Success continues for MU pitchers

If it has done nothing else in the first 15 games of the season, the Missouri baseball team has certainly silenced any doubts about its young pitching staff.

One year after losing the top two pitchers in his starting rotation to the Major League Baseball draft, coach Tim Jamieson now has a staff averaging a 2.33 ERA and nearly seven strikeouts per game.

On Tuesday night against Louisiana-Monroe, when Jamieson rested the top four pitchers in the starting rotation, it was freshman Greg Folgia, sophomore-transfer Ian Berger and sophomore Brant Combs who combined for seven strikeouts and only one earned run off of six hits and five walks to lead the Tigers to a 5-4 win.

“We’re trying to figure out right now who should be in the pen and who should be starters,” Jamieson said of his staff after the game. “We’ve got a lot of options right now.”

A pair of botched defensive plays by Tiger infielders led to a four run fifth-inning for the Warhawks, tying what had been a 4-0 game and ensuring that neither Berger nor Combs would have any room to relax in the game’s later innings.

Folgia had a perfect game intact until third baseman Kyle Mach dropped a fly ball that soared high above Taylor Stadium and landed just outide the Tiger dugout.

The drop gave Louisana-Monroe’s Travis Drader a second chance, and he capitalized on the opportunity with a single to left-center field. First baseman John McKee added to the troubles with a fielding error later in the inning. Jamieson said that it was sloppy defense, and not Folgia, that let things momentarily slip away.

“We didn’t make plays; it wasn’t (Folgia),” he said. “We gave them five outs.”

After Berger replaced Folgia for 1 2/3 innings, Combs entered in the seventh and did not give up a run or a hit go to along with two walks, earning his first win of the season. Combs said that he enjoys pitching in tight games, especially as a reliever.

“It gets you even more excited to go in, because it’s more important when it’s a tight game,” he said after the game. “You do get a little more jacked up for situations that are important. I typically don’t even go as long as I went tonight. I like staying in there, but definitely as a relief pitcher is where I excel.”

Jamieson said he was all the more pleased with Combs’ performance because the team’s bullpen remains depleted from last weekend’s series against Youngstown State.

“It was outstanding, because we didn’t have a whole lot of options (in the bullpen),” Jamieson said. “Combs looked great.”

Sophomore Ryan Lollis broke the tie in the seventh inning with an RBI single to right field that scored junior Brock Bond, who is currently second on the team in runs scored with 13 for the year.

Freshman Trevor Coleman furthered his case for consistent playing time with his second consecutive two-hit performance. Coleman now leads all Tiger batters with a .417 batting average on the year and maintains a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage as catcher.

“We know (he’s) another guy we need to involve, another guy that gives us a little more depth, because Dan (Pietroburgo) has done a good job too (as catcher),” Jamieson said.

Senior Gary Arndt, who started all but two games for Missouri at shortstop last season, has sat out the Tigers’ last two games with tendonitis in his shoulder. Jamieson said that the cold weather has played a part in the decision to let Arndt rest for a few games, but also said that he may play tomorrow, if temperatures are warmer.

“The cold nights are not good for him right now,” Jamieson said. “We’re trying to keep track of the big picture and make sure he’s ready for conference.”

The Tigers will conclude their two-game series against Louisiana-Monroe at 4 p.m. today at Taylor Stadium before a brief break from competition. The team is next scheduled to play Saint Louis at home on March 14.