McClain Pitches Mizzou Baseball Past Iona in Nightcap

Friday, February 13

Cary, N.C.

11:00 AM

University of Missouri

2-0

Iona

0-2

IONA

Mizzou

McClain Pitches Mizzou Baseball Past Iona in Nightcap

2/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

CARY, N.C. - Junior righty Reggie McClain tossed 8.0 shutout innings, striking out a career-high 10 as he pitched Mizzou to a 1-0 win over Iona to complete a doubleheader sweep on Friday afternoon (Feb. 13) at the USA Baseball Complex. The Tigers are now 2-0 on the season. This is the first time Mizzou has opened a season by winning its first two games since 2008 and it is the first doubleheader sweep since March 11 of last season when Mizzou took two games from Alcorn State.

"First game, we found a way to come back in a game," head coach Tim Jamieson said on his postgame radio show. "It certainly helps your confidence when you are able to win in that style. In the second game, Reggie and Breckin (Williams) pitched it magnificently and we made plays behind those guys defensively."

A junior college transfer, McClain was sensational in the nightcap of the doubleheader. He tossed 8.0 shutout innings, allowing just three hits, zero walks while striking out a career-high 10 batters. He threw 98 pitches, 70 of which went for strikes. In all, Mizzou pitchers had 24 strikeouts and just two walks over the two games Friday. Mizzou did not walk a batter in the second game of the day. Freshman Brett Bond (St. Louis, Mo.) had Mizzou's lone RBI in the win and junior closer Breckin Williams (Oronogo, Mo.), after tallying a win in game one Friday, earned the save, his first of the season. He tossed an uneventful ninth inning, striking out two, giving him four strikeouts on the day to go along with a win and a save.

McClain was very good early in the game, breezing through the first four innings, using a double play and a pair of pick offs to erase a few baserunners. He continued to deal into the fifth, striking out the side in the top half of that frame on just 10 pitches. That gave him eight for the day at that point and he struck out three in a row and four of six before Mizzou hit in its half of the fifth.

In the Tigers' half, they got a big one-out single from freshman Brett Bond (St. Louis, Mo.), scoring freshman DH Trey Harris (Powder Springs, Ga.). It was Bond's first career hit and first career RBI. McClain then came back out and sat down the Gaels in order to send the game to the bottom of the sixth inning.

Mizzou threatened in the bottom of the sixth, loading the bases with no outs. But a pair of pop-up and a strikeout kept the lead at just 1-0. McClain then pitched into the eighth inning and worked around a one-out error to send the game to the bottom of the eighth with Mizzou leading, 1-0. He fanned another Iona batter in the inning, giving him 10 on the day. He is the first Tiger pitcher with 10 strikeouts in a game since then-senior Eric Anderson struck out 10 Kentucky batters in a Friday night win in Lexington last season on April 13.

The Tigers failed to put any runs on the board in the eighth, making way for Williams to try and shut the door in the ninth. He tallied a pair of strikeouts in the ninth and got a slow-roller back to the mound to seal the win.

Mizzou will be back in action tomorrow in another doubleheader against Iona, beginning at 10 a.m. (CT). It was originally scheduled for 11 a.m. (CT). Freshman Tanner Houck (Collinsville, Ill.) will toss game one and junior righty Alec Rash (Adel, Iowa) will pitch the second game.

For all the latest on Mizzou baseball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on twitter @MizzouBaseball.