@MizzouBaseball Eliminated from SEC Tournament by South Carolina

Thursday, May 25

Hoover, Ala.

1:00 PM

University of Missouri

36-23

South Carolina

34-24

South Carolina

Mizzou

@MizzouBaseball Eliminated from SEC Tournament by South Carolina

5/25/2017 4:25:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Mizzou bats quiet as it now awaits NCAA Tournament fate

HOOVER, Ala. – South Carolina hit four homers as it eliminated Mizzou Baseball from the SEC Tournament with a 10-2 win Thursday at Hoover Met Stadium. With Mizzou trailing 3-0 in the fourth inning, junior Alex Samples (Bridgeport, Texas) just missed a game-tying homer off the top of the wall for an RBI double. South Carolina's Carlos Cortes then hit a three-run homer in the top of the fifth inning to sink the Tigers. Mizzou sits at 36-23 on the year, winning its most games since 2008, and will now await its NCAA Tournament fate. The selection show is Monday (May 29) at 11 a.m.

Mizzou junior RHP Cole Bartlett (Williamsburg, Ind.) took the loss, pitching on short rest. He allowed six runs (five earned) on eight hits with four strikeouts and two walks. He surrendered three homers, including the Cortes shot that put the game away. South Carolina's Will Crowe earned the win, improving to 6-5 on the year. Cortes was the story for the Gamecocks, hitting a pair of three-run homers in the game.

After Mizzou failed to take advantage of a two-base error in the bottom of the first, Carolina drew first blood, getting a solo shot from DH Alex Destino on a 3-2 pitch that went over the home bullpen in right field. It was Destino's 10^th homer of the year. The Tigers then botched a double-play ball with one out, putting runners on second and third after the error. That led to an RBI infield single to give the Gamecocks a 2-0 lead early.

After Crowe retired the first two batters in the third inning, Mizzou mounted a rally that was sparked by a Connor Brumfield (Columbia, Mo.) walk. Trey Harris (Powder Springs, Ga.) singled and Robbie Glendinning (Scarborough, Australia) walked to load the bases for Brett Bond (St. Louis, Mo.). Crowe got Bond to go 0-2 and then struck him out two pitches later to strand the bases loaded.

South Carolina carried the momentum from escaping that jam into the fourth inning as Jonah Bride hit a one-out solo homer to give the Gamecocks a 3-0 lead.

Mizzou got on the board and nearly tied the game in the bottom of the fourth as Samples hit a 1-2 pitch off the top of the wall in left field, missing a game-tying three-run homer by inches. It turned out to be an RBI double as Kameron Misner (Poplar Bluff, Mo.) scored from third on the play. Brumfield then struck out to strand a pair as Mizzou left six men on base through six.

Cortes then delivered the big blow, a three-run homer to right field, putting the Gamecocks on top, 6-1. That turned out to be the decisive homer as South Carolina hung four more runs in the sixth as it advanced to the next round to face either Kentucky or LSU in an elimination game. Junior Nelson Mompierre (Miami, Fla.) hit a ninth-inning pinch-hit homer for the second consecutive game.

For all the latest on all things Mizzou Baseball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter @MizzouBaseball and like the team on Facebook and Instagram (Missouri Baseball).

Potent Quotables
Head Coach Steve Bieser

Opening Statement …
"First of all, thanks for the City of Hoover and the SEC for such a quality event. We really enjoyed our time here. Not fortunate that we can extend it any longer, but all the credit goes to South Carolina. What a game they played. They came out and took it to us. They beat our best guys on the mound so you have to give them a ton of credit."

Junior OF Trey Harris
On Mizzou never quitting…
"I've seen us put up some crazy runs really fast. I really never lost faith. Around the eighth, it just seemed like it was too big at the time. The emotions started getting to you a little bit, so that was all. The whole time I thought we still had a chance. If they can put three swings on the ball and get three-run home runs, we can too. With the guys we have in our lineup, there's always a chance."

Postgame Notes

Mizzou falls to 2-6 all-time in the SEC Tournament
Mizzou falls to 27-28 all-time in conference tournament action since joining the Big 12 in 1997.
Mizzou falls to 2-2 on Thursdays this season
Mizzou now trails the all-time series with South Carolina, 11-6
Junior 3B Alex Samples posted his third double in seven games with his RBI double in the fourth inning.
Freshman Chris Cornelius tallied a double in the loss as he closes the season with eight of his final 13 hits going for extra bases
Junior Nelson Mompierre (Miami, Fla.) hit a ninth-inning pinch-hit homer for the second consecutive game. He now has four homers on the year and two in the SEC Tournament, in just two ABs.