@MizzouBaseball Comes Up Short in Finale at FIU

Sunday, February 18

Miami, Fla.

11 a.m. (CT)

University of Missouri

2-1

Florida International

1-2

Mizzou

FIU

2/18/2018 8:50:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score Photo Gallery

Tigers squander 5-2 lead and strand nine runners in the loss

MIAMI – Mizzou Baseball came up short on Sunday (Feb. 18), falling to Florida International, 11-5, failing to complete the season-opening series sweep. Mizzou went on top, 5-2, with five runs in the fifth inning but gave the lead right back in the bottom half of the frame. Mizzou falls to 2-1 on the season.

Mizzou hit six batters in the game and that was a key reason for the Panthers' four-run fifth that sank the Tigers. Mizzou stranded nine men on base in the loss.

RS sophomore Cody Siebenberger (Smithton, Ill.) took the loss while FIU RHP Steven Casey earned the win. Junior OF Connor Brumfield (Columbia, Mo.) tallied a career-high four hits while sophomore 1B Kameron Misner (Poplar Bluff, Mo.) walked in four of his five plate appearances, tallying an RBI and a run. Junior OF Zach Hanna (Shawnee, Kan.) had a three-run, bases-loaded double in Mizzou's five-run fifth as well.

TURNING POINT

After Mizzou took a 5-2 lead with five runs in the top of the fifth inning, three coming on a Zach Hanna (Shawnee, Kan.) double, the Panthers responded with a four-spot in their half of the frame. That gave FIU a 6-5 lead that it never surrendered. DH Christian Khawam delivered the go-ahead hit, a two-run double. FIU then tacked on five more in the eighth inning. The Panthers then iced the game with five in the bottom of the eighth.

QUOTING MIZZOU

Head Coach Steve Bieser:
Opening Statement…
"It was a long afternoon and it was one of those games that everything kept dragging. Couldn't get in any type of rhythm early on. They were slowing the game down intentionally with a lot of throw-overs, really slowing the game down. They had a lot of energy. That's what I talked to our club about. A young club just needs to come out on the pitching side of it and control that tempo. We got back in the game and I would have bet that we would have closed the game out, but it was just one of those days."

TOP TIGERS

Junior OF Zach Hanna drove in a career-high three runs with his bases-clearing double in the fifth inning.
Sophomore Kameron Misner walked three times in the game, earning an RBI and scoring a run. He walked eight times in the series.
Junior OF Connor Brumfield tallied a four-hit performance with a double from the leadoff spot.

NOTES

Despite the loss, Mizzou still leads the all-time series with FIU, 6-1.
Senior OF Trey Harris tallied his second double of the season.
Sophomore 1B Kameron Misner walked four times Sunday and walked nine times in the series. He reached base in 13 of 17 plate appearances in the series.
Mizzou scored 13 runs in the fifth inning in the three-game series.
Junior OF Connor Brumfield tallied a career-high four hits.

UP NEXT

Mizzou will stay in the Sunshine State for another week, first facing Miami in a true road game Wednesday (Feb. 21) at 5 p.m. (CT). 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 (Mizzou Baseball) and Instagram (missouri_baseball).