University of Missouri
5-2
Northeastern
3-3
Sharp’s Career Day Powers @MizzouBaseball Past Northeastern in Nightcap
2/24/2018 7:38:00 PM | Baseball
Sharp matches school record with nine RBI, tying Jacob Priday’s mark in 2008 vs. Texas; had 13 total bases
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Mizzou Baseball claimed the nightcap of a doubleheader, 20-1, Saturday evening at City of Palms Park. Mizzou improves to 5-2 on the season after slugging 20 hits while Northeastern falls to 3-3. Mizzou scored in every inning but the first.
Junior 3B Brian Sharp (Liberty, Mo.) had a career day at the dish, going 5-for-5 with two homers, a triple, a walk and a school-record nine RBI. He finished the game a double shy of the cycle and hit an eighth-inning grand slam. He is the first Tiger with nine RBI since April 11, 2008, when Jacob Priday originally set the school record vs. Texas. His 13 total bases were the most since Priday's 15 in the same game. He is the first Tiger to hit a grand slam since Robbie Glendinning in the opening game of the SEC Tournament vs. Texas A&M on May 23, 2017.
Junior lefty Tyler LaPlante (Blue Springs, Mo.) was brilliant in his first Mizzou start. He earned the win after going 7.0 innings, allowing one run on five hits with five strikeouts and only one walk.
TURNING POINT
After the turning point came in the ninth inning in game one of the doubleheader, the Tigers didn't need to wait too long for the game to flip in their favor in the nightcap. Junior 3B Brian Sharp hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the bottom of the second inning to put Mizzou on top early. The Tigers added to that total throughout, including a five-run fifth inning, to run away with the win.
QUOTING MIZZOU
Head Coach Steve Bieser:
Opening Statement…
"Really long day here at the ballpark, but it was nice to see our team bounce back after that tough loss in game one. That was a tough pill to swallow."
On the at-bats in the second game of the doubleheader…
"I thought we stayed behind the baseball a little bit and were able to drive the baseball a little bit. We weren't so jumpy. In the first game, we were jumping out a little bit and not staying back and letting the game come to us. We were pushing it a little pit. We did a better job in game two."
Junior 3B Brian Sharp:
On his performance…
"Feels pretty good. I had no idea that was the record. My performance was a combination of a little bit of everything. I'm seeing it well and I feel good at the plate right now. Just looking for pitches that I can hit hard and get barreled."
TOP TIGERS
- Junior 3B Brian Sharp (Liberty, Mo.) had a career day at the dish, going 5-for-5 with two homers, a triple, a walk and a school-record nine RBI. He finished a double shy of the cycle and hit an eighth-inning grand slam. He is the first Tiger with nine RBI since April 11, 2008, when Jacob Priday originally set the school record. His 13 total bases were the most since Priday's 15 in the same game. He is the first Tiger to hit a grand slam since Robbie Glendinning in the opening game of the SEC Tournament vs. Texas A&M on May 23, 2017.
- Junior LHP Tyler LaPlante made his first start as a Tiger and pitched 7.0 innings, allowing just one run on five hits while striking out five and walking just one. He earned his first Division I win.
- Junior 1B Tony Ortiz hit his first homer as a Tiger, a two-run shot in the seventh. Ortiz drove in four in the game, adding an eighth-inning two-run single.
NOTES
- Mizzou now leads the all-time series with Northeastern, 2-1
- Mizzou is now 11-4 in games played at City of Palms Park
- Mizzou is now 23-12 in games played away from home under second-year head coach Steve Bieser
- Mizzou is now 15-5 in games played in Florida during the first two weeks of the season over the last two-plus seasons.
- INF Paul Gomez tallied his first RBI and hit as a Tiger in the fourth inning, driving in Brian Sharp with a single.
- 1B Tony Ortiz hit his first home run as a Tiger, a pinch-hit, two-run shot in the bottom of the seventh. It was Mizzou's first pinch-hit homer since April 14, 2017, when Brett Bond did so vs. Kentucky.
- Mizzou freshman Chad McDaniel made his Mizzou debut, pinch hitting in the seventh inning.
- RHP Jordan Gubelman made his Mizzou debut in the game, pitching the final 2.0 innings, allowing just one hit.
- Sharp matched the school record with nine RBI, matching total set by Jacob Priday on April 11, 2008, vs. Texas. His 13 total bases were also the most since Priday had 15 in that Texas game.
- Mizzou tallied 20 runs for the second time this season and pounded 20 hits for the second time this season.
UP NEXT
Mizzou will close its 11-day road trip to Florida tomorrow at 10:30 a.m., completing the four-game series with Northeastern. The game will be played at City of Palms Park in Fort Myers, Fla., and air on KTGR. For all the latest on Mizzou Baseball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter (@MizzouBaseball) and like the team on Facebook (Mizzou Baseball) and Instagram (missouri_baseball).
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: LaPlante, Tyler (1-0)
L: David (0-1)
Batting:
RBI: Lang, Nolan 1
SF: Lang, Nolan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Koppens, Mason 1
HBP: McConnell, Charlie 1
Batting:
2B: Bond, Brett 1
3B: Sharp, Brian 1
HR: Ortiz, Tony 1 ; Sharp, Brian 2
RBI: Harris, Trey 1 ; Ortiz, Tony 4 ; Vierling, Mark 1 ; Hanna, Zach 1 ; Sharp, Brian 9 ; Gomez, Paul 1 ; Berler, Matt 1
SF: Hanna, Zach 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cullum, Isaiah 1 ; Harris, Trey 2 ; Bormet, Cade 1 ; Misner, Kameron 1 ; Ortiz, Tony 2 ; Vierling, Mark 3 ; Samples, Alex 1 ; Bond, Brett 3 ; Sharp, Brian 4 ; Gomez, Paul 1 ; Berler, Matt 1
HBP: Cullum, Isaiah 1 ; Hanna, Zach 1 ; Gomez, Paul 1
