LAKE CHARLES, La. – Mizzou Baseball (4-4) fell 12-4 Wednesday at McNeese State in a midweek non-conference matchup. The Cowboys utilized a big nine-run third inning to break open this afternoon’s ballgame.
The Tigers’ offense matched McNeese State’s 14 total hits, but the difference in the game was their 15 baserunners left on base. Despite Wednesday’s loss, four Tigers posted multi-hit efforts at the plate, led by a career-high four hits from junior Mark Vierling.
#ShowMe Top Performers
- Vierling: 4-for-5, R, 2 2B, 2 RBI
- Brandt Belk: 3-for-4, R, HR, 2 RBI, BB
- Seth Halvorsen: 2-for-3, R, 2B, 2 BB
- Clayton Peterson: 2-for-4, BB
- Shane Wilhelm: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
- Tom Skoro: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
Coach Bieser Postgame Soundbites
On this afternoon’s contest in Lake Charles, Louisiana…
“It was a very difficult game. They came out and put it to us. You have to give them credit. We gave some opportunities away. We had some baserunning mistakes again and we got to clean those up really quick. You don’t know what could’ve happened if we had made better decisions on the basepaths. We couldn’t do anything today other than putting one run up in an inning. When you have 14 hits you expect a lot more runs.”
On the team’s consistent offensive attack despite being down…
“That’s what I told them after the game. There was no quit. We battled, hung in there and gave ourselves some opportunities. We just couldn’t come up with a big hit and get more than one run an inning. However, I saw some better at bats today and saw some guys who were scuffling hang in there and have better at bats. We’ll continue to get better. We were 4-4 last year and there won’t be anyone panicking.”
#MIZ Takeaways
- Vierling was outstanding at the plate as aforementioned, recording a single-game career-best four hits. He previously had recorded a personal best three hits in a game six times over his three-year career.
- Belk continues to lead the Tigers offense this season, as he ripped a season-high three hits Wednesday. The Houston, Texas, native also launched his second home run of the season today and is currently riding a team-best seven-game hitting streak.
- Halvorsen and C. Peterson joined Vierling and Belk with multi-hit games this afternoon. The Tiger duo both now possess two multi-hit games overall this year.
- Freshman Shane Wilhelm and redshirt junior Tom Skoro each made their Mizzou debuts out of the bullpen against the Cowboys. Both were fantastic, as Wilhelm posted 2.0 scoreless frames, while Skoro added one shutout inning with three strikeouts.
Up Next
- The Tigers will head to Houston, Texas, this weekend for the 2020 Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic.
- Mizzou will play three games in three days inside Minute Maid Park, beginning with a Friday (Feb. 28) matchup against Baylor. First pitch between the Tigers and Bears is slated for 11 a.m. CT.
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