University of Missouri
Purdue
Missouri Splits Final Two Games With Purdue
3/12/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 12, 2006
Game 2 Box Score | Game 3 Box Score
COLUMBIA, Mo. - - No. 18 Missouri dropped the final game of its three-game series with Purdue 8-6, after taking a 22-2 win in the second game of the weekend which had to be completed on Sunday after play was suspended on Saturday. The third game of the series was also delayed for an hour and forty minutes in the sixth inning, during which rain and golf ball size hail fell and a tornado warning was in effect.
Sophomore Jacob Priday was 5-for-8, had a home run and drove in nine runs in the two games. He had three hits and six RBI in the suspended game and followed that with a pair of hits and three more runs batted in the final game.
Saturday's game had to be completed on Sunday after rain and lightning forced play to be suspended on Saturday. The Tigers led the Boilermakers 5-0 in the bottom of the fourth when play was halted.
MU starter Nathan Culp had struck out three and allowed just one hit through the first four innings when play was suspended.
The Tigers scored a run in every inning, including a seven-run fourth inning. They pounded out 24 hits, its most since a 26-hit performance against Navy on Feb. 25, 2005.
Four Tigers had three hits in the game, including Priday who was 3-for-4 with six RBI and two runs scored. The six RBI is the most for a Tigers since James Boone drove in six against Texas Tech last May. Freshman David Cales was 3-for-5, drove in five and scored twice.
In the final game of the weekend, Purdue's Mitch Hilligoss led off the game with a double and later scored the game's first run. Each team scored a run in the second inning and the Tigers took the lead with a three-run third inning. Mizzou had six hits in the third, including a two-out, two-run double by senior Zane Taylor.
The lead would switch hand in each of the next three half innings, as Purdue scored three in the top of the fourth to take a 5-4 lead. Mizzou responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning on a two-run homer by Priday. The Boilermakers followed by scoring three times in the fifth to take an 8-6 lead.
Play was delayed for the second day in a row in the sixth, but the teams returned to the field after an hour and forty minutes. However, Mizzou was unable to mount a comeback.
Mizzou will open up the Big 12 Conference season next week in College Station, Texas with a three-game series with Texas A&M. The series will open at 7 p.m. on Friday. The second game of the series will be at 6 p.m. on Saturday and the series finale will be at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The games can be heard on KTGR 1580-AM in Columbia and on the World Wide Web at KTGR.com.
