Missouri head coach Tim Jamieson could not have asked for a better start in the Tigers’ Friday night matchup with No. 4 Florida. Starting pitcher Reggie McClain (L, 4-3) worked out of a jam in the first inning, and the Tigers had loaded the bases with nobody out in their half. Things would spiral downwards from that point on.
After consecutive base hits from Brett Peel (2-for-4, RBI) and Jake Ring (1-for-4), Trey Harris (0-for-3) was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Mizzou looked poised to take an early lead with nobody out and a dangerous part of the order due up. However, Josh Lester (0-for-4) fouled out on the first pitch of his at-bat, and Ryan Howard (2-for-4) grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning. Florida grabbed the momentum and ran with it.
“You’d like to score some runs there and set the tone,” Howard said. “It’s me and Lester’s job to get that done and we didn’t execute.”
After escaping the first miraculously with no scratches and allowing a run in the second inning, Gators’ starter Logan Shore (W, 5-2) settled in for a solid outing. The sophomore right-hander, who was named a Freshman All-American by Baseball America last season, did not allow a hit after the third inning until Howard smacked a one-out double in the ninth.
“(Shore) finally found his rhythm and that’s what happens when you let a guy off the hook,” Jamieson said. “I think it changes the complexion of the game if we get a couple runs (in the first inning).”
Peel delivered an RBI-single in the second inning, but that would be Mizzou’s only fireworks of the night as the Tigers collected just five hits in the game.
On the other end, McClain worked his way out of a couple early jams but ran into trouble in the middle innings. Florida tagged him for three runs in the fourth on three hits and added two more in the fifth to give Shore a comfortable lead.
“(McClain) was good enough to keep us close, but when he had to make a pitch, he made mistakes,” Missouri coach Tim Jamieson said.
In the loss, McClain tossed 109 pitches through his 5.1 innings of work. Jamieson said he did not want to go to the bullpen if he didn’t have to, given that this was the first game of the series.
“Friday night, you don’t want to burn up your bullpen,” Smith said, “so I wanted to stay with (McClain) as long as I possibly could.”
Sophomore first baseman Peter Alonso stole the show for Florida on the offensive end. The sophomore was making his first appearance of the season and was not expected to be in the lineup. Alonso’s two-out, two-RBI double to the right-center gap gave Florida a four-run advantage.
“I told (Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan), who I really respect and admire, that he could have waited a week,” Jamieson said jokingly. “His two hits made the difference in the game.”
Mizzou and Florida will continue their weekend series Saturday at 2:05 p.m.
