The worst part of the past weekend for the Missouri baseball team came when Sunday’s game against Texas A&M — which the Aggies led 3-2 when rain forced the tarps to cover the diamond — was changed from a rain delay and declared as both final and a Tigers loss.
“If we finish, we all know we’re winning that game,” senior designated hitter Jonah Schmidt said.
Such can’t-be-denied swagger persists in the Missouri dugout, rain or shine. And after a trying stretch of self-identification, the Tigers are finally showing it with results on the field.
Although the Aggies rained on the Tiger parade Sunday, it was the only part of the weekend that wasn’t regarded in the clubhouse as a sweeping success. With significant underdogs entering the series, Missouri took the first two games against Texas A&M behind a surprising offensive upswing. The Tigers jumped out to wins in the first two games by scores of 10-9 and 9-1, respectively.
“I would never speculate that we were going to score like we did the last two games,” coach Tim Jamieson said. “It’s a big step forward.”
The success of the series joined a string of vastly improved play by the Tigers. After the Tigers lost a program-record nine straight games into mid-April, Missouri has grabbed wins in six of its past 10 games, which has included series wins over Big 12 foes Baylor and Texas A&M.
“It was only a matter of time,” Schmidt said. “We were bound to get a big hit sometime. We’ve been able to do that more consistently, and it’s helped us out a lot.”
The improved offensive play has been a catalyst in the improved overall play of the Tigers over their last 10 games. Whereas Missouri did not score more than four runs in a game once during the nine-game losing streak, it has eclipsed that mark four times in the past six games.
“The lineup is a little different (and) that’s part of it,” Jamieson said. “But above all else, the guys that need to hit are starting to hit.”
Jamieson has targeted some of those improved bats. The coach pinpoints the play of junior outfielder Conner Mach, sophomore outfielder Blake Brown and sophomore first baseman Eric Garcia as a key to the turnaround.
“Their improvement in their offensive game has been considerable,” Jamieson said. “Everyone else has stayed the same but those three guys have elevated and it’s a big reason why we’re scoring runs.”
Although the offense has picked itself up, the Tiger pitching has remained resilient. The uptick in scoring has allowed Missouri to turn quality starts into victories.
“(The) pitching has been as it’s been,” Jamieson said. “It’s something to build on.”
Building has been a yearlong theme of this year’s Missouri team. Though improvement has been evident in recent weeks, Schmidt remains determined to continue the uphill climb.
“We’re moving in the right direction,” Schmidt said. “We just need to keep winning series.”