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 Cody Ehlers snapped out of a hitting slump with a pair of homers and a three-RBI, three-run night. |
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Tigers Pound Five Homers in 11-7 Win Over No. 17 Kansas
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March 21, 2003
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Junior 1B Cody Ehlers (Stillwater, Okla.) hit two home runs and went 3-for-5 with three RBI and three runs to lead Missouri to an 11-7 win over No. 17 Kansas at Taylor Stadium/Simmons Field on Friday. In the first of a three-game weekend series, the Tigers (14-8, 1-3 Big 12) equaled their season and Big 12 best set on Opening Day by hammering five homers off Jayhawk pitching, which came into the game allowing just seven home runs in its first 26 games. Eight of the nine spots in the Tiger lineup notched both a hit and a run. After junior right-hander Justin James (Yukon, Okla.) mowed through the Jayhawk order with nine strikeouts in the first four innings, KU (20-7, 0-1) got on board first in the fifth with a pair of runs. Yet Missouri scored seven in the bottom half of the inning with the help of three homers. Junior 2B Jeremy Hernandez (Aptos, Calif.) started the barrage with a one-out solo shot to right. After freshman 3B Zane Taylor (Kirksville, Mo.) knocked a two-out RBI single up the middle, junior Lee Laskowski (Clayton, Mo.) hit a three-run homer to right. That was followed by a two-run shot by Ehlers to give Mizzou a 7-2 lead. Yet despite a career-high 12 strikeouts, James was forced out of the game in the seventh when the Jayhawks scored five runs on five hits to tie the game.
Mizzou struck back with a two-run seventh of their own after Ehlers led off the inning with a homer to right-center. Freshman SS Adam Garrett (Sikeston, Mo.) then singled home junior C Brad Flanders (Smithville, Mo.) for his third hit of the game.
In the eighth, sophomore closer Travis Wendte (Moore, Okla.) entered the game and gave up a pair of leadoff singles. Yet he struck out Ryan Baty, induced an outfield forceout at second base, and got out of the jam when Flanders made an athletic sliding grab of a Matt Tribble foul ball at the screen. The Tigers added a pair of insurance runs in the eighth with a solo homer to right by junior OF Ryan Rallo (Chesterfield, Mo.) and a fielders choice off the bat of Hernandez. Reliever Brandon Johnson, who came into the game with a 4-1 record, a 1.50 ERA and two saves, took the loss. Junior righty Andy Shipman (Bellevue, Neb.) got the final two outs of the seventh to pick up the win (2-2), while Wendte registered his fourth save of the season. "It was a great game," said Head Coach Tim Jamieson. "I'm very impressed with Kansas, but I'm more impressed with our guys and the way they battled back. The way the game went, it could have been won by anybody. Our guys did a great job of hitting their mistakes. There are so many guys that came through for us tonight." The Tigers and Jayhawks continue their series on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Taylor Stadium/Simmons Field. For ticket information, call 1-800-CAT-PAWS (573-884-PAWS in mid-Missouri). |