Mizzou Baseball Uses Long Ball to Sweep Western Illinois Sunday, 7-4

Sunday, March 8

Columbia, Mo.

1 PM

University of Missouri

9-5

Western Illinois

0-12

Western Illinois

Mizzou

Mizzou Baseball Uses Long Ball to Sweep Western Illinois Sunday, 7-4

3/8/2020 4:41:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Zimmermann and James go deep to account for six of seven Tigers RBI

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Baseball (9-5) pushed its winning streak to five games Sunday following a 7-4 victory over Western Illinois. The Tigers swept their weekend series over the Leathernecks, marking their first three-game series sweep this season.

The long ball was Mizzou's best friend Sunday, as senior Austin James went deep for the third consecutive game and senior Peter Zimmermann launched a two-run home run in the opening inning. Zimmermann's four total RBI on the afternoon marked a new single-game career-high.

#ShowMe Top Performers

Zimmermann: 3-for-4, R, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, SB
James: 1-for-4, R, HR, 2 RBI
Cameron Swanger: 3-for-4, 2 R, 2B
Luke Mann: 1-for-4, 2B, RBI
Spencer Miles: (W) 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
Trey Dillard: (SV) 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K

Coach Bieser Postgame Soundbites

On Sunday's win over Western Illinois…

"It was a really good clean game. I thought Spencer (Miles) went out and attacked the strike zone. He scattered a lot of hits, but really controlled the damage. I was pleased with his effort. I was happy to get Trae (Robertson) in there for the first time this year and he looked really sharp. We saw a lot of good things. We ran into a couple balls at the plate, especially at the end by Austin (James) to lengthen our lead and make it easier to close it out."

On the offense's consistent attack Sunday…

"I thought we did a much better job throughout the course of the game. We were able to strike in a few different innings. That's the key. You can't count on just one big inning every single day. You got to be able to manufacture runs and score runs in bunches."

#MIZ Takeaways

This weekend marked the Tigers' first three-game series sweep since a season ago. Mizzou took all three contests at Taylor Stadium against South Carolina (April 26-28, 2019).
Mizzou's pitching staff showed power stuff all weekend against Western Illinois, posting 11-plus strikeouts in all three games. The Tigers now possess seven double-digit strikeout performances this season.
After going hitless in two-out at bats in the series' first two games, Mizzou responded nicely Sunday with four-such knocks (.308 AVG). Three of the Tigers' seven RBI this afternoon came with two outs.
Zimmermann and Swanger each finished with three-hit performances Sunday. It matched Zimmermann's single-game career-high, while setting a new single-game career-best for Swanger.
With an RBI double in the fourth inning, Mann has safely reached base in a team-high eight consecutive games.
Sophomore Trae Robertson and junior Jackson Lancaster each made their season debuts on the bump for Mizzou. Robertson tossed a flawless frame with two strikeouts, while Lancaster allowed one unearned run in 1.0 inning of work.
Dillard produced a save for the second-straight day. The Tigers' closer struck out the side in his lone inning of work, marking the second time this season he's accomplished the feat.

Up Next

Mizzou concludes its five-game homestand Tuesday and Wednesday with a two-game series versus Northern Illinois. First pitch both evenings at Taylor Stadium is scheduled for 6:30 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.

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