Mizzou Baseball Defeats Western Illinois in Home Opener, 7-3

Friday, March 6

Columbia, Mo.

6:30 PM

University of Missouri

7-5

Western Illinois

0-10

Western Illinois

Mizzou

Mizzou Baseball Defeats Western Illinois in Home Opener, 7-3

3/6/2020 10:07:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Tigers build 7-0 lead after two innings, proves to be too much for Leathernecks

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Baseball (7-5) defeated Western Illinois on Friday in its 2020 home opener. The Tigers extended their winning streak to three games with the 7-3 victory over the Leathernecks.

The Tigers offense got off to a hot start, scoring seven runs in the first two innings. Mizzou was consistent throughout the lineup, with six hitters posting at least one RBI. Senior Austin James hit a two-run home run in the second inning, leading the Tigers with two RBI on the evening.

Junior Ian Bedell was dominant on the mound for Mizzou, racking up a career-high 12 strikeouts in 6.0 innings of work.

#ShowMe Top Performers

Bedell: (W) 6.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 12 K
Spencer Juergens: (SV) 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
James: 1-for-3, R, HR, 2 RBI, BB
Mark Vierling: 2-for-3, R, BB
Tre Morris: 2-for-4, R, RBI
Clayton Peterson: 1-for-2, 2 R, 3B, RBI, SB

Coach Bieser Postgame Soundbites

On Friday's victory over Western Illinois…

"We jumped out on them well, but we could've finished it up a little bit better. I'm really proud of how we came out and had a lot of hits early on."

On the Tigers' offense this evening...

"We just had good at bats and were taking advantage of when he came in the zone. We were putting on good swings and when he was out of the zone we were being very disciplined. We struggled a little bit down the stretch of putting many hits and runs together, but you got to like the way it started."

On the Tigers' pitching staff Friday...

"Ian (Bedell) was good all around. His off-speed was really good. They were having a tough time with that. I just liked the way he threw the ball tonight. Tom Skoro came in and threw the ball really well, and (Spencer) Juergens came in and was the old Juergens that we knew."

#MIZ Takeaways

C. Peterson produced his first career triple in the second inning.
Sophomore Cameron Swanger's RBI single in the second inning marked his first RBI of the season.
Redshirt Freshman Seth Halverson stole second and third in the second inning, marking his second career multi-stolen base game.
Following a two-hit performance Friday, Morris has hit safely in all four games played thus far this season. It also established his first career multi-hit effort at the plate.
Bedell's 12 strikeouts marked his second career double-digit strikeout game and established a new single-game career-high in the category.
Vierling recorded his fifth multi-hit game with singles in the second and seventh innings.
The Tigers pitching staff's 16 strikeouts Friday were the program's most in a single game since March 2, 2018, against UMBC.
Mizzou's attendance Friday of 844 was its highest home-opening attendance since March 1, 2006, against Illinois State (879).

Up Next

Mizzou will host Western Illinois for game two of the weekend series on Saturday afternoon. First pitch at Taylor Stadium is slated for 2 p.m. CT.
2020 Mizzou Baseball single-game and season tickets are available for purchase by visiting MUTigers.com/BSBTix or by calling 1-800-CAT-PAWS.

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).