COLUMBIA, Mo. – On a beautiful Tuesday evening at Taylor Stadium, Mizzou Baseball handled Chicago State in a 5-3 victory. The Mizzou victory was the 15th straight win against non-conference opponents at Taylor Stadium. Senior RF Trey Harris cranked his sixth home run of the season, a two-run blast over the left field fence in the bottom of the third that sparked Mizzou’s offense. The Tigers plated a pair in the fourth and a lone run in the fifth, building a 5-2 advantage after five innings.
The Mizzou bullpen backed up junior RHP Brian Sharp who worked 4.0 innings of two-run ball. Seven Tiger hurlers combined to toss 5.0 innings while allowing only three hits and one run. Mizzou’s collective effort out of the pen held off Chicago State
TURNING POINT
With the game knotted at 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth, Mizzou took advantage of a two-out Cougar error and scratched across a pair of runs. 3B Alex Samples dribbled a ball to the right side and Chicago State 2B Daulton Ryans botched his throw to first, allowing the Mizzou inning to continue. Following the error, Harris and LF Zach Hanna drew back-to-back bases loaded walks, giving Mizzou a 4-2 lead.
QUOTING MIZZOU
Head Coach Steve Bieser
“It is simple, we just have to be better. We were not very good offensively today. We were fortunate that we were able to draw some walks and we took advantage of an error – we scored a couple runs there with one hit. There are two innings where we scored two runs with just one hit. We just have to be better offensively.”
TOP TIGERS
- Trey Harris led the way offensively for Mizzou, ripping a two-run shot and also smacking a first inning single. Harris now has 13 multi-hit games this season and eight multi-RBI performances. The right fielder also made a web gem on a slick sliding play in the sixth inning.
- Junior LF Zach Hanna reached base four times, twice with a single while also drawing a walk and reaching on a hit by pitch. Hanna is now 7-for-his-last-15 and has seven multi-hit games this season. Hanna also swiped a bag, his fourth of the year.
- Senior RP Andy Toelken capped the ballgame with a four-out save, his second save of the season. Toelken held the Cougars hitless and picked up a strikeout. He has now allowed only 13 runs over 38 innings of work this season.
NOTES
- Mizzou is now 6-0 vs. Chicago State all-time.
- Mizzou is now 27-2 against non-conference opponents at home under head coach Steve Bieser.
- Mizzou has extended their non-conference home win streak to 16 games.
- Mizzou has improved its record to 17-5 when they hold their opponents to three or fewer runs.
- All nine of Mizzou’s starters made it safely on base during the game.
- Senior OF Trey Harris hit his team-leading sixth home run in the third inning, a two-run shot.
- Harris also recorded his eighth multi-RBI game of the season, the most on the team.
- Junior OF Zach Hanna recorded two hits in the game, his seventh multi-hit game of the season.
UP NEXT
Mizzou hosts Vanderbilt in a three-game, Thursday-Saturday series this weekend at Taylor Stadium.
— Mizzou Athletics —