Mizzou
Alabama catcher Will Haynie hit a go-ahead solo homer in the bottom of the seventh inning as Mizzou baseball was eliminated from the SEC Tournament with a 4-3 loss on Thursday morning (May 21) at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. The loss drops the Tigers to 30-28 on the season while Alabama improves to 32-27.
Freshman starter Tanner Houck (Collinsville, Ill.) was good through eight innings of work. The difference in the game came in a two-run sixth inning after he retired the first two batters. A walk, an infield hit and a fielder’s choice led to a two-out single by Cody Henry to tie the game at 3-3 and Haynie’s homer came on the first pitch of the seventh inning to give the Tide the lead for good. Houck allowed four runs on six hits (three infield hits) with eight strikeouts against just one walk.
Alabama used a two-out infield hit by Mikey White and a double by Casey Hughston to take an early 1-0 lead despite some good pitching by Houck. Mizzou got on the board in the fifth as Brett Peel (St. Charles, Mo.) roped a two-out double off the glove of Casey Hughtston in right field to score a pair of runs. It was Peel’s third double in the last 10 games.
The Tigers added a run on a two-out RBI single by freshman Trey Harris (Powder Spring, Ga.) in the sixth inning as Mizzou scored its first three runs with all with two outs. Alabama followed that script in the bottom of the sixth inning after Houck got the first two outs of the inning. A two-out walk, an infield hit and a fielder’s choice grounder to the left side loaded the bases. Cody Henry then bounced a two-run single back up the middle to tie the game at 3-3 headed to the seventh inning. Mizzou stranded a pair in the seventh inning and Alabama the catcher Haynie led off the Tide’s half of the seventh with a solo shot to left field to give Alabama 4-3 lead.
Mizzou got no offense off of the Alabama bullpen in the eighth and the ninth inning as the Tide closed the game put for the win.
