COLUMBIA — Six Tigers had two or more hits in support of staff ace Aaron Crow, but none was bigger than Aaron Senne’s.
Down two runs in the first inning — a rare predicament with Crow on the mound — Senne’s first career grand slam staked the Tigers to a lead they wouldn’t relinquish en route to a 7-5 victory against Cal on Friday in San Diego.
Senne finished the game 2-for-4, and his five RBIs tied him with Jacob Priday — who continued his hot hitting, going 3-for-5 with an RBI — for the team lead in that department. Senior Kurt Calvert, who has had a hit in all four games he has appeared in, added three hits of his own, including triples in back-to-back at-bats. Calvert is the first Tiger to have two triples in a game since James Boone did it in 2005.
Crow moved to 2-0 on the season with the win, and settled down considerably after a rough first inning in which he allowed two runs on three hits. He registered a career high 10 strikeouts in the game, even though he departured after throwing only five innings.
The win against Cal (3-1-1) was Missouri’s (4-1) first game in the USD Tournament, and they continued play at 8 p.m. Friday against San Diego State. The Tigers play San Diego at 3 p.m. on Saturday.