by Gary Cotton

Missouri baseball coach Tim Jamieson knew early on that his team’s offensive consistency would be a challenge. After being swept in San Francisco in early March, he was focused on getting hits from Conner Mach, Blake Brown and Eric Garcia. After the team’s practice on March 1, Jamieson said:

“If these guys don’t hit then we won’t be able to score runs. It’s something we have to fix now, we know that they’re capable.”

The Tigers have proven they’re capable, but, after 50 games, they haven’t proven they can be consistent. The Tigers are in sixth place in the Big 12 with a record of 25-22. Although the team is registering its lowest hit totals all season, Jamieson stands by Brown, Garcia and Mach, saying consistency problems have plagued the entire team’s offense.

“Those three are key, but we have multiple guys struggling right now,” Jamieson said. “You can overcome one, maybe two guys struggling, but we have four, five and six struggling at the same time.” Below are hitting statistics for Brown, Mach, and Garcia through Sunday, May 6.

As of Monday, May 7, Scott Sommerfeld leads the team with a batting average of .306 and Dane Opel is second, with an average of .288.

The Tigers are scheduled to face Missouri State on Wednesday at 6 p.m., followed by a their last home stand, a three-game series against Memphis this weekend. They finish the season May 17, 18 and 19 at Kansas.