Sunday, October 26, 2008

As in 1952, the season came down to one game.

Win and be the champions; lose and go home dejected. The Tigers were facing Rollins College again, and Brophy was scheduled to start. But in a curious move, Rollins coach Joe Justice penciled in Bill Cary as his starter. In so doing, Justice penciled the end for Rollins.
Cary allowed three hits and two runs in only two innings before Brophy entered the game. But those two runs were all Missouri would need. Rollins scored one run in the top of the fourth inning, but the Tigers stormed back and scored single runs off Brophy in the fourth and fifth innings.
Ed Cook sailed smoothly after Rollins scored its lone run, perhaps helped in part by a little mind game that occurred before the first pitch.
``The very first pitch he threw warming up went all the way to the backstop on the fly,'' Beckman recalled. ``Hi Simmons, he just kind of stroked his chin and said, `Oh boy, here we go.' Evidently that helped get the other team kind of tight, too, because they saw that pitch go to the backstop and they didn't dig in on Eddie.''
Cook finished the day with a complete-game six-hitter for the 4-1 victory and the championship that had proven so elusive just two years earlier. He also struck out eight batters, even more impressive since he didn't know he'd be pitching until the morning of the game. A day of rain afforded the starters an extra day of rest, and Simmons could have chosen any one of his pitchers for the big game.
(Columbia Missourian, March 14, 1994)

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