April 15, 2011

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COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Mizzou baseball team fell to Kansas, 8-3, on Friday night at Taylor Stadium. The loss drops the Tigers to 13-21 this season and 1-8 in Big 12 play. Sophomore second baseman Eric Garcia extended his season-long hitting streak to five games with an RBI single in the bottom of the third inning, but a rough night for the Tiger pitchers put the game out of reach during the middle innings.

Kansas starter TJ Walz kept the Tigers off balance all night as he threw seven innings while scattering just five hits and allowing one earned run, earning his fifth win of the season. Tiger starter Rob Zastryzny was tagged with the loss after throwing 5.1 innings while scattering seven hits and giving up six earned runs. Mizzou tried to rally, scoring runs in the eighth and ninth innings, but KU scored in five straight innings, including a three-spot in the sixth inning. The Jayhawks belted two homeruns in the contest as well.

Garcia was the bright spot for the Tigers at the plate, going 2-5 with a run scored and an RBI. The two-hit night extends his hitting streak to five straight games, his longest of the season. Sophomore leadoff hitter Brannon Champagne also extended his hit streak to five games with a single in the contest. Scott Sommerfeld tallied his second straight multi-hit performance in the game as well, going 2-4 at the plate. Ben Turner and Jesse Santo each scored a run in the loss and Blake Brown and Conner Mach each added RBIs in the game.

Despite the loss, the Tiger offense still pounded out 11 hits, but struggled to hit with runners in scoring position, leaving 11 men stranded on base in the game. Mizzou and Kansas will resume the series tomorrow at 4 p.m, at Taylor Stadium. For all the latest on Mizzou baseball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on twitter @MUTigerBaseball.