Thursday, May 25
Hoover, Ala.
1:00 PM
University of Missouri
vs
South Carolina
Bartlett Gets the Call as @MizzouBaseball Faces Gamecocks in Elimination Game
5/24/2017 11:34:00 PM | Baseball
Bartlett is coming off of a complete game, one-hitter in his last start
| MIZZOU LOOKS FOR FIRST WIN OVER VANDERBILT | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OPPONENT | LOCATION | DAY | TIME (CT) | Listen | Stats | TV |
| #11 South Carolina | Hoover Metropolitan Stadium | Thursday, May 25 | 4:30 p.m. | KTGR | Stats | SEC Network |
- No. 10 seed Mizzou Baseball looks to extend its season in an elimination game of the SEC Tournament against No. 11 seed South Carolina Thursday at 1:30 p.m. at Hoover Met Stadium. The game will air live on SEC Network and on KTGR in the Mid-Missouri area.
- Thursday's game is not only an elimination game for the SEC Tournament, but it is likely an elimination game for both teams' NCAA Tournament hopes. Both teams sit firmly on the NCAA Tournament bubble heading into Thursday's matchup. Mizzou has won its most games since 2008 with 36 on the year while its 14 SEC wins are its most since joining the league. Only one Mizzou team in history has been left out of the field of 64 when winning more than 35 games and that was the 1999 team that won 37. That was the first year the field expanded to 64 teams. Mizzou's RPI was 50 as of Wednesday night as it is likely a must-win scenario on Thursday. South Carolina is in a similar spot, likely needing a win to extend its NCAA Regional hopes. South Carolina has lost its last eight SEC series. The Gamecocks defeated Vanderbilt to open the SEC Tournament before falling to Kentucky Wednesday.
- Mizzou won its SEC Tournament opener over seventh-seeded Texas A&M, 12-7, on Tuesday. The Tigers slugged three homers in the win, including a grand slam from junior INF Robbie Glendinning. Mizzou then lost, 10-3, to second-seeded LSU Wednesday.
- Mizzou has hit five home runs in the SEC Tournament already through two games. Mizzou got a pair of solo homers from LF Kameron Misner and PH Nelson Mompierre in the LSU game Wednesday.
- Mizzou took two of three from South Carolina earlier this month at Taylor Stadium as Thursday's meeting will be the fourth between the two teams this season.
- Recapping this season's Mizzou-South Carolina series, the Gamecocks took game one, 4-3. Junior RHP Cole Bartlett, who is scheduled to start Thursday, gave up a two-run homer to Alex Destino in the sixth inning after T.J. Sikkema walked the final batter he faced in his outing as he was tagged with the loss. Mizzou made it interesting in the with a run in the eighth, but couldn't get the tying run across the plate in the ninth as the Gamecocks escaped. Bartlett was very good in that outing, striking out four over 3.1 innings as the homer was the only run that he was charged with.
- Mizzou rallied for a pair of 5-3, comeback wins in the next two games. Mizzou fell behind 3-1 in the Saturday contest before Mizzou tied the game at 3-3 with clutch hits by Chris Cornelius and Robbie Glendinning in the fifth. Freshman Kameron Misner then homered in the sixth to give Mizzou a 4-3 lead and the Tigers ultimately won 5-3. On Sunday, Mizzou rallied for three runs in the eighth inning. Junior Trey Harris, who had missed the previous four games with a shoulder injury, dumped a game-tying single into right field to tie the game. The winning run scored on a wild pitch and Mizzou tacked on one more for a 5-3 win to claim the series.
- Mizzou trails the all-time series with South Carolina, 10-6, but has won the last two meetings. Mizzou won the only meeting with Carolina in the SEC Tournament in 2015, a 5-1 win. Reggie McClain and Breckin Williams teamed to allow just six Gamecock hits in the win while striking out seven and walking none.
- Mizzou will send junior RHP Cole Bartlett to the mound with the season on the line. Nicknamed the 'Junk Yard Dog' by Mizzou pitching coach Patrick Hallmark, Bartlett has been the Swiss Army Knife of Mizzou's pitching staff. He is eighth in the SEC in ERA at 2.78 and is coming off of a complete game, one-hit shutout at Tennessee last Friday. He earned SEC Pitcher of the Week, NCBWA National Pitcher of the Week and Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week for his efforts in that start.
- As a starter, Bartlett has a 2-2 record an a 3.29 ERA in four starts, tossing 27.1 innings. He has struck out 14 and walked seven. He is limiting batters to .245 as a starter. Two of his four starts have been complete game wins (at Ole Miss and last weekend at Tennessee).
- South Carolina will send Will Crowe to the mound. He tossed 7.0 innings and allowed just four hits and two runs (both earned) while striking out nine and walking two in that start. He earned his fifth win of the year.
Pitching Matchup
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RHP Cole Bartlett (6-2, 2.28 ERA) vs. RHP Will Crowe (5-5, 3.45 ERA)
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).
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