Five-run 9th inning gives Tigers victory over Jayhawks

Whether you're a Kansas Jayhawk or a Missouri Tiger, you understand the importance when these two teams clash in a sport. Both teams met inside a misty, dreary Kauffman Stadium, home to the Kansas City Royals. With the game tied at 3 headed into the ninth inning, the Missouri offense broke through to deal another blow to the Kansas bullpen.

Free Bases Hurt the Kansas Pitching Staff

The Kansas Jayhawks didn't want to burn a starter heading into the start of Big 12 play, so this matchup turned into a bullpen game. In all Kansas used six pitchers, starting with Karter Muck. Muck completed 1 2/3 innings giving up one hit, two runs, three walks, and one strikeout in 40 pitches before handing the baseball to Hunter Cashero. Cashero tossed 2 1/3 innings giving up two hits, one run, two walks, and one strikeout in 47 pitches.

The highlight for the Jayhawks' pitching staff was Thaniel Trumper. Trumper stopped the Tigers from scoring for three innings. He walked two batters but struck out three in 57 pitches. As discussed in the game preview, the pitching staff needed to limit the damage. Unfortunately, the Jayhawks walked eight Tigers. Essentially Kansas did not limit the damage as they gave the No. 15 team in the nation free base runners resulting in eight runs scored. Missouri's first basemen Hank Zeisler took advantage of the Kansas mistakes, going 2-for-5 with five RBIs and his ninth home run of the season.

Jayhawk Hitters Stifled by the Tigers Pitching

The Jayhawk hitters could not get anything going against the Missouri pitching staff. The Tigers' starting pitcher, Logan Lunceford, delivered on the mound pitching six innings, giving up only two hits, two walks, and nine strikeouts. In 102 pitches, he faced 23 batters and surrendered zero runs. The first run for Kansas did not cross the plate until the seventh inning when the Jayhawks loaded the bases on three walks. Unfortunately, the potential big inning diminished when Michael Brooks rolled into a double play. Luke Leto scored on the double play, but once again, the Jayhawks stranded runners in scoring position. On a positive note, Chase Jans continues his hitting streak to 15 games, and Mike Koszewski continues to get on base as his streak extends to 17 games.

Head coach Dan Fitzgerald talked about playing at Kauffman Stadium, “It was a great environment tonight. Our fans showed up as they always do. We had great backing from them against a really, really quality opponent. We’ll see the same thing this weekend at TCU. These games are always decided by inches. We fight back in that one and make it a game. Every game you play like this prepares you for the next one.”

As Fitzgerald said, the next series kicks off Big 12 play as Kansas heads back on the road to take on the TCU Horned Frogs. The first game is on Friday, March 24th, at 6:30 pm CST.

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