April 23, 2014
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ST. LOUIS - Peter Fairbanks (St. Louis, Mo.) went a career-best eight innings, holding Illinois (22-15) to just two runs as Mizzou (19-21) claimed a 5-2 victory over the Illini Wednesday (April 23) night at Busch Stadium. Fairbanks needed only 84 pitches in his eight innings of work, throwing 57 strikes and striking out three batters. The stout outing from Fairbanks enabled the Tigers to build a 5-1 lead in the fourth and fifth innings as Mizzou hung four runs on the Illini in those two frames.
Dylan Kelly (Roswell, Ga.) led the offensive attack for the Tigers, going 2-for-4 on the day with two runs scored and two RBI, both coming on a double to left field in the fifth inning. The two RBI gave Kelly nine two-out RBI on the season, a mark that leads the team. Josh Lester (Columbus, Ga.) went 2-for-4 on the day and also had a RBI double in the contest, driving in Kelly. The win gave the Tigers two neutral site wins in the week, including Tuesday's (April 22) win at Kauffman Stadium.
Both pitchers worked a scoreless first, with John Miles (Columbia, Mo.) working around two hits in the game's opening frame. Mizzou jumped on top first, as the Tigers loaded the bases with no outs. A groundout by Dillon Everett (Phoenix, Ariz.) notched the game's first tally as Kelly came scored on the play, giving Mizzou a 1-0 lead. The Illini answered right back, though, tying the game on Ryne Roper's RBI single off Fairbanks (St. Louis, Mo.).
The Tigers added two more runs in the fourth, as Kelly came around to score after a RBI-double from Lester, and Everett's groundout brought in Ryan Howard (St. Charles, Mo.) who walked to reach earlier in the inning, giving Mizzou a 3-1 edge through four innings. Kelly came through in the fifth with a RBI double to left, scoring Shane Segovia (Sinton, Texas) and Logan Pearson (Bentonville, Ark.) to give the Tigers a 5-1 lead through five.
Fairbanks stayed in rhythm through the next two frames, keeping the Tiger lead at four runs into the seventh inning stretch.Reid Roper's leadoff double in the bottom of the frame had the Illini in business, and he scored on a one-out groundout from Casey Fletcher to reduce the Tiger lead to three runs. Both teams went scoreless over the game's final two frames, sealing the 5-2 win for the Tigers.
Mizzou heads to Gainesville, Fla. this weekend to take on the No. 1 Florida Gators. Get your news on Mizzou baseball from the team's Twitter (@MizzouBaseball) or by checking in on MUTigers.com.
