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Scoreboard

Any Toelken
2
Houston HOU 3-2
4
Winner Mizzou MIZ 5-1
Houston HOU
3-2
2
Final
4
Mizzou MIZ
5-1
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Houston HOU 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 7 1
Mizzou MIZ 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 X 4 7 1

W: Toelken, Andy (1-0) L: ROMERO, Seth (1-1) S: Sikkema, TJ (1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

@MizzouBaseball Upends No. 25 Houston, 4-2

Toelken out-duels Romero as Brumfield’s two-out, two-run single in sixth is the difference

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Sophomore RF Connor Brumfield (Columbia, Mo.) hit a two-out, two-run, bases-loaded single in the bottom of the sixth inning and junior RHP Andy Toelken (Green Cove Springs, Fla.) out-dueled an All-American as Mizzou Baseball upset No. 25 Houston, 4-2, Friday afternoon in game one of the Kleberg Bank College Classic at Whataburger Field. The win for Mizzou is its first over a ranked opponent since defeating Arkansas, 8-5, on April 2 of last season and extends the team's winning streak to five games. Mizzou goes to 5-1 on the year while Houston falls to 3-2.

Toelken was fantastic in his second Mizzou start, out-dueling preseason All-American Seth Romero, who took the loss. Toelken went a career-high 6.1 innings, scattering seven hits with no walks and four strikeouts while allowing a pair of solo homers for Houston's only scoring. Toelken also got great defense behind him as Mizzou turned two double plays behind him during the righties first Division I win. Freshman LHP T.J. Sikkema (DeWitt, Iowa) earned the save after tossing 2.2 perfect innings to shut the door, tallying three strikeouts in the process.

At the plate, Robbie Glendinning (Scarborough, Australia) and Matt Berler (Hoover, Ala.) tallied multi-hit games to lead the offense. Brumfield tallied his second multi-RBI game of the year and leads the team with five two-out RBI this season.

Toelken worked around a hit batter and a double in the first inning thanks to several good defensive plays by the Mizzou infield. Romero, a projected top-10 draft pick, struck out the first five batters but Mizzou nearly got to him for a two-out rally in the second. Glendinning roped his first double of the season and Trey Harris (Powder Springs, Ga.) nearly knocked him in, but Cougar RF Lael Lockhart made a great running catch in the corner to save a run and extra bases.

Mizzou loaded the bases in the bottom of the third inning after Berler led off the frame with a double. Kirby McGuire (Round Rock, Texas) followed with a bunt single and Brumfield reached on a wild pitch after striking out. A passed ball then scored a run and Alex Samples (Bridgeport, Texas), who made a tremendous diving catch into the stands earlier in the game, hit a sacrifice fly to give Mizzou a 2-0 lead after three.

Houston cut the lead in half in the top of the fourth with one swing as 2B Jake Scheiner hit a solo shot to RF, the first homer hit off Mizzou pitching this season (184 at-bats). Mizzou threatened to blow the game open in the bottom of the fifth, loading the bases with no outs, but Romero worked out of it with a pair of Ks and a pop up.

The Cougars used that momentum and got a leadoff homer from Connor Wong to tie the game at 2-2 in the top of the sixth inning. Toelken continued to cruise following the homer as he got Mizzou through six with just five hits against and two runs.

Brumfield delivered a huge two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the sixth to give Mizzou the lead back at 4-2. The two RBIs give him five two-out RBI through six games this season. Toelken then put the first two men on in the seventh inning, but got his fourth strikeout before exiting the game after a career-high 6.1 innings. He gave way to Sikkema, who induced a pair of pop ups to preserve the lead at 4-2.

Sikkema then picked up a pair of strikeouts and a slick play from Berler at first in the eighth to hold the lead. He then tossed a perfect ninth inning to earn the save.

Mizzou will be back in action tomorrow at 6 p.m. against host Texas A&M Corpus Christi. The game will air live on KTGR in Mid-Missouri. 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 and Instagram (Mizzou Baseball and missouri_baseball, respectively).

Quoting Bieser

Opening Statement…
"We played the game against an outstanding pitcher today and we just got the job done. We had several opportunities that we let slip away but it was capitalizing at the right time – the right moment. And then what a job by Andy Toelken and T.J. Sikkema."

On his thoughts about the offense against All-American Seth Romero…
"Well we got the base runners, we just couldn't finish it and really put him away. That's what good pitchers do. They keep their team in the ballgame. We were able to get (Romero) to bounce off the mound and have to field his position and that got to him a little bit. Then you could see him kind of losing it a little later; finally we got a big two-out RBI there by Connor Brumfield."

On Andy Toelken…
"It was a good matchup for us with a lot of right-handed hitters in the lineup. Andy was able to keep the ball down; he got two balls up and they made him pay. For the most part he was able to keep that sinker down and keep those ground ball double plays that we need."

Notes

  • The all-time series between Mizzou and Houston is now tied at three wins each.
  • Mizzou is now 4-0 all-time in games played at the Kleberg Bank College Classic. They have allowed just three runs in four all-time games played at the Kleberg Bank College Classic.
  • Mizzou is now 19-4 in games played during the first two weekends of play since 2015.
  • Mizzou earned its first win over a ranked team since April 2, 2016, at Arkansas (8-5 to clinch series).
  • SS Robbie Glendinning hit his first Division I double on Friday, his second extra-base hit in as many games.
  • 1B Matt Berler hit his second double of the season and has now reached base safely in all three games he has played this season. He hit his second double of the game in the fifth inning, his third of the year, tying him for the team lead.
  • Houston hit the first homer allowed by Mizzou pitching this season in the top of the fourth inning. That was a span of 184 at-bats without a homer.
  • Connor Brumfield's go-ahead hit in the bottom of the sixth inning gives him five two-out RBI on the season, a team-best. He is also tied for the tea lead with two multi-RBI games this season. Brumfield has reached base safely in all six games this season.
  • Mizzou RHP Andy Toelken went a career-high 6.1 innings, scattering seven hits with zero walks and four Ks. He earned his first collegiate win Friday.
  • Mizzou LHP T.J. Sikkema picked up his first career save on Friday.
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