University of Missouri
UIC
Tigers Split Doubleheader vs. UIC
3/5/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 5, 2011
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Mizzou baseball split a doubleheader against Illinois-Chicago on Saturday (March 5) at Taylor Stadium as the Tigers won the second game, 11-4, behind a strong start from freshman lefty Rob Zastryzny (Corpus Christi, Texas) and dropped the first game, 11-7. The Tigers drew 15 walks in the second game of the twin billing, the most by a Tiger team since Feb. 20, 2009, when they walked 15 times against Nevada. The 15 walks were just three shy of the school record for walks in a single game.
Zastryzny was one of the many bright spots for the Tigers in the second game of the doubleheader as he fired 5.1 innings of four-hit baseball, allowing just two earned runs while striking out four. The outing earned Zastryzny his first career win at the collegiate level and lowered his ERA to 3.38, which is second-best on the team and tops among starters. Heading into the fifth inning, Zastryzny had faced just one batter over the minimum. Phil McCormick (Wildwood, Mo.) and freshman Myles Smith (Detroit, Mich.) also tossed a combined 2.2 innings of scoreless, one-hit baseball in relief of Zastryzny.
The offense in the game was kick-started in the first inning as the first three Tiger batters each drew walks off of UIC Starter Charlie Weinberg, loading the bases for Jonah Schmidt (St. Louis, Mo.) who blasted a two-run double off of the right field wall, plating both Brannon Champagne (St. Charles, Mo.) and Blake Brown (Normal, Ill.). Mizzou scored a pair of runs in the third inning and fourth inning to take a 6-0 lead. But UIC cut into that lead by tagging Zastryzny with pair of runs in the fifth.
The Tigers answered with a five-run sixth inning, which was highlighted by a two-run double down the right field line by Jesse Santo (Little Falls, N.J). Champagne also added a two-run single in the inning and Conner Mach (Chesterfield, Mo.) scored on a passed ball to account for the fifth run in the frame.
Champagne, Schmidt and Santo each tied for the team-lead with two RBI in the game and while Mach, Schmidt and Santo each scored two runs in the contest. Schmidt led all hitters in the game with three as well. Another bright spot in the win for Mizzou was the play of freshman Dillon Everett (Phoenix, Ariz.), who made his first career start in the game. He went 2-4 with a run scored and an RBI while playing spectacular defense that included a diving stop that led to a 4-6-3 double play in the second inning and a barehanded play on a slow roller later in the game.
The cold seemed to play a factor in the game as well as temperatures never got out of the 30s and players were fighting wind chills in the 20s. In fact, it led to four UIC errors and plenty of passed balls and wild pitches that allowed the Tigers to go on top.
But it was the Tigers' that seemed to be plagued by the weather in the first game as Mizzou committed five errors in the game, allowing UIC to win game one, 11-7. The Tigers got as close as 7-6 in the game after trailing 7-2 thanks to a four-run sixth inning, but UIC scored three runs in the eighth and one more in the ninth to put the game out of reach.
The Tiger bats performed pretty well in the first game, scoring seven runs while outhitting UIC, 14-13, in the contest. Champagne, Brown, Santo and Andreas Plackis (St. Charles, Mo.) all tallied multi-hit games in the loss, highlighted by a 3-5 outing from Plackis. Champagne led the team with two runs in the game as well.
Mizzou has adjusted the start time to tomorrow's series finale as the Tiger and Flames will now play at noon on Sunday (March 6) instead of 1 p.m. For all the latest on Mizzou baseball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on twitter @MUTigerBaseball.
