@MizzouBaseball Falls 7-3 to No. 11 Texas A&M in Series Opener, Lets Late Lead Slip Away

Friday, March 29

College Station, Texas

6:30 PM

University of Missouri

17-10, 2-5

(#11) Texas A&M

23-5, 6-1

Missouri

Texas A&M

@MizzouBaseball Falls 7-3 to No. 11 Texas A&M in Series Opener, Lets Late Lead Slip Away

3/29/2019 11:11:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Tigers surrender five runs in the eighth inning to drop heartbreaker

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Mizzou Baseball (17-10, 2-5 SEC) outplayed No. 11 Texas A&M for almost the entire ballgame Friday at Blue Bell Park, but a five-run bottom of the eighth inning ultimately gave the Aggies a 7-3 victory.

With Mizzou clinging to a 3-2 advantage in the eighth, the Aggies responded with five runs on two hits. Two Tiger errors also in that frame proved extremely costly for the visitors.

Despite the loss Friday, junior LHP Jacob Cantleberry delivered another quality start for Mizzou. The Greenwood, Indiana, native's eight strikeouts matched his 2019 single-game high in a Southeastern Conference matchup.

Mizzou's 11 hits were its most in an SEC contest this year. Junior UTIL Peter Zimmermann, sophomore C Chad McDaniel and senior 3B Paul Gomez each recorded multi-hit nights at the plate. The Tigers' big blow came courtesy of a two-run home run in the fourth inning by freshman 1B Cameron Swanger, marking the first long ball of his career.

#ShowMe Top Performers at Texas A&M

Cantleberry: (L) 5.1 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 8 K
Zimmermann: 3-for-4, 2B
Swanger: 1-for-4, R, HR, 2 RBI
Gomez: 2-for-4, 2 2B

Hear From Head Coach Steve Bieser

On tonight's matchup at Blue Bell Park…

"I thought we dominated the game for 7.5 innings. We just had a little hiccup there in the bottom of the eighth. We got caught with not moving our feet in making a throw, and then needing to move our feet when taking a cutoff. For whatever reason in the bottom of the eighth we just didn't look good."

On the Tigers' offensive performance…

"I thought we outplayed the other team tonight except for one half inning. That's frustrating. We got to bounce back tomorrow."

On the team's aggressiveness at the plate…

"I thought we had a great game plan against their starting pitcher. I thought we were executing it really well. We came up with 11 hits, but also hit some balls right on the screws that they were able to make some nice plays on. I thought we swung the bats well though and executed our plan."

On Cantleberry's solid performance on the mound…

"I thought he was really good tonight. He racked up his strikeouts and was doing a really good job. Their hitters were starting to see him for a third time and I felt it was the right time to make a move in that situation. I thought it worked out well to start off, but just didn't work out at the end."

#MIZ Takeaways

Zimmermann's three hits Friday marked a new single-game career-high. He becomes the sixth Tiger this year with a three-hit performance.
Zimmermann joins junior SS Chris Cornelius, junior OF Kameron Misner, sophomore 2B Mark Vierling freshman OF Josh Holt Jr. and freshman UTIL Luke Mann in the exclusive club.
With his two doubles against the Aggies, Gomez has hit safely in four consecutive SEC contests. He hit safely in all three games at Taylor Stadium vs. No. 20 Ole Miss (March 22-24) plus this evening's matchup.
With his first collegiate home run in the fourth inning, Swanger became the 11th Tiger this year with a long ball at the plate.
Cornelius' infield single in the first inning extended his hitting streak to six games, the longest active streak by a Tiger.
It also extended the St. Louis native's safely reached base streak to a team-best 17 games. Cornelius is tied with Vierling for the second-longest safely reached base streak this season, trailing only Misner's streak of 18 games earlier in the year.
Cantleberry's strong start was his third straight as the Tigers' Friday night hurler. At No. 10 Arkansas (March 15), vs. No. 20 Ole Miss (March 22) and now this evening vs. No. 11 Texas A&M, the Tiger lefty has allowed 2 ER or less each time out with six-plus strikeouts as well.

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