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COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Baseball extended its win streak to 15 after sweeping Appalachian State thanks to a walk-off single by junior INF Robbie Glendinning (Scarborough, Australia) in the series finale. His game-winning single is his second walk-off hit of the week after tabbing a walk-off single through the right side in extras against Western Carolina Wednesday. Fifteen wins marks the longest win streak for Mizzou since 1981 and is tied for the longest streak in the nation this season.
Mizzou is now 15-1 on the season, matching the best start in program history (tied with the 1985 team). Mizzou freshman LHP T.J. Sikkema (DeWitt, Iowa) earned the win, his fourth of the season, after throwing 2.0 shutout innings with four strikeouts and no hits. He backed a tremendous start from junior RHP Andy Toelken (Green Cove Springs, Fla.) who went a career-high 7.0 innings with four strikeouts and just three hits. Despite his brilliance, he was in line for the loss before Mizzou's ninth-inning heroics as Mizzou's offense squandered several opportunities to break the game open.
Sophomore 1B Brian Sharp (Liberty, Mo.) led off the ninth inning with a solo homer on a 3-2 pitch the opposite way into left field, tying the game at 2-2. It was his second huge hit to lead off a late-inning rally this week as he started Mizzou's Wednesday night walk-off over Western Carolina with a leadoff double in the 10th.
From there, Mizzou loaded the bases and Glendinning battled, falling behind 0-2 and hit a soft chopper through the left side for the game-winning hit. It was his second walk-off hit this week and Mizzou has three walk-off wins in the last seven days and four on the season.
Toelken got into some trouble in the third inning, allowing two men to reach on a single and a walk. But he got a groundout to third base to escape the jam, stranding a pair in scoring position. Mizzou took the momentum of escaping that jam into the bottom of the third as Nelson Mompierre (Miami, Fla.) hit his first Division I homer to lead off the inning, giving Mizzou a 1-0 lead.
After the offense gave him a lead, Toelken found his rhythm in the fourth, sitting down the Mountaineers in order while picking up his fourth strikeout of the outing. He cruised through the fifth as well and sat down nine in a row until a one-out single in the sixth inning.
Toelken then issued a one-out single in the sixth and a two-out homer to 2B Matt Vernon to give Appalachian State a 2-1 lead.
Mizzou put two men on in the bottom of the sixth, but Trey Harris (Powder Springs, Ga.) hit into a 6-4-3 double play to end the frame. The Tigers then put two men on with one out in the seventh inning, but an attempted double steal with two outs went for not as Appalachian State led 2-1 after seven.
In true Deja' Vu form, Mizzou again put two men on with one out in the eighth and couldn't cash in. DH Brett Bond (St. Louis, Mo.) struck out swinging and Harris just missed a 3-1 fastball, flying out to deep left to strand a pair. Sikkema was lights out in the eighth and ninth innings, picking up four more strikeouts, giving Mizzou a chance in the ninth inning.
Sharp led off the ninth with his second homer of the season to tie the game at 2-2. Ian Nelson (Lake St. Louis, Mo.) notched his first hit of the day with a single through the right side to put the go-ahead run on base. A sacrifice bunt by Mompierre advanced Nelson to second while an intentional walk and an infield single by Connor Brumfield (Columbia, Mo.) loaded the bags for Glendinning to plate the game-winning run.
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Potent Quotables
Head Coach Steve Bieser
On if he could have imagined winning 15 in a row…
"No, I don't think so. What we wanted to do was be playing good baseball in the first part of the season before we go into the next couple of weekends – conference weekends. The record is surprising to me based on how we have played on the defensive side of the ball. They know that we've got to get better. That was the talk with the team - that we have to continue to develop and get getter. We have to a better defensive club. We have to be better at offensive execution because we're getting ready to play a lot of tight games. The luxury is that we have played a lot of tight games and we've found ways to win. You have to give credit to the players. When they can do that, they've got a good mindset."
Junior INF Robbie Glendinning
On his walk-off hit…
"Just two strikes, had to battle a little bit. I got a fastball over the plate. I put a decent swing on it. I wouldn't say it was a good swing but it got through. It's fun. Obviously, with Brian (Sharp's) home run, it was tough for us to lose in that situation. I just want to be up there."
Notes
- Mizzou has now won 15 consecutive games, matching the longest streak in the nation this season with Louisville.
- Mizzou's 15-1 record through 16 games matches the best start in school history (tying the 1985 team).
- Mizzou now has four walk-off wins this season and three since last Sunday (March 5). That's good for three walk-off wins in the last six games.
- Mizzou improves to 8-0 in games decided by two of fewer runs this season and 6-0 in games decided by a single run.
- Mizzou now has two wins this season when trailing after eight innings.
- Junior INF Robbie Glendinning tallied his second career walk-off hit, both coming this week.
- Sophomore 1B Brian Sharp hit his second homer of the season tie the game in the ninth inning. Both of his homers this season have been opposite field shots.
- Junior RHP Andy Toelken sat down nine in a row from the third through sixth innings. He pitched a career-high 7.0 innings.
- Junior C Nelson Mompierre hit his first Division I homer to lead off the third inning.
- Mompierre has reached base safely in nine straight games and also tallied his first career Division I three-hit game.
- OF Kameron Misner walked in the sixth inning and has now reached base safely in eight straight games. He stole his team-leading seventh base in the sixth as well.
- Brett Bond walked in the sixth as well and has now reached base safely in 10 straight games.
