Above all, Missouri pitcher Alec Rash is just happy to be a part of the the Mizzou baseball team. To say the least, it has been a turbulent career for the Tigers’ junior starter.
This season, however, Rash is looking to finally solidify his spot in the rotation as the Tigers’ mid-week starter, a role he says suits him well.
“(The coaches) are comfortable with (the rotation), and I’m comfortable with it as well,” Rash said.
He has seemingly nailed down the fourth spot on the Tigers’ staff after being dropped as the third man in the rotation due to the early success of junior Peter Fairbanks, who has compiled a 2-2 record in 29.2 innings pitched with a 1.52 ERA. While Rash has not pitched poorly by any measure, Mizzou head coach Tim Jamieson opted to flip the two in the rotation. To compare, Rash currently sits with a 3-0 record in 13.1 innings pitched and a 2.03 ERA.
Part of the reason for the switch might have been due to a sudden injury involving some discomfort in Rash’s throwing arm.
“Alec’s arm was getting a little stiff,” Jamieson said after Rash’s last start, a 9-4 victory over Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville. He lasted just four innings in the game, surrendering two earned runs on six hits with two walks.
Uncharacteristic of the rest of the Tigers’ pitching staff, Rash’s strikeout-to-walk ratio has been a bit too low for Jamieson’s liking. Including his start against SIUE, Rash has both walked and struck out nine batters. As a staff, Mizzou has a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 1.63. Rash has walked the most batters of any Tiger pitcher this season.
However, despite the drop in the rotation, Rash remains in high spirits. He is currently tied for the team lead in wins with three, and has allowed just one extra-base hit this season. It has been a steady first month and a half of the season for Rash after he had been virtually dropped from the rotation last season.
After he spent much of his freshman season as Mizzou’s Sunday starter, Rash was used primarily as a reliever sophomore year after experiencing some elbow discomfort late in his first year. Last season, he appeared in 10 games, but started just two.
Now, Rash has appeared well-equipped to handle a mid-week spot in the rotation after earning the win in each of his first three starts this season. Part of his success, Rash said, is due to the calming presence of freshman Brett Bond behind the plate.
“(Bond) usually comes out (to the mound) to get me to calm down and get back in the right mindset to attack the next hitter,” Rash said.
Bond said his advice for Rash is simple every time he checks up on him at the mound.
“I tell (Rash) that he just needs to do what he’s (going) to do and to keep pitching well,” Bond said. “I try to tell him things he already knows and things he’s good at.”
Rash also credited his early-season success to a new mentality of needing to finish innings strongly, no matter the situation.
“Being able to finish an inning is a mental thing,” Rash said. “As a pitcher, just being able to stay focused and realize that attacking hitters is what you need to keep doing, even if you’re almost out of the inning.”
Rash’s progress has been critical for the Tigers as they have achieved their best start to a season since 2008, when the team started 17-2. Mizzou is currently 15-4 (3-0 Southeastern Conference) and sits atop the SEC East. Rash will likely get a midweek start this week against Air Force, depending on the severity of his arm discomfort.
