9 Big 12 Conference) couldn’t buy a victory during the last two weeks. The Tigers suffered defeats to Oklahoma, Texas, Oklahoma State, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville and Kansas during the streak, with five of the losses coming by four runs or fewer.

With failures to deliver in the clutch characterizing the skid, coach Tim Jamieson’s previous night’s challenge proved to be prophesying.

“It’s not that we need someone to have divine intervention,” the coach said following Friday’s 8-3 defeat to the Jayhawks. “We just need one of our guys to get a big hit.”

The drought came to an end Saturday when both Schmidt and Brown got the big hits the Tigers needed to put the streak behind them.

“Baseball is a game of ‘What have you done for me lately?’” Brown said. “Being able to (deliver) today was a blessing.”

The day’s master of finishing touches paused for a moment before completing the thought.

Cracking a long-overdue smile, Brown added, “Especially against KU.”