Tigers take series from Longhorns

The Missouri baseball team will still need some help winning its first Big 12 Conference championship, but the second-place Tigers furthered their cause by defeating division-leading Texas 5-4 on Sunday in Austin, Texas.

The victory gave Missouri the three-game series and brought the Tigers to within 21/2 games of the Longhorns.

Missouri (33-13, 14-7), which has won five of its past six games against Texas, has six conference games remaining.

Texas (38-14, 18-6) has only three conference games left, finishing Big 12 play with next weekend’s series against Texas A&M.

To have a shot at winning the conference title, Missouri needs the Aggies to take at least one game from the Longhorns. Then Missouri must perform well in its final two three-game series. The Tigers host Oklahoma next weekend and play at Oklahoma State the following weekend.

Freshman catcher Trevor Coleman improved his chances for earning Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors in Sunday’svictory, hitting two home runs and driving in three of Missouri’s five runs. Coleman leads Missouri with eight home runs this season and is second on the team with 38 RBIs. A sixth-inning triple from junior designated hitter Jacob Priday gave him nine-straight extra base hits.