University of Missouri
Bowling Green
Stegall Earns Seventh Save
3/19/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 19, 2000
COLUMBIA, MO -- The Missouri Tigers got off to a slow start Sunday at Taylor Stadium at Simmons Field against the defending Mid-American Conference champion Bowling Green State Falcons. But once the Tigers found their stroke at the plate and erased a 4-0 deficit, Coach Tim Jamieson knew just what to do - put the game in the hands of his bullpen brigade.
Missouri rallied with five runs in the fifth inning and three more in the sixth, and held on for a 8-6 victory. It was the Tigers fifth win in a row and raised their record to 14-8. Bowling Green fell to 3-8-1.
The Tigers bullpen was the key. After starter Logan Dale gave up four runs and seven hits in his shortest outing of the season - two-and-two-thirds innings - Ralph McCasland, Drew Endicott, Mitch Kiler and Ryan Stegall closed the door on the Falcons.
McCasland worked three-and-two-thirds innings and earned his second victory in as many days to raise his record to 4-2. Three of his wins have come in relief. Endicott and Kiler got Mizzou to the ninth inning and enabled Stegall to earn his third save in as many days and his seventh on the season. Stegall is just two saves away from the Missouri record of nine set by Jeff Cornell in 1978. He's now thrown seven consecutive scoreless innings.
Bowling Green scored a run in the first inning after Aric Christman started the game with a double to left field. He advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly by Len Elias. The Falcons plated three more runs in the third on four hits and sent Dale to the showers.
Mizzou went into the fifth inning with just one hit off of Bowling Green starter Craig Menke. Kurt Propst got the Tigers started with a leadoff hit to center field, but MU was unable to score until after there were two outs. W.T. Hoover and Jayce Tingler worked Menke for walks before J.R. Warner singled sharply to right field to drive in two runs. Stegall then bounced a ball through the legs of third baseman Scott Dukate to score another run and Nick Wilfong singled to right field to drive in two more runs.
Propst highlighted a three-run sixth inning with a leadoff home run to left field off of reliever Deryck Griffith, who had not allowed a run this season. It was Propst's first career homer. Tingler later drove in two more runs with a single to center.
McCasland ran into trouble in the seventh inning. Three hits and an error by Stegall at shortstop produced two runs for the Falcons. Endicott, though, was able to get Nick Elrod to ground into a double play to end the threat. Kiler worked a perfect eighth inning and Stegall did the same in the ninth as Missouri raised its record in games decided by two-runs-or-less to 8-4.
Missouri travels to Wichita for a game Tuesday night against the No. 19 Wichita State Shockers at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. The Tigers play a three-game Big 12 Conference set at Kansas next weekend and don't return home until March 28 when they entertain the Central Missouri State Mules.
