Well, when it rains, it pours. The Missouri Tigers (27-17), coming off of a 5-1 loss to Missouri State earlier this week, continued their losing streak in a pair of losses on Friday to the Texas A&M Aggies (31-13).
Tanner Houck (2-7) started the second game for the Tigers and pitched great through the first seven innings. Houck found himself in trouble at the the top of the 8th inning with the game all tied up at one apiece. Houck allowed four hits and three earned runs in the 8th, after only allowing two hits and one run through the first seven innings. Houck recorded his seventh loss of the season, despite retiring 12 straight batters before the fifth inning & having his ninth performance with five or more strikeouts
Chris Cornelius earned the Tigers only run in the third inning after stealing home base off of an Aggies error. The Tigers left lots of points off the board, especially in the third inning. The Tigers had bases loaded with Trey Harris up next to bat. Harris hit a pop fly ball that was caught for an out while leaving three runners on base, to put an emphasis on his 0-4 batting performance.
The Aggies put the final touches on in the top of the ninth, adding three more runs to cushion the 4-1 advantage they already had. Michael Plassmeyer pitched closer for the Tigers and hit two batters with pitches and allowed three runs in the top of the 9th. With the Aggies holding a 7-1 lead at the bottom of the 9th, the Tigers had very little, to no chance of making a comeback. Kaylor Chafin, who picked up his sixth win on the year, retired three straight in the bottom of the 9th to end the game.
The Tigers started off the season on fire, with a 20-1 record. Since then the Tigers are 7-16, 2-8 in their last ten, and are on a five game losing streak. After the rain there is always sunshine. The Tigers will look for redemption & finish out their series against the Aggies this Sunday at 1pm.