University of Missouri
22-11-1, 0
Kentucky
17-15, 0
@MizzouBaseball Posts 9-2 Sunday Victory, Earns Series Win Over Kentucky
4/7/2019 6:22:00 PM | Baseball
Tigers earn first series win over Wildcats since 2014
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Baseball (22-11-1, 5-6-1 SEC) used a strong starting pitching performance by junior LHP TJ Sikkema and took advantage of costly Wildcats errors Sunday in a 9-2 series-clinching victory over Kentucky.
With wins Saturday and Sunday at Taylor Stadium, the Tigers secured their first Southeastern Conference series triumph over the Wildcats since 2014. Entering this weekend, Kentucky had tallied series wins over Mizzou in each of the past four years.
Sikkema was fantastic en route to his third win of the season, highlighted by a career-high 11 strikeouts. Four errors by the Kentucky defense Sunday led to seven unearned runs scored by Mizzou. The Tigers' big blow occurred in the seventh inning, as junior OF Kameron Misner and junior UTIL Peter Zimmermann produced back to back home runs.
#ShowMe Top Performers vs. Kentucky
- Sikkema: (W) 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 11 K
- Ian Bedell: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 K
- Zimmermann: 2-for-5, HR, 3 RBI, SB
- Misner: 1-for-4, R, HR, RBI, BB
- Chris Cornelius: 2-for-4, R, BB
Hear From Head Coach Steve Bieser
On Sikkema's strong start Sunday…
"Yeah, I thought he was really good. I thought he competed well. The home runs he gave up, when you ambush someone like that in the first at bat then that might happen. With the second home run that pitch was something we shouldn't have been throwing to that guy."
On Sikkema consistently attacking the strike zone against Kentucky…
"Everyone knows he has really good command. He throws the ball through the strike zone. His stuff is really good. When he gets two strikes on guys then he can rack up some strikeouts. I thought he was okay pitching to contact early. He did a really good job of staying in the zone."
#MIZ Takeaways
- Sikkema's career-best in strikeouts Sunday marked the third double-digit strikeout performance in his career. Two of those three instances have occurred in 2019 with the first coming at No. 10 Arkansas (March 16).
- Misner and Zimmermann's aforementioned back to back home runs in the seventh inning was the first time Mizzou had accomplished the feat in two years (Trey Harris and Brett Bond vs. Kentucky (April 15, 2017).
- Misner's blast matched his single-season career-high in home runs. He also hit seven home runs in his 2017 freshman campaign at Mizzou.
- Zimmermann was fantastic this weekend versus Kentucky, hitting .500 (6-for-12) with two runs scored, one double, one home run, six RBI and two stolen bases. The St. Louis native recorded a .833 slugging percentage, leading to an eye-popping 1.333 OPS.
- The Tiger pitching staff was solid yet again versus the Wildcats, tossing 33 strikeouts in 27.0 innings pitched with a 2.67 ERA.
- This past week over a five-game span, Zimmermann also led the Tiger offense with a .412 (7-for-17) average with five runs scored, one double, one home run, eight RBI and three stolen bases.
- Senior 1B Tony Ortiz (.357), Misner (.357), junior 3B Austin James (.333) and freshman OF Josh Holt Jr. (.300) all eclipsed .300-plus batting averages this past week.
- On the bump this past week, the Tigers' collective staff registered a 2.35 ERA over 46.0 innings pitched. They tallied 61 total strikeouts while limiting the opposition to a .229 batting average.
- In particular, the Mizzou starting pitchers were lights out. Senior LHP Tyler LaPlante, freshman RHP Tommy Springer, junior LHP Jacob Cantleberry, junior LHP Art Joven and Sikkema combined for a 1.57 ERA with 41 strikeouts over 28.2 innings pitched.
Visit MUTigers.com for the latest information on all things Mizzou Baseball. You can also find the Tigers on social media by liking us on Facebook (Mizzou Baseball) and following us on Twitter (@MizzouBaseball) and Instagram (Missouri_Baseball).
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Sikkema, TJ (3-2)
L: Braxton Cottongame (0-1)
Batting:
HR: Austin Schultz 1 ; Ryan Shinn 1
RBI: Austin Schultz 1 ; Ryan Shinn 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Austin Schultz 1 ; Ryan Shinn 1
CS: Jaren Shelby 1
HBP: Breydon Daniel 1
Batting:
HR: Misner, Kameron 1 ; Zimmermann, Peter 1
RBI: Misner, Kameron 1 ; Zimmermann, Peter 3 ; James, Austin 1
SH: James, Austin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Broyles, Thomas 1 ; Cornelius, Chris 1 ; Misner, Kameron 1 ; Zimmermann, Peter 1 ; McDaniel, Chad 1 ; Ortiz, Tony 1 ; James, Austin 1 ; Gomez, Paul 2
SB: Zimmermann, Peter 1
HBP: Gomez, Paul 1
PO: Misner, Kameron 1
