COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Baseball extended its win streak to 15 after sweeping Appalachian State thanks to a walk-off single by junior INF Robbie Glendinning (Scarborough, Australia) in the series finale. His game-winning single is his second walk-off hit of the week after tabbing a walk-off single through the right side in extras against Western Carolina Wednesday. Fifteen wins marks the longest win streak for Mizzou since 1981 and is tied for the longest streak in the nation this season.
Mizzou is now 15-1 on the season, matching the best start in program history (tied with the 1985 team). Mizzou freshman LHP T.J. Sikkema (DeWitt, Iowa) earned the win, his fourth of the season, after throwing 2.0 shutout innings with four strikeouts and no hits. He backed a tremendous start from junior RHP Andy Toelken (Green Cove Springs, Fla.) who went a career-high 7.0 innings with four strikeouts and just three hits. Despite his brilliance, he was in line for the loss before Mizzou’s ninth-inning heroics as Mizzou’s offense squandered several opportunities to break the game open.
Sophomore 1B Brian Sharp (Liberty, Mo.) led off the ninth inning with a solo homer on a 3-2 pitch the opposite way into left field, tying the game at 2-2. It was his second huge hit to lead off a late-inning rally this week as he started Mizzou’s Wednesday night walk-off over Western Carolina with a leadoff double in the 10th.
From there, Mizzou loaded the bases and Glendinning battled, falling behind 0-2 and hit a soft chopper through the left side for the game-winning hit. It was his second walk-off hit this week and Mizzou has three walk-off wins in the last seven days and four on the season.
Toelken got into some trouble in the third inning, allowing two men to reach on a single and a walk. But he got a groundout to third base to escape the jam, stranding a pair in scoring position. Mizzou took the momentum of escaping that jam into the bottom of the third as Nelson Mompierre (Miami, Fla.) hit his first Division I homer to lead off the inning, giving Mizzou a 1-0 lead.
After the offense gave him a lead, Toelken found his rhythm in the fourth, sitting down the Mountaineers in order while picking up his fourth strikeout of the outing. He cruised through the fifth as well and sat down nine in a row until a one-out single in the sixth inning.
Toelken then issued a one-out single in the sixth and a two-out homer to 2B Matt Vernon to give Appalachian State a 2-1 lead.
Mizzou put two men on in the bottom of the sixth, but Trey Harris (Powder Springs, Ga.) hit into a 6-4-3 double play to end the frame. The Tigers then put two men on with one out in the seventh inning, but an attempted double steal with two outs went for not as Appalachian State led 2-1 after seven.
In true Deja’ Vu form, Mizzou again put two men on with one out in the eighth and couldn’t cash in. DH Brett Bond (St. Louis, Mo.) struck out swinging and Harris just missed a 3-1 fastball, flying out to deep left to strand a pair. Sikkema was lights out in the eighth and ninth innings, picking up four more strikeouts, giving Mizzou a chance in the ninth inning.
Sharp led off the ninth with his second homer of the season to tie the game at 2-2. Ian Nelson (Lake St. Louis, Mo.) notched his first hit of the day with a single through the right side to put the go-ahead run on base. A sacrifice bunt by Mompierre advanced Nelson to second while an intentional walk and an infield single by Connor Brumfield (Columbia, Mo.) loaded the bags for Glendinning to plate the game-winning run.
— Mizzou Athletics —