COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Baseball junior INF Robbie Glendinning (Scarborough, Australia) was named SEC Co-Player of Week, announced Monday (March 13) by the league office. This is the first weekly conference honor for Mizzou Baseball this season Glendinning’s first career SEC honor. The Australia native notched a pair of walk-off singles and hit a team-high .476 as Mizzou extended its national-best winning streak to 15 games.

Glendinning was a key reason why Mizzou was able to run its record to 15-1, matching the best start in program history, with a 5-0 mark last week. He hit a walk-off, 10th-inning single in a 7-6 win over a quality Western Carolina team Wednesday. He then tallied a ninth-inning, bases-loaded single to walk-off in Sunday’s win over Appalachian State, completing the sweep. In five games last week, Glendinning hit .476 with five runs, four RBI, two doubles, a triple and a homer while walking three times.

On the best offensive team in the SEC, Glendinning has emerged as the top offensive weapon for first-year head coach Steve Bieser. Glendinning ranks third in the SEC in batting (.429) and on-base percentage (.540) while checking in at fifth overall in slugging (.694).

Glendinning and the Tigers close a 10-game homestand with a pair of midweek games vs. Chicago State on Tuesday and Wednesday before opening SEC play at Alabama this weekend.

— Mizzou Athletics —

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 —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou sophomore LHP Michael Plassmeyer (St. Louis, Mo.) struck out a career-high nine batters as he pitched Mizzou Baseball to a 7-1 win over Appalachian State Saturday night (March 11) at Taylor Stadium. The win extends Mizzou’s win streak to 14 games, matching the longest streak by a Mizzou team since 1981 (both the 2007 and 2008 teams also won 14 consecutive games). The 14-game win streak is also the longest in the nation, tied with Louisville.

Plassmeyer was tremendous on Saturday, allowing just three hits over a career-high 7.0 innings. He struck out nine batters, passing his previous career-high of eight en-route to his third win of the season. He gave up just one earned run in the outing. App State’s Colin Schmid took the loss, falling to 2-2 on the year. The Mountaineers fall to 6-8 in 2017. Mizzou scored four runs in the third and three in the sixth to put the game away.

Appalachian State got something going in the top of the second inning as Plassmeyer hit a batter, walked a batter and gave up an RBI single LF Tyler Stroup. The defense turned in a pair of good plays, one on a perfectly-executed wheel play on a sacrifice bunt attempt and then a 6-4-3 double play to escape the frame.

Mizzou exploded for four runs in the bottom of the third, taking advantage of two Appalachian State errors and a pair of two-out, RBI singles – the first from Brett Bond (St. Louis, Mo.) and the next from Trey Harris (Powder Springs, Ga.).

App State threatened in the fourth inning, putting two men on, but two more strikeouts helped Plassmeyer pitch out of the jam. Both teams were kept off the board until Mizzou plated a pair in the bottom of the sixth on sacrifice flies from Chris Cornelius (St. Louis, Mo.) and Connor Brumfield (Columbia, Mo.), extending the lead to 6-1. Mizzou tacked on another run on a wild pitch to extend the lead to 7-1 after six.

RS sophomore Cameron Dulle (St. Louis, Mo.) pitched the final two innings, holding App State off the scoreboard while picking up two strikeouts.

Mizzou will look for the sweep Sunday. A win Sunday would give Mizzou its best start in program history and give the 2017 team sole possession of the longest win streak since 1981. Junior RHP Andy Toelken (Green Cove Springs, Fla.) will get the ball for Mizzou.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou junior RHP Tanner Houck (Collinsville, Ill.) pitched a gem in a 4-0 win over Appalachian State Friday night (March 10) at Taylor Stadium. Mizzou has now won 13 consecutive games, tied with Louisville for the nation’s longest active streak. It is also Mizzou’s longest winning streak since 2008 and Mizzou’s 13-1 mark through 14 games is the program’s best start since 1985 (14-0).

Houck was sensational Friday night, earning his second win of the season. He allowed just four hits over 8.2 shutout innings, walking two and striking out seven. He also pitched around three Mizzou errors and the walks came in the eighth and ninth innings. He induced 13 groundouts in the win. It was the first time that Houck has pitched through 8.2 innings since May 19, 2016, at Kentucky.

After Houck worked around an error and a hit batter in the first, Mizzou got on the board in its half of the opening frame. Robbie Glendinning (Scarborough, Australia) doubled with one out and he was driven in on an RBI single into center field by LF Kameron Misner (Poplar Bluff, Mo.). Mizzou kept the pressure on in the second, putting two men on before a throwing error by App State allowed Nelson Mompierre (Miami, Fla.) to score from second, extending Mizzou’s lead to 2-0.

Houck continued to cruise, allowing just one hit through four innings while striking out four. He was at just 56 pitches through four innings. The Collinsville, Ill., native took his one-hitter into the seventh inning when a one-out single through the right side gave App State its first hit since the second inning. He pitched around the hit, getting through a season-high 7.0 innings.

Mizzou tacked on some insurance in the bottom of the seventh, the first on Misner’s second RBI single of the night. The next came on an RBI single by Trey Harris (Powder Springs, Ga.) on a 0-2 pitch.

Houck came back out for the eighth inning and issued a hit and a walk but again pitched around it. Houck came back out for the ninth inning and got the first two outs before he was lifted for Mizzou’s bullpen after allowing two men to reach. After a walk, junior RHP Nolan Gromacki (Smithville, Mo.) got the final out, a strikeout looking, to seal the win.

— Mizzou Athletics —

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Aching knees kept Deandre Burnett from playing in Mississippi’s regular season finale, and coach Andy Kennedy brought him off the bench for the Rebels’ opener in the Southeastern Conference Tournament.

Turns out the junior guard is feeling just fine.

Burnett scored 16 of his 23 points in the first half, and Ole Miss beat 14th-seeded Missouri 86-74 Thursday night to advance to the quarterfinals at the SEC tournament.

“Anytime you make your first shot, it feels good, a little pain goes out of the way,” Burnett said. “I was just trying to battle through and play hard for my team. That was pretty much my mindset coming into the game.”

The Rebels (20-12), the six seed, won their fourth in five games trying to improve their postseason resume. They simply wore down Missouri a night after the Tigers upset Auburn to give one last victory to coach Kim Anderson, whose firing was announced last weekend.

“Good to have Dre back,” Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said. “We live to fight another day.”

Ole Miss traipsed to the free throw line early and often as three Tigers fouled out, finishing with more free throws (31 of 47) than Missouri made field goals (26 of 61). Sebastian Saiz, who had his SEC-best 20th double-double by halftime, finished with 14 points and 16 rebounds. Terence Davis added 19.

The Rebels will play No. 3 seed Arkansas on Friday night in the quarterfinals.

Missouri (8-24) finishes the season losing seven of eight. Anderson said it’s been an emotional week, and he thinks the emotions of rallying to beat Auburn took a toll too.

“Just not sure we had a full tank of gas,” Anderson said.

That left the Tigers dealing with the end of Anderson’s tenure in the locker room.

“It was emotional, and it’s never easy saying goodbye,” Missouri sophomore forward Kevin Puryear said.

Jordan Barnett, Terrence Phillips and Puryear each had 15 points for Missouri, and Cullen Vanleer had 10.

The Tigers used the 3-pointer to stay close early after hitting a season-high 16 3s against Auburn. The Tigers hit six of their first 12 but couldn’t keep pace.

Early, Burnett knocked down all four of his 3s as the Rebels shot 7 of 13 outside the arc in the first half. That, and free throws kept the Rebels ahead before they got going in transition. The Rebels also took advantage of their depth with a 23-9 edge in bench scoring to lead by as much as 14 before taking a 46-36 lead into halftime.

Frankie Hughes, whose 3 forced overtime in the Tigers’ tournament opener, pulled Missouri within 50-41 with a 3-pointer in the opening minutes of the second half. That was as close as the Tigers would get as Ole Miss led by as much as 17 down the stretch.

BIG PICTURE

Missouri: The exhaustion of a season with so many losses capped by Anderson’s firing effective at season’s end appeared to catch up with the Tigers. Even Anderson picked up a technical foul in the second half.
Ole Miss: If the Rebels want to even push themselves into bubble talk for the NCAA Tournament, they likely need at least another win or two. Otherwise, notching another 20-win season might be the highlight of this season. Kennedy, who now has nine 20-win seasons in the past 11 seasons, said he’s just trying to win two games in two days right now.

QUOTABLE

“The end of the season’s always hard because you never want to prepare your speech for the end of the season,” Anderson said. “Now not only that, you’re preparing them for the end of your career, or career here. I’m not going away dead. Just (leaving) here at Missouri OK?”

UP NEXT

Missouri: Hiring Anderson’s replacement.

Ole Miss: Playing No. 3 seed Arkansas in the quarterfinals.

— Associated Press —

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Kevin Puryear hit a 3-pointer just before the buzzer, and Missouri rallied to beat Auburn 86-83 in overtime Wednesday night at the Southeastern Conference Tournament to keep coach Kim Anderson working at least one game longer.

The 14th-seeded Tigers (8-23) snapped a six-game skid by rallying from 10 points down in the final five minutes of regulation, including hitting back-to-back 3s within the final 17 seconds to force overtime. They came away with their first win since Feb. 11 to advance to Thursday and a game against sixth-seeded Mississippi.

T.J. Dunans hit only one free throw for Auburn with 1:36 left, then missed a layup with 29 seconds left with the game tied at 83. Missouri took a timeout with 15.3 seconds left to setup the final shot, and Puryear knocked down the shot before running to mid-court to celebrate.

No. 11 seed Auburn (18-14) missed its final four shots of overtime and also had chances to close out Missouri in regulation after leading 72-62 with 5:04 left.

Jared Harper went 2 of 4 at the free throw line in the final 42 seconds of regulation, his last free throw putting Auburn up 78-72 with 26.3 seconds to go.

Cullen Vanleer hit a 3-pointer with 16.8 seconds left, then Harper pushed Missouri guard Jordan Geist enough that he went flying as Harper brought the ball up the court. With the ball, Vanleer missed a 3. The ball went out to Frankie Hughes who knocked down a 3 with 1.8 seconds remaining on the clock to tie it up at 78.

Harper scored to put Auburn back up in overtime.

But Missouri knocked down a season-high 16 3s, three more than the Tigers managed in a loss to Auburn just five days ago.

Puryear finished with a career-best 30 points, including 5 of 9 from beyond the arc. Vanleer had 16 points with five made 3s, Geist had 14 and Jordan Barnett added 11.

Bryce Brown scored all 13 of his points in the second half for Auburn.

Missouri led 36-35 at halftime and was last up 45-44 with 16:05 left on a pair of Puryear free throws. Missouri didn’t lead again until Puryear’s 3 to clinch the comeback win.

BIG PICTURE

Missouri: Anderson, whose firing was announced Sunday, isn’t done yet. He’ll coach one more game after notching his 301st career victory — Missouri’s first SEC tournament win since 2014.

Auburn: The Tigers came in having won three of five SEC tournament games under coach Bruce Pearl and had hopes of trying to recreate their 2015 run of three wins in as many days. In failing to advance, the Tigers went just 24 of 36 (66.7 percent) at the free throw line.

UP NEXT

Missouri: Playing No. 6 seed Ole Miss on Thursday night.

Auburn: Hoping for an NIT Tournament bid.

— Associated Press —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball head coach Robin Pingeton was named The Associated Press Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year and sophomore Sophie Cunningham was selected Associated Press First-Team All-SEC, as announced by the AP on Wednesday.

Pingeton was a unanimous selection for AP SEC Coach of the Year. She has also been voted SEC Coach of the Year by the league’s coaches and named a Naismith Coach of the Year National Semifinalist after leading Mizzou to a 21-10 record and an 11-5 mark in conference play.

Pingeton is Mizzou Women’s Basketball’s first head coach to receive Coach of the Year honors since 1990 and the second coach to do so in program history, joining Joann Rutherford (1984, 1985 and 1990). Pingeton has earned conference Coach of the Year recognition three times in her career after being named Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year in 2004 and 2010 at Illinois State.

Despite losing All-SEC forward Jordan Frericks and key reserve Bri Porter in the frontcourt to preseason injuries, Pingeton has guided Mizzou to a historic campaign in 2016-17, leading the Tigers to back-to-back 21-win seasons for the first time since 1983-84 and 1984-85. Picked to place seventh in the SEC in the preseason poll, Mizzou finished third in the league with an 11-5 mark in conference play. Mizzou’s 11 conference wins are its most since 1990.

Under Pingeton, Mizzou now has five consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 1985-1990. The Tigers, who owned an 11-7 record four games into league action, won 10 of their final 13 games to clinch a double bye in the SEC Tournament and catapult into the Associated Press Top 25. During the home stretch, Mizzou put together a pair of five-game win streaks, MU’s longest streaks in conference play since 1990. It marked the first time in program history that Mizzou rattled off two separate win streaks of five or more in league play.

Pingeton and company won 15 home games during the 2016-17 season, knocking off three ranked opponents, No. 25 Kentucky, No. 25 Texas A&M and No. 6 South Carolina, along the way. Dating back to last season, the Tigers have won five consecutive games over ranked opponents at Mizzou Arena.

Cunningham joined Makayla Epps (Kentucky), A’ja Wilson (South Carolina), Victoria Vivians (Mississippi State) and Ronni Williams (Florida) on the AP’s All-SEC First Team. Cunningham is the first Tiger to receive a First Team All-Conference nod since Bri Kulas in 2014 and the 13th Tiger to do so in program history. Cunningham averages a team-best 17.7 points per game, which ranks second in the SEC. The sensational sophomore ended the regular season with four consecutive 20-point performances, averaging 26.5 points per game in the span while racking up a pair of National Player of the Week awards. During that stretch, she became the first Tiger since Sandie Prophete in 1989 to score 26 points in three straight games.

Cunningham has 10 20-point performances this season and has 20 such outings in just 61 career games. She scored at least 30 points on three different occasions during the current campaign, one of just two players in the SEC to do so in league play.

Cunningham ranks second in the SEC in free throw shooting, making 84.6 percent of her attempts. She also boasts a 48.3 field goal percentage and is the only player in the league shooting above 80 percent from the free throw line and 45 percent from the field.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Baseball has its longest winning streak since 2008 after defeating Eastern Illinois, 10-1, on Tuesday afternoon at Taylor Stadium. Mizzou has now won 11 consecutive games and is off to its best start to a season since 1985 at 11-1. Junior RHP Bryce Montes De Oca (Lawrence, Kan.) had a good outing in his first career start, going 5.0 innings while allowing just one earned run on a wild pitch with three strikeouts. He allowed just three hits and two walks.

Mizzou’s offense slugged 15 hits and has now broken the 10-hit mark in nine of 12 games this season. Mizzou scored three runs in the first, three more in the third and one more in the fourth as the offense scored early to give Montes De Oca an early lead, who earned his first career win. RHP Ryan Lee (Grandview, Mo.) was tremendous in relief, striking out a career-high seven over 3.0 innings while allowing just one hit and no walks.

Junior C Brett Bond (St. Louis, Mo.) led the offense with Mizzou’s first five-hit game since April 23, 2011, when Jonah Schmidt had five at Baylor. Mizzou scored six of its 10 runs with two outs on Tuesday.

Junior Robbie Glendinning (Scarborough, Australia) opened up scoring for Mizzou, jacking a solo shot to right center field in the bottom the of the first. Bond and Kameron Misner (Poplar Bluff, Mo.) continued the offensive production for Mizzou with a single and a double, respectively, but it was Trey Harris (Powder Springs, Ga.) who plated both runs with a deep single to right center field.

Mizzou extended its lead in the third as Chris Cornelius (St. Louis, Mo.) knocked one to the opposite side pushing two across the dish. Senior Kirby McGuire (Round Rock, Texas) followed with an RBI single into left. After EIU tacked on a run in the top of the fourth inning on a wild pitch, Mizzou answered with a run on an RBI groundout by Samples. That made the score 7-1 after four innings.

Bond’s fifth hit went for an RBI single in the eighth inning and that was part of a three-run eighth as Harris laced a two-run double. Evan Stoll (Chesterfield, Mo.) pitched a shutout ninth to seal the win.

Mizzou welcomes Western Carolina to Taylor Stadium Wednesday at 4 p.m.

— Mizzou Athletics —

Kim Anderson was never quite embraced by most Missouri fans, even after starring for the Tigers in the 1970s and serving two stints as an assistant to beloved coach Norm Stewart.

His won-loss record may have had a lot to do with that.

Unable to get his alma mater on track, Anderson was relieved of his job Sunday after less than three seasons in charge. Athletic director Jim Sterk said in a statement that he asked Anderson to step down after the SEC Tournament, where the No. 14 seed Tigers play Auburn on Wednesday night.

“This decision has been very difficult for me personally because of the tremendous respect I have for Kim,” Sterk said. “I know how hard he and his staff have worked to turn the program around over the last three years. However, the lack of on-court success has resulted in a significant drop in interest surrounding our program, and we could not afford for that to continue another year.”

Anderson took over a program in disarray after leading Central Missouri to the Division II national championship, but he went just 26-67 with the Tigers. That included a 7-23 mark this season.

Their loss to Auburn in their regular-season finale Saturday was the program-record 35th straight road defeat. It left the Tigers 2-16 in the SEC, tying a program and conference record for losses.

“Missouri is a special institution to my family and I, and I am grateful for having had the opportunity to serve as the head coach at my alma mater,” Anderson said. “While we have faced significant challenges over the last three years and been unable to achieve the on-court results everyone would have liked, I do believe we have been able to stabilize the program.”

Anderson took over in 2014 when Frank Haith abruptly left for Tulsa, the program already having fallen off from the heights it achieved under Mike Anderson. He called returning to Columbia his “dream job,” but the task of rebuilding the once-proud program turned into a nightmare.

Kim Anderson won just nine games his first season. He won 10 the next. And his inability to lure top talent from the St. Louis and Kansas City areas made things just as bleak in Year 3.

After opening the season with an overtime loss to Xavier, Missouri later was stunned at home by North Carolina Central and Lipscomb. More losses followed in quick succession.

Things have been even worse off the court.

Just before Haith left, the school received a verbal notice of inquiry from the NCAA — Anderson said he wasn’t aware of the investigation when he was hired. And last August, the NCAA accepted the school’s self-imposed sanctions over infractions involving its men’s basketball program, but tacked on an additional year of probation through this August.

The NCAA infractions committee panel’s findings over what it said were roughly $11,400 in improper inducements and benefits given to players and a recruit by two boosters came nearly seven months after Missouri admitted NCAA violations dating to 2011.

Hoping to blunt NCAA punishment, the school announced in January 2016 that it was vacating its 23 wins from 2013-14, banning itself from the 2016 postseason and stripping itself of one scholarship last season and a second scholarship no later than 2017-18.

The school, while agreeing to pay a $5,000 fine, also permanently banned one unidentified donor who the NCAA said provided impermissible benefits to three players and one recruit in 2013-14. The benefits included compensation for work not done at a business through a summer intern program, along with housing, $520 cash, local transportation, iPads, meals and use of a local gym.

The NCAA concluded that a second booster also provided impermissible benefits to 11 basketball players and three members of a player’s family. Missouri has said those benefits included reduced rates at a hotel along with meals and a boat ride, and that a student manager provided transportation.

More off-the-court troubles could be looming.

In November, a former tutor resigned and publicly said she can document at least a dozen instances of serious academic fraud involving men’s and women’s athletes during a 16-month period.

Yolanda Kumar said she felt pressured to keep athletes academically eligible — particularly football and men’s basketball players — and at least two academic coordinators for athletes in revenue-generating sports encouraged, promoted and supported her activities.

The school has said it is investigating the allegations.

— Associated Press —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Baseball snagged the series sweep with an 11-10 victory over the UIC Flames after a walk-off solo home run by freshman OF Kameron Misner (Poplar Bluff, Mo.) to deep right center field on a 2-0 pitch in the bottom of the ninth. Trey Harris (Powder Springs, Ga.), Brian Sharp (Liberty, Mo.) and Chris Cornelius (St. Louis, Mo.) each tabbed a homer, marking the first time Mizzou has tallied four home runs in a game since the series finale against UIC last season on March 6 when Mizzou crushed four long balls.

Mizzou has now won 10 in a row, matching the longest streak by the Tigers since 2012. The Tigers are now 10-1 on the year, matching their best start to a season since 1985 (also opened 2015 with a 10-1 mark). UIC falls to 4-6 on the year.

Sharp had a great game for Mizzou, going 2-for-3 with two RBI and two walks. He made the transition to the mound in the eighth, limiting UIC to just one hit while fanning a batter as well. The righty earned his first win since March 4 of last season in a 7-4 victory over UIC.

Andy Toelken (Green Cove Springs, Fla.) found himself in a bind early in the contest putting three runners on after a hit batter, a single to left and a walk. UIC pushed the first run of the day across the plate with a single lined to center field. The Flames added an additional run off a fielder’s choice to take a 2-0 lead heading into the bottom of the first.

Junior Nelson Mompierre (Miami, Fla.) drew a walk to get the momentum rolling for Mizzou in the bottom of the third. With a runner on, Cornelius approached the dish and blasted a two-run bomb over the left field wall to make it a tie ball game. Juniors Brett Bond (St. Louis, Mo.) and Matt Berler (Hoover, Ala.) knocked a pair of singles but remained stranded after a groundout to end the inning. Berler has now reached base safely in eight consecutive games, dating back to the beginning of the season.

Sharp blasted an opposite shot homer to left field in the bottom of the fourth to put Mizzou ahead, 3-2. UIC climbed back on top in the top of the next inning after a two-run shot to left off the bat of Cody Bohanek. The Flames tacked on a pair of runs after back-to-back solo shots in the sixth inning by Scott Ota and Bowen Ogata. However, sophomore LHP Ty Shoaff (Akron, Ohio) entered the game and retired three consecutive batters to get out of the inning.

Mizzou rallied in the bottom of the sixth to put two runners on base after a rip up the middle by Alex Samples (Bridgeport, Texas) and a free pass to Sharp. Harris followed with a double smoked down the left field line for his 10th hit of the season, plating two for Mizzou and making it a 6-5 ball game, UIC.

The offensive production continued for Mizzou as Bond smacked a two-out single through the left side for the game tying RBI in the bottom of the seventh. Sharp sustained the hitting brigade with single up the middle to put Mizzou ahead. With runners on the corners, Harris stepped to the plate and crushed a three-run bomb over the center field wall for his first homer of the season, giving Mizzou the 10-6 lead.

UIC did not go down without a fight as the Flames plated four in the top of the eighth after a five-hit inning including a game tying double by Ricardo Ramirez. Sharp pitched a lights-out ninth inning to send the game to the bottom of the ninth, paving way for the walkoff homer by leadoff batter Misner. He went 0-for-4 in the game before working a 2-0 count in his final at-bat and roping a fastball through the pine trees over the fence in right center.

Mizzou will play its first home midweek games this week at Taylor Stadium, hosting Eastern Illinois Tuesday and Western Carolina Wednesday.

— Mizzou Athletics —