The Missouri baseball team has been one of the surprise teams in the Southeastern Conference this season.
The Tigers have performed above expectations in league games with a 12-9 record (12-6 until being swept by first-place Vanderbilt last weekend) and are currently in line to reach their first NCAA tournament since 2012. Unfortunately, the journey has not come without a few bumps along the way. Most notably, the team’s immense struggles in mid-week, non-conference games.
The Tigers continued their mid-week struggles in a 13-8 loss to Missouri State on Tuesday night. Senior starter Andrew Schwaab surrendered seven runs on six hits in just 1.1 innings and the bullpen struggled as well. It was Mizzou’s fourth consecutive loss in a mid-week game and fifth consecutive loss overall.
Since SEC play began, the Tigers have compiled a 2-6 record in mid-week contests. They have dropped three-of-five against unranked opponents Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Air Force and Arkansas-Little Rock, and all three games against ranked rivals Illinois and Missouri State, now twice.
Tiger junior third baseman Josh Lester and sophomore shortstop Ryan Howard have each voiced their concern about the team’s approach heading into mid-week games at different points throughout the season. Each pointed out that the team sometimes shows a lack of focus and makes too many mental mistakes at the plate and in the field. However, Missouri coach Tim Jamieson insisted he’s not worried about his team.
“This group doesn’t concern me about (a lack of focus during mid-week games),” Jamieson said after a 6-0 win over Air Force. “They play the same way every day and prepare the same way every day.”
Jamieson pointed to the fact that Mizzou is a big-name school out of a historic baseball conference and has a target on its back each time it takes the field for mid-week games.
“Every time we play out of conference, it’s a trap game, because we’re a big-name school out of the SEC,” Jamieson said. “We just need to match the intensity. You can tell that from the way we come out and play.”
Jamieson also mentioned the more relaxed nature of non-conference games as a possible reason for the team’s poor showing in mid-week contests.
“The environment is different,” he said. “The hype around the game is not as big.”
The Tigers have one more mid-week game remaining before postseason play begins, against Southeast Missouri State next Tuesday. It will be another test for the Tigers, as SEMO is expected to be an NCAA tournament team.
Jamieson said the team just needs to keep grinding and have the same mentality for mid-week games as they have had for conference games.
“They have done it from the first day of practice,” he said of his team. “We’ve got to be able to stay focused for 27 outs. We just want to win and we’ll do whatever it takes to do it.”
