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Sunday - May 24, 2009

Game 55: Missouri at Texas (Big 12 Tournament)

The Aggies beat the Red Raiders late last night to send Mizzou to the Championship Game. Texas won the coin toss so got to play home team. My game description below is mostly based on the FSN broadcast.

Today's starting line-ups:

Missouri	Texas
1 Austin Holt, 2b 2 Ryan Lollis, rf 3 Greg Folgia, cf 4 Aaron Senne, lf 5 Kyle Mach, 3b 6 Steve Gray, 1b 7 Ryan Ampleman, c 8 McLagan Garrison, dh 9 Michael Liberto, ss - Scooter Hicks, p	1 Travis Tucker, 2b 2 Brandon Belt, 1b 3 Michael Torres, 3b 4 Cameron Rupp, dh 5 Brandon Loy, ss 6 Kevin Keyes, rf 7 Preston Clark, c 8 Tant Shepherd, lf 9 Connor Rowe, cf - Brandon Workman, p

Coach Garrido said in the pre-game show on the radio that Cameron Rupp's injured finger is not bothered at all by batting so he's got dh duties today. And, Keith commented that he expected there might be at least one rain delay. Oh, joy.

Here's how things played out:

• 1st inning, Missouri
• Brandon Workman (rhp) on the mound for Texas.
• Holt was hit by a full-count pitch (upper arm).
• After the first pitch to Lollis (a ball), Skip Johnson made a trip to the mound.
• Holt stole 2b on the 3rd pitch to Lollis. The throw from Clark was low and away from the bag toward 1b and skipped into cf, allowing Holt to reach 3b (E2).
• Lollis struck out swinging.
• Folgia hit a bloop single into shallow lf, scoring Holt.
• Senne flew out to cf...nice long run by Rowe.
• Mach flew out to lf.
• Texas down 0-1.
• 1st inning, Texas
• Scooter Hicks (lhp) on the mound for Missouri.
• Tucker flew out to lf at the warning track.
• Belt grounded out to 1b (unassisted).
• Torres grounded out to 2b.
• 2nd inning, Missouri
• Gray stuck out swinging.
• Ampleman drew a 5-pitch walk.
• McLagan struck out swinging.
• Liberto struck out swinging.
• Struck out the side!
• 2nd inning, Texas
• Rupp struck out swinging.
• Loy flew out to lf at the warning track.
• Keyes struck out swinging.
• 3rd inning, Missouri
• Holt drew a 4-pitch walk.
• Lollis popped out to ss (between 3b and the mound...closer to 3b).
• Holt stole 2b on the 2nd pitch to Folgia.
• Folgia struck out swinging (full count).
• Senne flew out to cf.
• 3rd inning, Texas
• Clark hit a solo homerun over the lf fence!!!
• Shepherd flew out to cf.
• Rowe grounded out to the pitcher. The hard liner went off the pitcher's left thigh (?) and bounced toward the 1b line. He jumped off the mound, chased down the ball, and threw Rowe out at 1b.
• Tucker lined out to rf. Nice diving catch by the right fielder.
• Game tied 1-1.
• 4th inning, Missouri
• Texas sent Austin Dicharry (rhp) to the mound, replacing Workman.
• Mach reached on a throwing error by 3b. The ball from Torres was a bit off-line (toward home plate) and was knocked loosed as the runner arrived at the same time as the throw.
• Gray hit into a 3-6-1 double play! Nicely turned.
• Ampleman grounded out to ss.
• 4th inning, Texas
• Belt was hit by a 2-2 pitch (near his waist, I think).
• Torres singled (full count) through the right side, moving Belt to 3b. Lucky break for the Horns. Belt hesitated as he rounded 2b and then took off. He beat the relay throw but if the right fielder had thrown immediately, he would've been out...or, at the very least, caught in a run-down. Whew.
• The Tigers sent Ian Berger (rhp) to the mound, replacing Hicks.
• Rupp drew a full-count walk to load the bases.
• Loy (with the corners pulled in) singled past 3b into lf, scoring Belt and Torres. Rupp moved up to 2b.
• Keyes drew a full-count walk to re-load the bases.
• Missouri sent Ryan Clubb (rhp) to the mound, replacing Berger.
• Clark hit a single to the warning track in lf. The left fielder slipped as he stepped on the warning track and the ball fell in front of him. The Texas runners all had to wait up to see if the ball would get caught so only one run scored. Bases still loaded. Brandon Loy almost didn't beat the relay throw from left field. Yikes.
• Russell Moldenhauer, pinch-hitting for Shepherd, hit a sac fly to cf, scoring Loy. First out of the inning.
• With Rowe at the plate, the pitcher balked, moving Keyes to 3b and Clark to 2b.
• Rowe was hit by a 2-2 pitch (chest area).
• Missouri sent Phil McCormick (lhp) to the mound, replacing Clubb.
• Tucker was hit by a pitch (thigh). RBI.
• Belt grounded into a 3-2 fielder's choice. Bases still loaded.
• Torres reached on a 5-pitch walk. RBI.
• Rupp hit a grand slam!!!
• Loy hit a triple to left center. The center fielder dove for the ball and missed it, giving Loy time to make it to 3b with a stand-up triple.
• Missouri sent Ryan Gargano (lhp) to the mound, replacing McCormick.
• Keyes doubled off the base of the wall in lf, scoring Loy.
• Clark (15th batter of the inning) flew out to cf.
• Wow.
• Texas up 12-1.
• 5th inning, Missouri
• Tim Maitland went into lf for Texas, taking Moldenhauer's spot in the line-up.
• McLagan struck out looking.
• Liberto drew a 5-pitch walk.
• Holt tripled to the wall in left center, scoring Liberto.
• Lollis singled through the left side, scoring Holt.
• Lollis stole 2b and then moved up to 3b on another throwing error by the catcher. The ball was more on target but short-hopped a bit and went into cf.
• Folgia lined out to cf. Great diving catch by Rowe. Lollis scored on the play (sac fly).
• Senne drew a 4-pitch walk.
• After starting Mach off with a ball, Skip Johnson made a trip to the mound.
• Mach flew out to rf. Nice catch by Keyes.
• Texas up 12-4.
• 5th inning, Texas
• David Hernandez (pinch-hitting for Maitland, and wearing a #5 jersey) flew out to cf.
• Rowe struck out swinging.
• Tucker grounded out to ss.
• 6th inning, Missouri
• Texas kept Hernandez in the game in lf and sent Cole Green (rhp) to the mound, replacing Dicharry.
• Gray struck out looking.
• Ampleman grounded out to ss.
• Connor Mach (pinch-hitting for McLagan) struck out looking.
• 6th inning, Texas
• Belt singled through the right side.
• Torres hit into a 4-6-3 double play.
• Rupp struck out swinging.
• 7th inning, Missouri
• Liberto grounded out to 3b. Great back-hand catch and throw across the field by Torres who stopped the ball as it was headed down the line.
• Holt grounded out to ss. Another great play by Loy to stop the ball deep in the hole and then throw to 1b in time to make the out.
• Lollis reached on a full-count walk.
• Folgia flew out to lf.
• 7th inning, Texas
• Loy reached on a fielding error by ss (couldn't quite shot-hop a high-bouncing grounder).
• Keyes grounded into a 6-4-3 double play.
• Missouri sent Tyler Clark (rhp) to the mound, replacing Gargano.
• Clark struck out swinging.
• 8th inning, Missouri
• Texas sent Kyle Lusson into rf, replacing Keyes.
• Senne struck out swinging.
• Kyle Mach flew out to cf (after fouling off 5 pitches).
• Gray singled through the left side.
• Ampleman drew a full-pitch walk, moving Gray to 2b.
• Conner Mach flew out to cf.
• 8th inning, Texas
• Jeff Emens (rhp) went to the mound for Missouri, replacing Clark.
• Hernandez singled through the right side.
• Rowe flew out to cf, a few feet shy of the warning track.
• Tucker flew out to cf.
• The Tigers sent Kelly Fick (lhp) to the mound, replacing Emens.
• Belt lined out to rf.
• 9th inning, Missouri
• Liberto drew a 5-pitch walk.
• After Holt started off with 2 balls, Texas sent Austin Wood (lhp) to the mound, replacing Green.
• Holt (who as hitting from the left side when Green was at the mound, switched to the right for Wood) and went on to draw a 4-pitch walk. The walk is charged to Green.
• Lollis drew a full-count walk. Bases loaded on 3 walks. Sigh...
• Folgia reached on a fielding error by 2b. Tucker appeared to take his eye off the ground ball in anticipation of the flip to ss and booted the ball to his right. Liberto scored. Bases still loaded.
• Senne drew a full-count walk to score a run.
• Skip Johnson made a visit to the mound.
• Kyle Mach hit a sac fly to rf, scoring Lollis and moving Folgia to 3b.
• Gray grounded into a 1-4-3 double play.
• Geesh. Texas wins 12-7. Whew.

That was ugly. Yikes. But, it counts. So: yay! Mizzou used 8 pitchers. Texas used 4. Both teams turned 2 double plays. Highlight of the day, of course: Cameron Rupp's grand slam.

Some of the post-game comments. Coach Garrido (on TV):

We didn't show a lot of character at the end there. That shows how fast the demon fear creeps into the minds of these young players. He's been the most successful closer in college baseball this year and he felt the pressure of winning. I think Cole Green was the key to [the win]. The quality innings that he pitched really helped us out and took a lot of the pressure off the pitching staff.

When asked about the homeruns by Clark and Rupp (on TV):

In college baseball you see that all the time...championships are decided by the unexpected.

Coach Garrido (in his conversation with Keith Moreland on the radio):

We'd like to see it finish different but that's the vulnerability of college baseball. They lost their balance and their focus. That shows the role that the mind plays and how it interferes. It's really difficult when it turns on you. We'll be hosting a Regional and are one of the top 8 seeds. We've got some bull-pen work to do this week. All of this will come back together.

Brandon Loy (on the radio with Keith Moreland):

It's an honor and fun to come out here and play with these guys. The field is quick and is obviously different from what we have at home. It's a challenge but like what we'll be playing in Omaha so we have to get used to it. I'm just gonna keep doing what I'm doing and hopefully we'll pull off a lot of wins.

Here's the line (from LiveStats):

Austin Dicharry ended up with the win to move his record to 7-2. I'll be back shortly with a post about the all-tournament team. And, maybe a couple of surprises. Maybe. Hook 'em!

Posted by Joanna at 5:08 PM