MIAMI, Fla. – Mizzou Baseball earned its first road win of the season as it defeated Florida International, 7-6, on Wednesday afternoon (Feb. 24). Freshman Brian Sharp (Liberty, Mo.) was sensational in the win, driving in a pair of runs while earning a five-out save in the win. Junior SS Ryan Howard (St. Charles, Mo.) tallied his third multi-hit game of the season and freshman Connor Brumfield (Columbia, Mo.) added two RBI as well, the first two of his career. Mizzou is now 3-2 on the season while FIU falls to 1-4.
Mizzou used the ‘Johnny Wholestaff’ approach on Wednesday as seven Mizzou pitchers saw action. Freshman Ty Shoaff (Akron, Ohio) earned the win, the first of his career, while Sharp earned the save. Cole Bartlett (Williamsburg, Ind.) started and went 2.0 innings. Mizzou led 7-1 before FIU got back into the game, but Sharp’s heroics preserved the win.
Mizzou threatened in the first inning as Howard and Jake Ring (Ingleside, Ill.) tallied back-to-back one-out hits to put two on with one out. Shane Benes (Town & Country, Mo.) gave one a ride to the track but it was hauled in and Zach Lavy (Auxvasse, Mo.) rolled out to first to strand a pair.
Bartlett then took to the mound and retired FIU on nine pitches, tallying a strikeout in the process. The offense then responded in the top of the second as Brett Bond (St. Louis, Mo.) lifted an opposite field homer to left field to give Mizzou a 1-0 lead, his first homer of the year after hitting five a season ago. The line kept moving for Tim Jamieson’s club as an RBI single from Brumfield and Howard made it 3-0 in favor of Mizzou.
FIU got a run back in the bottom of the frame on a big-hop ground ball over the head of Benes at third to score a runner from second. But as quick as FIU got back into the game, Sharp then gave Mizzou its cushion back on two-run single in the third. His single followed a walk and a hit batter and that reopened a 5-1 lead.
Austin Tribby (Springfield, Mo.) turned in two solid innings for Mizzou, registering a season-high three strikeouts while working around three hits and a walk. He got a huge bases-loaded groundout to third to strand three to end the fourth.
Mizzou got two more runs in the fifth inning on a wild pitch and a bases-loaded walk to extend the lead to 7-1. FIU got a run back on a two-out single in the sixth off of reliever Graham Ruopp (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) but a great play by second baseman Ian Nelson (Lake St. Louis, Mo.) limited the damage and stranded a pair.
FIU then got four runs in the seventh inning, two on a two-run blast to left by Kenny Meimestorf, to pull within one at 7-6. FIU then got a runner on third with no outs in the eighth inning and after a big pop-out off of Liam Carter (Highland Park, Ill.), Sharp came on and got two big outs to strand the tying run 90 feet from home. Sharp then got the final three outs of the game to preserve the win.
Mizzou will return to Fort Myers this weekend for a four-game series against Hofstra, beginning Friday at 1 p.m. (CT).
— Mizzou Athletics —