Pitching collapse ends Tigers’ run

Missouri’s pitching staff got an unsympathetic reminder of the quality of the competition offered in Big 12 Conference play on Sunday.

Four Tiger pitchers allowed 12 earned runs off of 10 hits in the bottom of the sixth inning against Nebraska (13-9, 2-4), and the game was eventually called at 16-1 after seven innings because of the conference’s 10-run rule.

Ian Berger, Brant Combs, Ryan Allen and Ryan Gargano pitched for Missouri (20-6, 2-1) in the sixth.

Freshman starter Greg Folgia allowed three earned runs off of five hits with two walks and no strike outs and was replaced after 4 1/3 innings by Scooter Hicks, who faced only three batters in one-third of an inning before being replaced by Berger in the bottom of the fifth inning.

The Cornhuskers hit three home runs in the sixth inning, including a grand slam by designated hitter Jeff Tezak, who had six RBIs in the frame.

After the game, Missouri coach Tim Jamieson said that the pitching staff’s ugly inning was a reminder of the type of pressure Missouri pitchers will face now that conference play has begun.

“We just lost our composure on the mound, it’s as simple as that,” he said in a radio interview. “(The pitchers) got caught up in everything else and stopped thinking about what we needed to do.”

The loss ended a 14-game wining streak for the Tigers. Freshman Trevor Coleman, who started the year as the Tigers’ backup catcher but started all three games over the weekend, was ejected in the sixth by home plate umpire Patrick Spieler and replaced by Dan Pietroburgo.

Missouri will remain in Nebraska until Tuesday when it travels to Omaha for one game against Creighton before returning to Columbia for a weekend series against Kansas.