University of Missouri
Oklahoma State
Missouri Clinches At Least Second Place Finish in Big 12
5/19/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 19, 2007
STILLWATER, Okla.-- - Missouri will finish no lower than second place in the Big 12 Conference after taking an 8-5 over Oklahoma State on Saturday in Stillwater, Okla. The Tigers clinch the series victory, meaning they have taken wins in 11 of their 12 series this season, including eight of nine in the Big 12. They won all six of their road series this season.
Saturday's win, MU's fourth in a row, guarantees Mizzou at least a second-place finish in the Big 12 Conference, with the title still in reach. The Tigers are 18-8 in the Big 12 this season, collecting the most wins in league play since the start of the Big 12 Conference and the most conference victories since they won 20 in the final year of the Big Eight Conference.
"It was a great effort," Head Coach Tim Jamieson said. "I can't tell you how proud I am of these guys. This is a great feat for this team to come here and do what they've done and win every road series this season. These guys really want it and you can tell that by the way they are playing."
Oklahoma State's Tyler Mach homered for the 15th time this season in the bottom of the second inning to give the Cowboys the early 2-0 lead.
The Tigers (38-14, 18-8) took their first lead of the day with a three-run third inning, getting three-straight RBI hits. Juniors Brock Bond and Jacob Priday each drove in a run with singles, sandwiched around an RBI double by sophomore Ryan Lollis.
MU added to its lead by plating a run in the fourth inning. The first two Tigers were retired in the fourth, before MU got three-straight singles from sophomore Kyle Mach, senior Gary Arndt and junior Evan Frey. Mach scored on Frey's base hit.
Priday extended the lead to three as he connected on his team-leading ninth home run of the season in the top of the fifth inning. It was his 29th career homer which moves him into a tie for eighth in career home runs at Mizzou.
Oklahoma State (38-15, 16-10) made it a one-run game by putting a pair of runs on the board in the bottom of the sixth inning, getting back-to-back two-out singles by Matt Mangini and Jordy Mercer to drive in runs. The Cowboys tied the game in the seventh, as Ty Wright doubled and scored on a single by Keanon Simon.
In the top of the eighth, Frey reached on an infield single with two outs in the inning driving in freshman Aaron Senne who had walked to open the inning. The Tigers added two runs on RBI base hits by a pair of freshmen as Trevor Coleman and Senne collected RBIs. The regular season concludes on Sunday as the Tigers will take on Oklahoma State at 1 p.m. in Stillwater. The Big 12 Conference Tournament will begin on Wednesday in Oklahoma City. The bracket and schedule for the conference tournament will be announced on Sunday night.
In order for Mizzou to win the league title, the Tigers would need Texas to lose to Texas A&M on Saturday night and then again on Sunday, and MU would need to win the finale against OSU.
