HI NOTES: 'Backs Again, Back in April

♦ Reminder: Your SimmonsField.com host, Tim Robertson (aka trripleplay) is scheduled to be interviewed Wednesday around 12:30 PM on Fayetteville, Arkansas ESPN 92.1 The Ticket, talking about Mizzou Baseball. Listen live at http://921theticket.com/

GAME DAY

♦ Baseball: Bleeker Leads Arkansas To Win (Arkansas News)

Missouri got on the board with two runs in the top of the eighth. Dillon Everett reached on a fielding error by David Masters to start the inning and then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Gavin Stark drew a walk to put runners at first and second. A wild pitch moved Everett to third and Stark to second. Another wild pitch scored Everett and put Stark at third. Quintanilla then singled to left to score Stark.

The Tigers added another run in the top of the ninth. Munson hit a leadoff double down the right field line and then moved to third after a groundout by Andreas Plackis. A ground out to short by Moore scored Munson to cut the lead to 6-3. Everett recorded the final out of the ballgame with a groundout to short.

♦ Arkansas uses hot start to beat Missouri 6-3 (Arkansas Online)

No. 18 Arkansas rode a hot start to defeat Missouri 6-3 in the first game of a midweek series Tuesday at Baum Stadium.

Nolan Sanburn started the game by pitching a perfect first inning and the Arkansas offense backed him up in the home half of the inning. Tim Carver led-off with a single and another single from Jacob Mahan moved Carver to third. A RBI sacrifice fly by Dominic Ficociello then gave Arkansas an early 1-0 lead.

Even though Arkansas’ sophomore right-hander had some location issues and walked two batters in the second inning, he allowed just one hit in four innings pitched and struck out seven batters to earn his third win of the season.

MU IN THE MINORS

♦ Recapping April (rvanews.com)

The San Jose Giants (A) at 14-11 are in 2nd place in the California League North division, with outfielder Ryan Lollis hitting .351 through 19 games.

MU IN THE MAJORS
♦ April In A Nutshell (kingsofkauffman.com)

Pitcher of the Month: Aaron Crow

You could make a case for and a case against just about every pitcher on the staff this year. Crow’s first appearance came in Game One vs. the Angels and was a nightmare. He came into the 0-0 tie game in the 7th inning and looked completely dominant. When he came back in the 8th, he looked like me. He got an out, then gave up 3 straight hits. After exiting, a triple cleared the bases & Crow was stuck with the loss. Since then, he’s been masterful. He’s given up just 2 hits in his last 10 appearances. He hasn’t allowed a run during that stretch, and he’s managed to lower his ERA to 2.38 after seeing it sit at 20.25 after that first game. The Royals will need him to continue to be solid & bring his friends along in order to reclaim their bullpen dominance.