HI NOTES: Game Day, MU in the Minors, MU Recruits

5-0 Blake Holovach vs.
7-0 Trent Blank tonight
at Simmons field

GAME DAY

♦ Missouri Baseball frustrated in loss to Baylor (Columbia Missourian)

Jamieson said the trend has been frustrating because the Tigers have waited to rally until too late in the game. Aside from Gavin Stark's home run, the Tigers failed to move a runner past first base until the ninth inning.

"Offensively, we waited too long to make adjustments," Jamieson said. "That's what creates the loss. I get frustrated at that and not the result, because I know if we do it right, we've got a better chance to win."

The Tigers and Bears play again at 6 p.m. Friday and Blake Holovach will face Baylor's Trent Blank in a matchup of undefeated pitchers.

♦ Missouri falls in series opener to Baylor (The Maneater)

The game took the form of a pitcher’s duel with Missouri sophomore Rob Zastryzny and Baylor’s Josh Turley duking it out over eight innings. Turley held the advantage, though, walking one batter to Zastryzny’s four and striking out five, two more than the Tigers’ lefty. Turley also threw just 88 pitches compared to Zastryzny’s 124.

Despite his respectable stat line, Zastryzny gave himself a very harsh assessment.

“I made way too many mistakes,” he said. “I’ve pitched kind of like a rookie the last two weeks, and I consider myself a veteran, and I need to start pitching more like it. Too many walks, that’s the bottom line … it’s not like me to walk that many people.”

♦ Brown adds some pop to top of Tigers lineup (Columbia Tribune)

"For me, I don't really try to think either way," Brown said. "If you hit the ball, good things will happen either way. Just drive the ball, hit it hard somewhere."

He's been doing that with regularity. A player with five-tool potential, Brown has solidified himself as an early-round option in June's MLB draft.
. . .
"Personally, I don't really like top of the lineup," Brown said. "But that's where Coach wants me. And I think that's where I can do a lot of good for this team, so I'm really fine with that."

Brown couldn't pinpoint one particular issue he's improved in seeing jumps in average and power, but it all boils down to being comfortable at the plate. He said he's seeing pitches better and maintains a balanced stance, which allow him to have a more consistent swing. He's worked on hitting the opposite way rather than trying to pull everything — and that in turn keeps Brown from overswinging.

♦ College Weekend Preview (Baseball America)

The Tigers held their own in College Station last weekend, winning one out of three and competing hard in their two losses, and now they'll face the Big 12's other RPI powerhouse, Baylor. The Bears carry a 9-0 conference record into the weekend, but they have not hit the meat of their Big 12 schedule yet, building their resume with sweeps of Texas Tech, Kansas and Oklahoma State, all at home. Missouri should present more of a challenge.

MU IN THE MINORS

♦ Three Aces Show and Go(rgj.com)

Cody Ransom, A.J. Pollock and Evan Frey touched down from Phoenix about 10 p.m. Wednesday, and each player was in the lineup for Thursday’s opener at Aces Ballpark. In fact, they were one, two and three in the batting order.
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All three players stayed behind to play in the Diamondbacks’ final two exhibition games at Chase Field. They then boarded a flight after Wednesday afternoon’s game.
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For that scouting report, Pollock leaned on Frey, who played 113 games for the Aces last season.

“We talked about the little quirks of the ballpark, the ally in right-center and what the wind can do,” said Frey, who hit second and was in right field for the opener.

The compacted schedule had manager Brett Butler a bit ruffled at times early in the week. But it was more than OK with Frey, who had a bases-loaded triple in Tuesday’s exhibition against the Brewers.

“It’s always nice when you get a chance to possibly open some eyes and get to play in a big league stadium,” he said. “It was a good time.”

MU RECRUITS

♦ Haynes silences Boonville’s bats with 1-hitter in 3-0 win (Boonville Daily News)

After absorbing a 3-0 loss last night at the hands of the Mexico Bulldogs at Twillman Field in Harley park, the players for the Boonville Pirates baseball team realized they had just faced possibly one of the best, if not the best, pitchers in the conference in senior Hunter Haynes.

While having already committed to the University of Missouri for the 2012-13 school year, Haynes didn’t disappoint the fans or the Kansas City Royals scout on hand last night while giving up just one hit and striking out 16 batters for the victory.

With only three players reaching base for the Pirates, two of which made it to third, Haynes was next to untouchable for the Bulldogs while retiring the first eight batters that he faced before giving up a two-out walk in the bottom-half of the third.