Missouri baseball tried to hang on in its last conference tournament game to make a push toward a championship and an NCAA tournament bid.The result: 17 innings and a 2-1 loss to Mississippi State in the first round of the Southeastern Conference tournament.
The Bulldogs’ Mitch Slauter singled to score the go-ahead run in the longest SEC tournament game in Hoover Stadium history.
The Tigers (18-32, 10-20 SEC) walked home with their worst record in coach Tim Jamieson’s history in their conference debut.
To put this season in perspective, the last time Missouri baseball won less than 19 games was in 1975, during Hall of Fame Coach Gene McArtor’s second year at the helm.
There was some good news to end the season, though. Junior Keaton Steele and freshman Josh Lester were named to the all-SEC team. Steele, the team’s secret weapon, finished a strong season with a .276 average, five home runs and 24 RBIs. On the rubber, he earned a 5-3 record with 2.83 ERA and 58 K’s.
Steele owned Missouri’s best record and paced the team with the lowest batting average against, giving up a measly one home run.
Lester sported a .260 average, good for fourth highest on the team, and had the third most home runs with two and 24 RBIs. A utility fielder, who played on four positions in the infield, he committed the lowest number of errors on the season, with four, among Tiger infielders. Outside of Lester and Steele, Missouri as a whole preformed terribly throughout the season. Offense seemed to be a key issue throughout the season — not a single hitter on the team batted above .300.
The Tigers started the season slow, losing their first six games. SEC opponents dominated Missouri, and the team walked away with a pathetic two series wins, getting swept three times.
In one series against Vanderbilt, the Commodores scored 39 runs in three games against the Tigers.
Several players left the team throughout the year, including junior Sal Belfonte.
Off the field, senior Gavin Stark was arrested on five charges in early May.
Missouri backed into the SEC tournament — losing seven of its last ten — as the 12th seed, the lowest in the field. Only Tennessee and Georgia did not make the cut.
