COLLEGE STATION, Texas – No. 23 Mizzou baseball dropped the series finale against top-ranked Texas A&M, 14-6, on Sunday afternoon at Blue Bell Park.
Junior starter Peter Fairbanks (St. Louis, Mo.) allowed four runs and two home runs over the first three innings and the Tigers hit into three double plays in the middle innings to quell rallies before A&M broke the game open late. The loss drops the Tigers to 20-9 and 6-3 in the SEC. Texas A&M improves to 27-2 and 7-2 in the SEC.
The 14 runs allowed by the Tigers are a season-high as are the 17 hits by the Aggies on Sunday. The Aggies broke the game open in the sixth, sending 13 batters to the plate while scoring nine runs on seven hits. Mizzou rallied with five runs in the top of the seventh, but it was too little, too late for the Tigers.
Fairbanks took the loss, his third of the season. Sophomore Jake Ring (Ingleside, Ill.) tallied his third three-hit game of the season, going 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Freshmen Brett Bond (St. Louis, Mo.) and Trey Harris (Powder Springs, Ga.) each tallied multi-hit games as well. Brett Peel (St. Charles, Mo.) reached base safely for the 26th consecutive game.
Fairbanks struggled through three innings, allowing a pair of homers as Texas A&M opened a 4-0 lead after three innings. Mizzou threatened to score in the third and fourth innings, putting a pair of runners on with one outs and nobody out, respectively. But A&M starter Matt Kent induced a couple of double plays to escape jams in both of those innings.
Fairbanks issued a four-pitch walk to open the fourth inning and that ended his day in favor of senior reliever Andrew Schwaab (St. Charles, Mo.), who retired the side on eight pitches in the fourth. Schwaab then got into some trouble in the fifth inning, allowing back-to-back, one-out singles. J.B. Moss then hit a two-out single through the left side to give A&M a 5-0 lead.
The Tigers again threatened in the top of the sixth as three consecutive singles loaded the bases for the middle of the order and cleanup hitter Josh Lester (Columbus, Ga.). He struck out swinging on a 3-2 fastball and Ryan Howard (St. Charles, Mo.) bounced into a 5-4-3 double play to end the threat as the Tigers came up empty.
A&M then made the Tigers pay for missing that chance, plating nine runs in the bottom of the frame, four coming on a grand slam by Logan Taylor. Mizzou rallied in the seventh for five runs in the top of the seventh, but the damage had been done as the Tigers tacked on another run in the ninth.
Mizzou will be back in action, facing a nationally-ranked Illinois team Tuesday at GCS Ballpark in Sauget, Ill., at 6:35 p.m.
— MU Sports Information —