Category Archives: Missouri Baseball

Mizzou’s Gavin Stark arrested for burglary

Leave a Comment Posted by on May 7, 2013

By Zach Garcia

Gavin Stark, a senior baseball player for Missouri, was arrested early Tuesday morning.

Gavin Stark, a senior baseball player for Missouri, was arrested early Tuesday morning. (Photo: Boone County Sheriff’s Dept.)

A mostly disappointing season for the Missouri Tigers baseball team just received another blow, as senior infielder Gavin Stark was arrested on four charges Monday night and is still in custody.

The charges against Stark include first-degree burglary, first-degree property damage, second-degree assault and resisting arrest. While details surrounding Stark’s arrest are still scant, the incident occurred on the University of Missouri campus, near the Reynolds Alumni Center. Stark is being held on a combined $22,000 bond.

A team spokesman confirmed that the team is aware of the arrest and acknowledged that Stark has been suspended indefinitely from all team activities by Missouri Athletics. Due to the nature of the charges, Stark isn’t allowed on university property until cleared by MU, which is unlikely in the near future since Stark is still being held.

Stark is currently in his second season with Missouri after transferring from Fort Scott Community College. The Lee’s Summit, Mo., native started 17 games at first base for the Tigers last season, but has been mostly relegated to pinch hitting duties in 2013 thanks to the emergence of freshman Josh Lester. Stark is hitting .091 in 23 plate appearances for the 15-28 Tigers.

Missouri Baseball , , , , ,

Mizzou baseball struggles at Texas A&M, fighting to make SEC tourney

Leave a Comment Posted by on May 6, 2013

By John Guminski

The Missouri baseball team endured another tough weekend, dropping all three games to Texas A&M (25-22, 10-13 Southeastern Conference) in College Station, Texas.

The Tigers struggled at the plate, hitting .194 for the weekend and leaving 25 runners on base. They also committed six errors in the field, with four coming in the ninth inning of the Saturday game.

The sweep moved Missouri (15-28, 7-17) in the wrong direction if they hope to make the conference tournament. Missouri has six games remaining on its SEC schedule with three at Alabama and three at home against Kentucky.

Read more of this post

Missouri Baseball, SEC, SEC Tournament , , , , ,

Mizzou is out hit by SEMO in a 9-7 loss

Leave a Comment Posted by on May 1, 2013

Text by John Guminski

Photos by Zach Garcia

Southeast Missouri State first baseman Matt Tellor (19) celebrates with his teammates after defeating Missouri 9-7 on Tuesday. Tellor hit a tie-breaking, solo home run in the top of the ninth inning to put the Tigers away for good in a back-and-forth game on April 30, 2013 at Taylor Stadium in Columbia.

Southeast Missouri State first baseman Matt Tellor (19) celebrates with his teammates after defeating Missouri 9-7 on Tuesday. Tellor hit a tie-breaking, solo home run in the top of the ninth inning to put the Tigers away for good in a back-and-forth game on April 30, 2013 at Taylor Stadium in Columbia.

Before Missouri (15-25) recorded an out on Tuesday evening, it took a blow both on the scoreboard and to its outfield.

With a runner on first, left fielder Case Munson made a sprawling attempt at a sinking line drive, only to come up short. Munson immediately grabbed for his shoulder as the ball rolled all the way to the wall.

By the time the relay throw came to home, it was too late, and the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks (21-25) had a two run lead.

Munson left the game, but coach Tim Jamieson is hopeful that he will be able to play this weekend at Texas A&M.

Read more of this post

Missouri Baseball, SEC , , , , , , ,

Words on the walk-up: Mizzou players weigh in on their personal theme songs

Leave a Comment Posted by on April 30, 2013

By Zach Garcia and Karl Roskamp

SEC balls 2There’s a growing tradition within the classic day at the ballpark.

Joining the list of sunflower seeds, hot dogs and the occasional scorecard are walk-up songs. These snippets of popular songs introduce each batter as she or he strides to the plate prior to an at-bat.

From Harlem Shake to The Lion King, KBIA’s Zach Garcia and Karl Roskamp outline some of the most unique choices from Missouri’s softball and baseball teams.

EXTRA: Watch the videos that go with some of the featured players’ walk­-up song choices:

Audio, Missouri Baseball, Missouri Softball, SEC , ,

Mizzou baseball scores important doubleheader sweep of Auburn

Leave a Comment Posted by on April 28, 2013

By Zach Garcia

The Missouri Tigers baseball squad salvaged the weekend series against the visiting Auburn Tigers (25-18, 7-14 SEC) with two wins on Sunday but did quite a bit more for themselves in the Southeastern Conference standings.

With the 3-1 Game 1 win and the 4-1 victory in Game 2, Missouri (15-24, 7-14 SEC) catapulted itself into a tie with Auburn for No. 11 in the SEC. With only the top 12 teams earning a berth to the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala. in May, Missouri is very much on the bubble but helped its chances with a strong finish to the weekend.

“(This is) certainly going to help. This was a series against a team that, even though we have the same record, we’re now ahead of them in the standings,” Missouri coach Tim Jamieson said following the Sunday wins. “We haven’t been great this year, but we’ve at least been resilient. We come out just about every day and compete.”

Read more of this post

Missouri Baseball, SEC , , , , , ,

Home runs lead Auburn to a 3-1 victory over Mizzou

Leave a Comment Posted by on April 27, 2013

Text by John Guminski

Photos by Zach Garcia

Auburn starting pitcher Conner Kendrick throws a pitch during the fifth inning of Auburn’s 3-1 win at Taylor Stadium on Friday April 26, 2013.

Auburn starting pitcher Conner Kendrick throws a pitch during the fifth inning of Auburn’s 3-1 win at Taylor Stadium on Friday April 26, 2013.

Starting pitcher Rob Zastryzny knows that he is the person to blame when things go wrong.

“He didn’t get a hold of me, I let him get a hold of me.” Zastryzny said.

Zastryznyis referring to Auburn’s first basemen Garrett Cooper, who hit the second of his two solo home runs on an 0-2 breaking ball that was over the middle of the plate.

Zastryzny allowed three runs while striking out eleven batters, but the home runs were the difference maker in the 2-run loss

“You can make any hitter good and that’s what I did today.” Zastryzny continued. “I’ll take this one on me. It’s really frustrating and knowing this was a team we needed to beat to we needed to beat to get to the tournament, it hurts a little more. I’m sure Brett Graves will pick me up tomorrow because that’s what he does.”

Read more of this post

Missouri Baseball, SEC , , , , , , ,

Strong pitching and defense pace Missouri State past Mizzou baseball team

Leave a Comment Posted by on April 24, 2013

Text by Zach Garcia

Photos by John Guminski

Pitcher Jace James (10) delivers a first-inning strike. James pitched three innings, and allowed two runs.

Pitcher Jace James (10) delivers a pitch in the first inning. James pitched three innings, and allowed two runs on April 24, 2013 at Taylor Stadium in Columbia.

Missouri left fielder Dane Opel hit a line drive in the first inning almost perfectly. Almost.

Opel drove the ball 399 feet to straightaway center field, but could’ve used an extra 12 inches. Missouri State center fielder Tate Matheny jumped and crashed into the outfield wall to make a highlight reel catch, just before Opel’s line drive was about to carom off the 400-foot indicator.

“All you can do is smile on that one,” Opel said. “He made a good play.”

That play set the tone for the Missouri Tigers (13-23), who fell to in-state foe Missouri State 4-2 at Taylor Stadium on Wednesday. Starting pitcher Matt Hall carried the visiting Bears (26-11), going seven innings, while allowing one run on three hits and striking out six batters.

Despite an initial eight innings of frustration at the plate, Missouri mustered a ninth inning rally that, much like Opel’s first inning swing, came up just short. The Tigers put together a one-out rally that scored one run and put two more runners in scoring position. But pinch hitter Jake Ivory’s check-swing strikeout and second baseman Kendall Keeton’s ground out to the shortstop cut the comeback two runs short. Missouri State closing pitcher Grant Gordon notched a shaky save in the process, but did strike out three batters in two innings of relief to seal the 4-2 win.

Missouri State turned a handful of good defensive plays, following Matheny’s first inning catch at the wall. In the bottom of the second inning, Missouri State second baseman Andy Cheray made a play on a ground ball up the middle, and then threw across his body to beat Missouri catcher Dylan Kelly at first base.

In the fifth inning, Missouri State’s third baseman Joey Hawkins dove to catch a line drive down the third base line and recovered to throw out Keeton running to first base. In the seventh inning, Hawkins grabbed a hard hit ball by the Tigers shortstop Dillon Everett just before it hit the infield dirt, and then threw Kelly out at first base for a double play.

Read more of this post

Missouri Baseball, SEC , , , , , , ,

Tigers’ offense explodes in 8-2 win over Florida

Leave a Comment Posted by on April 21, 2013

By John Guminski

Editor’s note: This story has been changed to correct errors in the retelling of the scoring. KBIA regrets the error.

Missouri’s bats did the talking Sunday afternoon, as the Tigers defeated the No. 19 Florida Gators by a score of 8-2.

The Tigers have struggled at the beginning of SEC play, going 5-13 against their new rivals.

The hitters were locked in at the plate from the beginning. Sophomore outfielder Logan Pearson launched the first pitch of the Tiger offense over the right field fence, the first of 14 hits for the Tigers in their victory.  Missouri added another run in first inning with a Dylan Kelly RBI single.

Read more of this post

Missouri Baseball, SEC , , , , , ,

Mizzou baseball overpowered in Vanderbilt sweep

Leave a Comment Posted by on April 15, 2013

By Zach Garcia

The Missouri baseball team endured a rough road trip, dropping all three games of a weekend series at the hands of No. 3 Vanderbilt Commodores (33-4, 14-1 Southeastern Conference) in Nashville, Tenn.

In losing three in a row, the Tigers (12-20, 4-11 SEC) were outscored by a combined run total of 39-10 and surrendered double-digit run counts in each of the three losses.

While Missouri’s starting pitching corps has arguably been strong this season, poor performances on the mound sunk the Tigers. None of the Tigers’ starting pitchers (Rob Zastryzny, Brett Graves and Keaton Steele) were able to make it through five innings in their starts and combined to allow 24 runs (23 earned) while only striking out a combined 12 batters. All three starting pitchers were also charged with losses.

At the plate, Missouri produced several strong at-bats but were overmatched by Vanderbilt’s consistent offensive production. Leadoff man Case Munson and Dylan Kelly led the tigers at the plate. Munson reached base six times and lifted his first collegiate home run just over the left field fence and off of a low-standing scoreboard during Saturday’s game at Hawkins Field. The sophomore outfielder finished the series with three runs batted in. Kelly continued a season-long hot streak on offense, reaching base four times and holding his batting average steady at .333.

Missouri will begin this week’s action by finishing a home-and-home series with Missouri State (21-10). The Tigers beat the Bears in a tightly contested 5-4 game last Tuesday in Springfield, and the in-state rivals will face each other once more for a 6 p.m. game Wednesday at Taylor Stadium.

Game Capsules:

Friday: Vanderbilt 11, Missouri 5

The Tigers squandered two early-inning leads, including a 4-3 mark after an inning and a half, as the Commodores eventually powered their way past Rob Zastryzny and four Missouri relief pitchers. Zastryzny was tagged with his sixth loss of the season after giving up six runs on eight hits and four walks in 4 innings pitched. He also struck out six. Missouri pitchers Jake Walsh (three runs in an inning pitched) and Peter Fairbanks (two runs on two batters faced and no outs recorded) were also roughed up, but John Miles pitched two scoreless innings. Missouri outfielder Dane Opel hit his third home run of the year, a solo shot in the seventh inning, but Vanderbilt countered with three home runs of its own – including two from outfielder Connor Harrell.

Saturday: Vanderbilt 12, Missouri 1

Case Munson hit a home run in the fourth inning to put the Tigers on the board, but it was all Vanderbilt for the rest of the afternoon. The Commodores used a strong effort on the mound from starting pitcher Tyler Beede (7 innings pitched, three hits and 10 strikeouts with no walks) and 19 hits at the plate to cruise to their second win of the weekend. Missouri starting pitcher Brett Graves was battered around, giving up nine earned runs on 12 hits in 4 1/3 innings to fall to a personal 0-5 mark on the season.

Sunday: Vanderbilt 16, Missouri 4

The Tigers managed a better output on offense Sunday, scoring three times on a rally in the fourth inning and adding another run in the seventh, but the Commodores were once again too much for visiting Missouri to handle. Vanderbilt set a season-high mark for runs in the blowout, led by Connor Harrell’s four hits and four runs batted in. Reigning SEC Player of the Week Keaton Steele was inserted into the lineup as both the starting pitcher and the third hitter for Missouri on Sunday but faltered in both slots. He went hitless in three at-bats on offense and lasting only 3 2/3 innings on the mound, giving up nine runs (eight earned runs) on eight hits and four walks.

Quick hits from the weekend:

• With a 4-11 record midway through its Southeastern Conference schedule, Missouri is ranked 13th in the 14-team SEC Conference standings with fifteen more conference games to play. Only the top 12 teams qualify for the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala. in May, and the Tigers currently trail both Auburn (5-10) and Tennessee (5-10) by one game in the standings. Georgia (3-12) is one game behind Missouri.

• Missouri pitcher Eric Anderson saw his first action since the opening weekend of the season this week, with relief appearances against both Missouri State and Vanderbilt. Anderson, a junior from Highlands Ranch, Colo., was one of Missouri’s top starting pitchers in 2012 before receiving Tommy John Surgery in May. He had a minor restrain of the injury following the Memphis series in February and was brought along slowly by the Missouri coaching staff for precautionary reasons. Anderson pitched a scoreless inning against Missouri State on Tuesday but surrendered two runs on three hits over two innings in Sunday’s loss to the Commodores.

• Sunday’s game concluded a stretch in which the Tigers played 11 of 15 games away from Taylor Stadium. They went 5-10 over the 15-game span. Missouri will play 12 of their final 18 games at home.

 

Missouri Baseball, SEC , , , , , ,

Mizzou baseball’s Keaton Steele takes home SEC Player of the Week honors

Leave a Comment Posted by on April 9, 2013

By Zach Garcia

Rarely can an individual player reasonably be called both the best hitter and best pitcher on a college baseball team, but Missouri junior Keaton Steele is starting to look like a prime example.

Steele was named the SEC Player of the Week on Monday after a huge offensive performance during the Tigers’ weekend series at Georgia. In his first season with Missouri after transferring from Iowa Western Community College, Steele is the only Tiger to earn an SEC Player or Pitcher of the Week award and the first SEC player to earn one of each so far this season.

Steele had six hits in the series against Georgia, three of which went for extra bases, including one that cleared the wall for Steele’s first Division I home run. He drove in three of Missouri’s 17 runs as the Tigers took two of three games from the Bulldogs.

Steele was also awarded SEC Pitcher of the Week honors on March 18 and garnered some consideration to capture that title for a second time with his equally strong performance on the mound in Georgia. Steele pitched 7 1/3 innings on Sunday, coming on with Missouri in a 4-0 deficit and departing with his third win of the season. He finished the game for the Tigers, retiring the final 15 Georgia batters in order, and allowing the Missouri offense to work its way back for an eventual 8-5 win. The final line for Steele included one run on four hits, striking out nine batters in relief.

After pitching over seven innings, Steele will likely not make an appearance on the mound for the Tigers as they prepare for another away contest with in-state power Missouri State (19-8) on Tuesday, but may be inserted in an infield spot for the start. Steele has seen time at both third base and first base, in addition to his pitching duties this season. Instead, starting pitcher Jace James will most likely get the nod for the Tigers in the 6:30pm start at Hammons Field in Springfield, Mo.

Missouri Baseball, SEC , , ,

← Older posts

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 1,292 other followers