@MizzouBaseball Slugs Past Texas A&M in SEC Tournament Opener

Tuesday, May 23

Hoover, Ala.

1:00 PM

University of Missouri

36-21

Texas A&M

36-21

Mizzou

Texas A&M

@MizzouBaseball Slugs Past Texas A&M in SEC Tournament Opener

5/23/2017 8:03:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Mizzou hits three homers, including a go-ahead grand slam by Robbie Glendinning in the fourth

Toelken Postgame Interview | Coach Bieser and Glendinning on SEC Now

HOOVER, Ala. – Mizzou junior INF Robbie Glendinning (Scarborough, Australia) hit a go-ahead grand slam in the top of the fourth inning as he helped Mizzou Baseball topple Texas A&M, 12-7, in the SEC Tournament opener for both teams Tuesday afternoon at Hoover Met Stadium. Mizzou got homers from three different players and scored in six of the first seven innings with multiple runs in three. The win advances Mizzou to the second round of the tournament for just the second time as it will play LSU Wednesday at approximately 4:30 p.m.

The win moves Mizzou to 36-21 on the year, the most wins for a Mizzou team since 2008 (39). Most importantly, it was another RPI top-50 win for Mizzou as it continues to make a push towards an NCAA Regional berth. Junior 1B Matt Berler (Hoover, Ala.) hit a two-run, game-tying homer in his hometown and Chris Cornelius (St. Louis, Mo.) also homered as Mizzou scored its most runs ever in the SEC Tournament and its most runs in a conference tournament game since 2012 when it run-ruled Kansas, 13-2.

Mizzou sent seven men to the plate in the first inning and scored a pair of runs, one on a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch for DH Trey Harris (Powder Springs, Ga.) and another on an RBI groundout to first by freshman LF Kameron Misner (Poplar Bluff, Mo.).

RECAP | #Mizzou slugs past Texas A&M in @SEC Tournament Opener

READ: https://t.co/PoRCvc6NUM #MIZ #C2E ???? pic.twitter.com/HZZW4OaHlh
— #MizzouBaseball (@MizzouBaseball) May 24, 2017

Mizzou starter Tanner Houck (Collinsville, Ill.) came to the mound and SEC Freshman of the Year Braden Shewmake blooped an RBI single into center to cut Mizzou's lead to 2-1. That was just the beginning as the Aggies hung four runs on three hits, taking advantage of a walk and a hit batter as well. The big hit was two-out, two-run single into left by LF Cam Blake to break the 2-2 tie.

Alex Samples (Bridgeport, Texas) led off the second inning with a walk, forcing the Aggies to the bullpen in favor Kaylor Chafin. Berler, a Hoover native, then launched a 0-1 pitch over the wall in left center for his second homer of the year, tying the game at 2-2. Both of his homers have come in the last four games and have either tied the game or given Mizzou the lead.

Mizzou put two men on in the third inning, but lacked the clutch hit to bring in the go-ahead run. Houck again ran into trouble in the third, hitting the leadoff man and allowing a single to Blake Kopetsky to put two men on with no outs. Both those runs came in on a base hit by Blake and a sacrifice bunt by SS Austin Homan to put the Aggies up, 6-4.

Berler was again part of a run-scoring inning in the fourth, drawing a leadoff walk. Mizzou loaded the bases with no outs for Glendinning. He worked a 3-1 count and went the opposite way for a grand slam to give Mizzou the lead back at 8-6. It was the first grand slam in the SEC Tournament since 2011 and Mizzou's second in four games. It was Glendinning's seventh homer of the year.

After Houck worked a 1-2-3 inning in the fourth, Cornelius hit a solo homer, his second of the year, to give Mizzou a 9-6 lead. The Tigers added another run on an error with two outs to take a 10-6 lead.

POSTGAME | Hear from @AndyToelken13 after his brilliant relief work Tuesday. #MIZ #C2E ???? pic.twitter.com/ityjZQuULe
— #MizzouBaseball (@MizzouBaseball) May 24, 2017

Texas A&M got a run back in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI groundout to second base, but that was all despite loading the bases with one out. Junior RHP Andy Toelken (Green Cove Springs, Fla.) relieved Houck after 4.1 and inherited a runners-on-the-corner jam with just one run.

Mizzou tacked on another run on a Harris RBI single following a Brett Bond (St. Louis, Mo.) double in the top of the sixth inning. After Toelken retired the first two batters in the bottom of the sixth inning, Shewmake hit a double and then rain and lightning delayed the game for one hour and 47 minutes. Toelken retired the first batter following the break to send the game through the sixth.

Glendinning drove in his fifth run of the game in the top of the seventh inning, an RBI single up the middle, as he reset his career-high in RBI. Toelken was masterful after the rain delay as he shut the game down and secured the win for Mizzou.

For all the latest on all things Mizzou Baseball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter @MizzouBaseball and like the team on Facebook and Instagram (Missouri Baseball).

Potent Quotables

STEVE BIESER, HEAD COACH
Opening Statement …
"What a day for us. The length of this day, it felt like we played two games. But the SEC does it right and we're just very fortunate to be here and just excited to continue in this tournament."

On confidence from this win…
"I've said many times already, I'm just very proud of this group because we've had some ups and downs this year. We started off really well, scuffled dirt through the middle. Being able to get that back, what we had early on, that means a lot to me. Just watching these guys go about their business the last few weeks. Nobody here wanted their season to be over and that's a nice feeling to have this time of year.

ROBBIE GLENDINNING, INF
On keeping the momentum even after the rain delay…
"We had to go in with the same mentality that we had throughout the game. We had to play like it was a 0-0 game. We did that and we managed to get an insurance run and I think that really helped. Andy Toelken on the mound was very efficient and that really helped as well."

MATT BERLER, INF
On keeping the momentum even after the rain delay…
"Just what coach tells us the most is trust the process. Coming out of a rain delay, we knew that anything could happen."

Postgame Notes

Mizzou moves to 2-4 all-time in SEC Tournament action since joining the league in 2013.
Mizzou is 27-26 in conference tournament action since joining the Big 12 in 1997.
Mizzou's 36 wins on the year are its most since 2008 (39).
Mizzou has won seven in a row and eight of 11.
Mizzou is now 7-3 on Tuesdays this season.
Mizzou scored its most runs ever in the SEC Tournament Tuesday.
Houck pitched through 4.1 innings on Tuesday, moving his career total to 300.2, the seventh-most in school history and second-most of any three-year pitcher, trailing only Aaron Crow (302.2 from 2006-08).
Sophomore OF Connor Brumfield led off the game with a hit, his first since May 12 in the series opener against South Carolina, a span of six games and 20 at-bats.
Junior 1B Matt Berler homered for the second time this year, both coming in the last four games, in the second inning. Both of his homers have scored multiple runs.
Berler hit his homer in his hometown of Hoover, Ala.
Berler tallied his fourth multi-RBI game of the year and second in the last four.
Mizzou is 22-3 when Berler starts a game this season.
Robbie Glendinning hit his first career grand slam and Mizzou's second in four games. It was the first grand slam at the SEC Tournament since Florida's Brain Johnson did so on May 25, 2011, against Mississippi State.
Glendinning tallied his seventh multi-RBI game of the year and reset his career-high with five RBI in the game.
Chris Cornelius hit a solo homer in the fifth inning, his second of the year and first since March 5, 2017, against Illinois-Chicago. It was his first homer against an SEC team. Seven of his last nine hits have gone for extra bases.
Brett Bond tallied his 17^th multi-hit game on Tuesday, second-best on the team and also hit his 13^th double of the year, tying him for the team lead.
Trey Harris tallied his 12^th multi-hit game of the year and his 10^th multi-RBI game of the year.
Kirby McGuire tallied his 10^th multi-hit game of the year.