Missouri’s game against Auburn on Friday evening was everything that Thursday night’s series opener was not. In Thursday’s 11–9 loss, the two teams combined for 30 hits. On Friday, there were only nine.
And the biggest difference for coach Tim Jamieson’s team? The Tigers pulled out a 2–0 victory.
Missouri’s bats got off to a fast start in the first inning. Junior Kirby McGuire led off the game with a single and advanced to second on junior Jake Ring’s sacrifice bunt. Sophomore Trey Harris followed and hit a ground ball to Auburn second baseman Melvin Gray who made a throwing error, allowing McGuire to come home for the first run of the game.
With two outs in that inning, the Tigers loaded the bases for sophomore Shane Benes, who worked the count to 3–2. Benes then drove the ball to the outfield, but center fielder Anfernee Grier tracked it down to keep the score at 1–0.
Justin Camp, Auburn’s starter, threw 38 pitches in the opening inning and gave up a run. From then on, though, no runs crossed the plate until Missouri added an insurance tally in the eighth inning.
“I thought (Camp) did a really good job competing,” Jamieson said. “We didn’t swing it great, but I think a lot of credit goes to the starting pitcher.”
Mizzou starter Tanner Houck, however, would not be outdueled. The sophomore threw a complete game shutout for the Tigers, striking out 10 batters and only allowing four hits.
“Tanner is arguably the best pitcher in our conference,” Jamieson said. “And you need to have performances like that in our conference to do well.”
Before Friday, Auburn had scored in every game they played in this season. Grier, the team’s leadoff hitter, is hitting .410 on the year, but he did not reach base against Houck on Friday night.
The sophomore pitcher said he relied on his fastball to shut down the talented Auburn offense.
“I showed really early that I could command it with a lot of movement, so that was my go-to tonight,” he said. “And then backing that up with the slider whenever I needed it, knowing that I could get them to chase out of the zone occasionally.”
Friday’s win improved the Tigers’ record to 19–14 and 3–8 in the Southeastern Conference.
Missouri is set to wrap up its series with Auburn at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Freshman Michael Plassmeyer will pitch for the Tigers.
_Edited by Alec Lewis | alewis@themaneater.com_