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 Justin James tied a career high with eight innings in Mizzou's 14-2 win on Friday. |
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Tigers Continue Win Streak With 14-2 Pounding of K-State
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March 28, 2003
MANHATTAN, Kan. - Freshman SS Adam Garrett (Sikeston, Mo.) went 3-for-3 with four runs scored, and junior RHP Justin James (Yukon, Okla.) was masterful on a windy day in central Kansas to lead Missouri to a 14-2 win over Kansas State in the series opener Friday at Frank Myers Field. It is the sixth straight win for the Tigers (18-8, 4-3 Big 12), who snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Wildcats. James scattered eight hits - four of which came in the eighth inning with the game out of hand - throwing 110 pitches in a career-high-tying 8.0 innings. He allowed just two runners to reach third base, and was aided by three double plays in the contest. Garrett has been in the starting lineup since junior Ian Kinsler (Tucson, Ariz.) injured his foot at Texas on March 16. Garrett was 1-for-10 before his insertion into the starting lineup; since then, he has hit safely and scored in every game, batting .619 (13-for-21) in that six-game span to raise his season average to .452. Mizzou had its first rally thwarted in the second. Junior 1B Cody Ehlers (Stillwater, Okla.) walked and moved to second on a wild pitch with none out. Ehlers was tagged out in a close play at third on a grounder by junior C Brad Flanders (Smithville, Mo.), which preceded a double to left-center by junior 2B Jeremy Hernandez (Aptos, Calif.).
The Tigers got on board with four runs on three hits in the third off Wildcat starter Jim Ripley (2-2). After a foulout by senior OF Jayce Tingler (Smithville, Mo.), freshman 3B Zane Taylor (Kirksville, Mo.) walked to load the bases. Senior DH Lee Laskowski (Clayton, Mo.) singled to left to score junior LF Ryan Rallo (Chesterfield, Mo.). Ehlers hit a ground-rule double down the right-field line to score Garrett and Taylor, and chase Ripley. Flanders hit a sacrifice fly to right to score Laskowski.
Taylor hit his first career homer in the fourth, a three-run bash to right on a full count with two out. That propelled the Tigers to bat around and get two more two-out runs for a 9-0 lead. Mizzou added three more runs in the fifth with four straight hits off reliever Andrew Ehling. Tim Doty hit a first-pitch fastball over the right-field wall for his seventh homer of the season, a two-run job, to spoil James' shutout bid. Despite the four hits in the inning, James was able to induce Zack Saunders into hitting a double play to Ehlers to end the inning. "I thought Justin was fantastic tonight," Head Coach Tim Jamieson said. "Offensively, we gave him some room - If you score the first runs on the road, the odds are generally in your favor - and he did a tremendous job. It took him some time, but he was effective with his changeup later in the game." The Tigers and Wildcats will play the middle game of the series on Saturday at 2 p.m. |