Senne extends MU winning streak to 12

Maybe it was the strain of playing five games in five days. Perhaps it was a case of looking ahead rather than focusing on the game at hand. Or, it might simply have been time for the Missouri baseball team to face a challenge.

Whatever the reason, the Tigers had to work harder than they have needed to in recent weeks to stay undefeated at home and bring their winning streak to 12 games with a 6-4 win against Cleveland State on Sunday afternoon at Taylor Stadium.

Missouri entered the eighth inning Sunday in the rare situation of needing to produce runs late in the game. With the game tied at 4, coach Tim Jamieson called on freshman Aaron Senne to pinch hit for Dan Quinn with one out, two runners on base and plenty of confidence to maintain before Big 12 Conference play begins next weekend at No. 16 Nebraska.

Despite his inexperience at the college level, Senne handles himself like a veteran. After taking two pitches to get a feel for Vikings pitcher Dylan Henry, Senne sailed a double into the gap in left-center field, scoring pinch runner Kurt Calvert and left fielder Jacob Priday.

After the hit, freshman closer Kyle Gibson sealed the game and earned his second win of the season.

After the game, Senne said he is glad the team has confidence in him.

“They count on me, so I have some weight on my back,” he said. “But I don’t mind. I like to come in and come through.”

Before Sunday’s series finale, the Tigers (18-5) had not trailed at any point in a game since March 10, when they overcame a five-run deficit against Dallas Baptist. The team’s most recent loss came against Memphis on Feb. 25.

After failing to score a run in the first inning for the first time in 10 games, Missouri fell behind in the second inning when Vikings left fielder Nate Radtke hit a three-run home run off starter Greg Folgia into the Missouri bullpen behind the left field wall.

Folgia said that he was having trouble controlling his curveball and slider in the opening innings of the game, but he was still surprised to see the ball fly over the wall.

“I thought it was just a routine fly ball,” he said. “But it just kept going and going. It just shows that you need to concentrate on every pitch, or they’ll crush you.”

Missouri worked its way back thanks to a two-run home run by freshman catcher Trevor Coleman. Coleman has the fourth highest RBI total on the team despite having played in only 14 of 23 games to this point. Coleman said production from the bench is what makes Missouri so dangerous.

“You’ve got to be able to come out when you’re not hitting well and still piece together a win,” he said. “And with this team, you’ve got guys on the bench that come through when they get an opportunity.

“It’s not a nine-person sport.”

To Jamieson, having to work harder to earn a win Sunday will benefit the Tigers, who will see a significant jump in the quality of their competition when conference play begins.

“We probably won’t lead the entire series next weekend, so this was probably good for us,” Jamieson said.