Earlier this season, Missouri closer Breckin Williams described the back half of the Tigers’ bullpen as a “three-headed monster.”
This doesn’t seem to be the case anymore.
Williams, along with senior Andrew Schwaab and junior Austin Tribby, was a dominant force late in games during non-conference play. Prior to the Tigers’ first Southeastern Conference game of the season, each owned exceptional earned runs averages (Tribby – 0.75, Williams – 0.96, Schwaab – 1.46), and in 24 combined appearances, the trio had surrendered just four runs. Williams was quickly climbing up draft boards each time he sprinted out from the left field corner.
“It’s pretty cool whenever people go crazy and see (Williams coming out of the bullpen),” Schwaab said after a split doubleheader against Alabama. “It’s always nice to have that spark, especially going into the ninth with the three hardest outs to get.”
Unfortunately for Williams, those final three outs have become harder and harder to nail down.
In SEC play, Williams has been solid, converting five save chances and inching closer to becoming Mizzou’s single-season save record-holder (Ryan Stegall, 12). However, it has not come without some hiccups along the way. Williams holds a 2.08 ERA in conference play.
Regardless of his recent struggles, Missouri coach Tim Jamieson still has complete trust in his “best pitcher.”
“It says a lot about (Williams) and the growth he’s made here,” Jamieson said.
Despite his utmost confidence in Williams, Jamieson did see some cause for concern after a string of sub-par performances. In his last seven appearances, Williams does have three saves. However, he also has taken the loss twice. In that span, Williams has surrendered four runs in 8.2 innings. Respectable, but not his dominant self earlier in the season.
“We have a lot of confidence in Breckin,” Schwaab said. “We all love seeing him out there. He’s got good stuff.”
Meanwhile, Schwaab has been the most consistent of the bunch, becoming instrumental late in games as a setup man this season for the Tigers. The senior right-hander has still found troubles, though. He struggled immensely in his last outing Tuesday against Missouri State. Schwaab got the start in the mid-week contest and surrendered seven runs on six hits in just 1.1 innings on the mound.
One of Schwaab’s better outings of the season came in a 5-3 victory against Alabama, when he tossed 3.1 innings of scoreless baseball in relief of Peter Fairbanks, allowing just one hit. Williams went on to earn the save.
“I’ll be honest with you: I was a little bit concerned that there would be a carryover (from Williams’ poor mid-week performance), and there wasn’t,” Jamieson said. “The credit really needs to go to Schwaab for getting us through the middle of the game and getting us to Breckin.”
Finally, Tribby has struggled the most of the three during SEC play. Although he does lead the conference in appearances (26), Tribby’s conference ERA has skyrocketed to 9.64 and opponents are hitting .368 against him.
Given his recent struggles, highly-touted freshmen such as Lake Dabney and Bryce Montes de Oca have seen an increase in playing time. But Jamieson said he keeps going back to Tribby because of his trust in the junior. Veteran leadership is key for this young team, and the head coach knows that.
With the Tigers vying for a birth to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2012, late-season success for the bullpen, specifically with Tribby, Williams and Schwaab, will be essential.
The message is still the same for Tribby, who said at the beginning of the season: “I have full confidence in everyone in the bullpen. It’s going to be a special year.”