April 9, 2003
Box Score
COLUMBIA, Mo. -
Junior right-hander Danny Hill (Weimer, Texas) left the game after five innings with a no-hitter intact, and junior SS Ian Kinsler (Tucson, Ariz.) hit his first homer as a Tiger to lead Mizzou to a 16-3 win over Western Illinois on Wednesday at Taylor Stadium/Simmons Field. The win is the 12th straight for Mizzou (24-8), which also moved to 12-1 at home this season.
Hill (2-0), who led a committee of five Tiger pitchers in the midweek nonconference game, had a season-high four strikeouts in his five innings - which tied his season high - before he approached his pitch count for the night. Forty-four of Hill's 59 pitches went for strikes. On the flip side, Mizzou's offense took advantage of eight Leatherneck walks, and four Tigers were hit.
"Danny was great tonight," Head Coach Tim Jamieson said. "It's the best performance we've seen from him this spring so far. It wasn't that tough of a decision to take him out even with the no-hitter, because he was approaching his limit, and we needed to get some other guys a little work. We were also able to get some of our bench players in, but they didn't get many pitches to hit."
Mizzou got on board in the first. Senior OF Jayce Tingler (Smithville, Mo.) and Kinsler both walked to open the inning, and Tingler advanced to third on a flyout to center by freshman 3B Zane Taylor (Kirksville, Mo.). Kinsler went to second on a wild pitch by Leatherneck starter Trevor Benson, and with two out, junior 1B Cody Ehlers (Stillwater, Okla.) singled through the right side to score Tingler and Kinsler.
The Tigers added a pair in the second to chase Benson (0-2). Junior 2B Jeremy Hernandez (Aptos, Calif.) led the inning off with a walk, and sophomore C Brent Lacy (Ballwin, Mo.) hit a one-out single to left. The runners were balked over to second and third, and Hernandez came home on a bunt single by Tingler. Kinsler then hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Lacy.
Missouri broke the game open in the fourth with six runs on just four hits. The first three batters reached base on just one hit - Tingler's second straight bunt single - before Kinsler doubled down the left-field line to score Lacy and freshman OF Tyrone Roberson (St. Louis, Mo.). Kinsler finished 2-for-2 on the night after hitting a solo homer in the fifth; he had four RBI and scored three times.
Although the Tiger bats pounded out 12 hits against Leatherneck pitching, there were several great defensive plays of note, including a tremendous grab by freshman OF/1B Tyler Williams (Delta, British Columbia) to snare a fouled fly in the Western Illinois dugout in the sixth. Yet that play would be the last time the Taylor Stadium scoreboard would flash a "0" in the hits column for WIU, as Ryan Cougill legged out a bouncer deep up the middle off junior reliever Derek Roper (Elk City, Okla.). Western got a run later in the inning by Blake Schultz.
Junior RHP Mark Alexander (Independence, Mo.) and freshman lefty Taylor Parker (Bellaire, Texas) both threw an inning of shutout relief for Mizzou, which posted 12 or more runs for the eighth time this season.
Mizzou takes its 8-3 Big 12 Conference mark, as well as its longest winning streak since 1988, into a three-game showdown at No. 14 Nebraska (23-8, 9-3) this weekend at Haymarket Park.
