Houck’s Gem Pushes @MizzouBaseball’s Win Streak to 13

Friday, March 10

Columbia, Mo.

6:30 PM

University of Missouri

13-1

Appalachian State

6-7

Appalachian State

Mizzou

Houck’s Gem Pushes @MizzouBaseball’s Win Streak to 13

3/10/2017 10:43:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Houck allows just four hits over 8.2 innings with two walks and seven strikeouts in a win

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COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou junior RHP Tanner Houck (Collinsville, Ill.) pitched a gem in a 4-0 win over Appalachian State Friday night (March 10) at Taylor Stadium. Mizzou has now won 13 consecutive games, tied with Louisville for the nation's longest active streak. It is also Mizzou's longest winning streak since 2008 and Mizzou's 13-1 mark through 14 games is the program's best start since 1985 (14-0).

Houck was sensational Friday night, earning his second win of the season. He allowed just four hits over 8.2 shutout innings, walking two and striking out seven. He also pitched around three Mizzou errors and the walks came in the eighth and ninth innings. He induced 13 groundouts in the win. It was the first time that Houck has pitched through 8.2 innings since May 19, 2016, at Kentucky.

After Houck worked around an error and a hit batter in the first, Mizzou got on the board in its half of the opening frame. Robbie Glendinning (Scarborough, Australia) doubled with one out and he was driven in on an RBI single into center field by LF Kameron Misner (Poplar Bluff, Mo.). Mizzou kept the pressure on in the second, putting two men on before a throwing error by App State allowed Nelson Mompierre (Miami, Fla.) to score from second, extending Mizzou's lead to 2-0.

HIGHLIGHTS: See how dominant @houck_tanner was as #Mizzou pushed its win streak to 13!#MIZ #C2E ??? pic.twitter.com/inVlPjyh7y
— #MizzouBaseball (@MizzouBaseball) March 11, 2017

Houck continued to cruise, allowing just one hit through four innings while striking out four. He was at just 56 pitches through four innings. The Collinsville, Ill., native took his one-hitter into the seventh inning when a one-out single through the right side gave App State its first hit since the second inning. He pitched around the hit, getting through a season-high 7.0 innings.

Mizzou tacked on some insurance in the bottom of the seventh, the first on Misner's second RBI single of the night. The next came on an RBI single by Trey Harris (Powder Springs, Ga.) on a 0-2 pitch.

Houck came back out for the eighth inning and issued a hit and a walk but again pitched around it. Houck came back out for the ninth inning and got the first two outs before he was lifted for Mizzou's bullpen after allowing two men to reach. After a walk, junior RHP Nolan Gromacki (Smithville, Mo.) got the final out, a strikeout looking, to seal the win.

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).

Potent Quotables

Head Coach Steve Bieser
Opening statement…
"Just proud of our players. I never heard anyone complaining (about the cold). From a mindset of just being tough, we did a great job of handling the game the way it needed to be handled. It's tough to hit in conditions like that. You hit a ball well, it's hanging up in the air. They just found ways to get a few runs on the board. Kind of figured it was going to be a low-scoring game tonight."

RHP Tanner Houck
On his start…
"Just fastball command. I really worked in and out on both sides, lefties and righties. Really working the two-seam. With it being a little bit chilly, you're not going to have the best fastball velo-wise, so you have to really rely on command and movement which is kind of what I really focused on tonight. It really helped out."

On trying to finish the game despite being over 100 pitches…
"It's baseball. Errors are going to happen. You just have to roll with it. I felt in the groove from the stretch on. I felt really good with my preparation all week with the coaching staff, strength training and training staff. I felt good arm-wise and body-wise the entire outing."

Notes

Mizzou's 13-game win streak is the longest for the program since 2008 and tied with Louisville for the longest active win streak in the nation.
The 13-1 is the best start for Mizzou Baseball since a 14-0 start in 1985.
Junior RF Trey Harris has reached base in 10 straight games. He has also drawn seven walks in his last six games.
Junior RHP Tanner Houck finished with at least 8.2 innings pitched and no earned runs for the fourth time in his career. It also marked the third outing of the season where Houck did not allow any runs.
This was also Houck's eighth career start with at least 8.0 innings pitched.
Houck struck out at least seven batters for the 17^th time in his career. He has struck out at least five batters in every appearance this season.
Sophomore 1B Brian Sharp reached base multiple times for the fourth consecutive game.
Junior DH Brett Bond has reached base in eight consecutive games.
Freshman LF Kameron Misner has been hot over the last five games, going 9-of-16 with four RBI and four stolen bases.
Junior Robbie Glendinning continued his impressive week at the plate, improving to 8-of-14. He has reached base multiple times in 10 of 11 games this season.
This was Mizzou Baseball's second shutout of the season. The first came in a 9-0 victory over Texas A&M – Corpus Christi.