After a 7-4 loss in game one of Missouri baseball’s series against Milwaukee, Missouri coach Tim Jamieson mentioned timely hitting as the difference.
Unfortunately for the Tigers, that message apparently did not resonate through the locker room as Mizzou fell 5-1 to Milwaukee in game two of the series Saturday.
“We just couldn’t get that one hit to keep the inning going,” senior second baseman Brett Peel said. “It’s going to take that one timely hit to give the rest of the guys up and down the order confidence.”
Mizzou put runners in scoring position in each of the first four innings, but saw only one man cross the plate. The Tigers left six runners stranded in the game, including four in the first four innings.
“Instead of being up 1-0, we could have been up 2-0 or 3-0, so we’ve just got to execute better,” Jamieson said. “If we had been able to score a couple runs early, that could have changed the whole complexion of the game. “
After Mizzou left runners on the corners in the opening inning, the Tigers struck first blood in the second. Zach Lavy (1-for-3, SB) and Logan Pearson (3-for-4, 2 2B, R) worked a nifty baserunning play to perfection to give the Tigers an early lead. Lavy, who had singled, intentionally got into a rundown between first and second, which allowed Pearson to race home from third. Pearson, who had come into the game batting just .118, collected three hits, including two leadoff doubles. However, his success failed to translate to the rest of the guys in the order, as the rest of the lineup combined for just three hits.
“We’ve got a lot of hitters right now lacking confidence,” Jamieson said. “We need to take advantage of the opportunities we get.”
For Milwaukee, it was the opposite story. The Panthers only picked up seven hits against Tigers’ starter Tanner Houck (3-1) in seven innings, but timely hitting allowed them to break open the game in the fifth. A failed fielder’s choice on a low throw from shortstop Ryan Howard gave the Panthers the lead, and they would never look back. Milwaukee added three more runs in the inning thanks to three consecutive two-out singles.
“(Houck) didn’t make many mistakes, but the ones he did, they hit hard,” Jamieson said.
However, it was not all bad news for Houck, as the freshman recorded a career-high nine strikeouts.
“He had his breaking ball working really well and he was pitching different ways to different hitters to keep them off-balance,” Jamieson said. “He just had really good stuff today, but I’m sure he would trade five or six of those strikeouts for no runs or one run.”
The Tigers put together one final rally in the seventh, placing runners on the corners again, but could not make a dent in the deficit.
“We get guys on base and have to get them in,” Pearson said. “There’s no excuses for anything. We need to focus in practice a little bit more and it’ll translate to the field better.”
Justin Jaquish shut the door in the ninth and Milwaukee claimed a 2-0 lead in the series. First pitch for game three is set for 1:05 p.m. Sunday.
“Guys really want to play well in front of our home crowd and they’re disappointed that we haven’t done that, but they stay positive until the 27th out,” Jamieson said.
