HI NOTES: One Great Game, Tepesch OK

GAME DAY

@mutigerbaseball coach Tim Jamieson confirmed that freshman pitcher Gerrion Grim will leave the team, transfer. More to come. #Mizzou #SEC

— Alex M. Silverman (@AlexMSilverman) April 21, 2013

♦ Mizzou's RPI ranking (according to BoydsWorld.com, rose from  149th to 117th over the past week.  The Tigers' Strength of Schedule rose from 12th toughest to 8th in the nation.  Missouri is one of two SEC teams in the top 10 of Strength of Schedule.  The other is Florida.

Strength of Schedule Top 10

1. Washington
2. Florida
3. Southern California
4. Hawaii
5. Loyola Marymount
6. Oregon
7. UCLA
8. Missouri
9. Miami
10. California

♦ 'Iron Man' Jake Walsh propels Missouri baseball to Sunday victory (Columbia Missourian)

The Tigers hit the ball hard all day Sunday, recording two more hits in nine innings than they had the day before in 15.

But even with the offense clicking, the focus was on Walsh after the game. Missouri junior catcher Dylan Kelly even had a nickname for the weekend warrior.

"The Iron Man, I guess you guys can call him or whatever, because he pitched Friday, Saturday and Sunday," Kelly said. "I thought today was his best day. He came out firm with the fastball, mixed pretty well, we got out when we needed to and he forced contact. He’s a great pitcher we have.” ...

♦ MU baseball wins finale vs. Florida (Columbia Tribune)

Missouri is tied with Tennessee (5-13) for 12th in the SEC standings — though the Volunteers own the tiebreaker — and are one game ahead of Georgia (4-14). Auburn (6-12), which visits Simmons Field for a three-game set beginning Friday, is one game ahead of Missouri. Kentucky and Texas A&M — who both remain on Missouri’s schedule — are two games ahead at 7-11. The bottom two teams do not make the SEC Tournament.

“I think everybody’s starting to calm down a little bit, starting to settle into some roles,” said Pearson, who was 6 for 13 with four RBI in the series. “We understand what it’s like to be in the SEC now and face all this top-notch competition. I think we’re starting to settle down and play a lot better ball than we have been playing.” ...

The Tribune article has several great photos from the game, including a shot of Keaton Steele's great 5th inning catch

♦ Missouri snaps Florida’s eight-game winning streak (The Independent Florida Alligator)

Florida fell behind for the third straight game against Missouri. Unlike the previous two contests, Sunday’s series finale ended in UF’s first loss in two weeks.

The Tigers (12-23, 5-13 Southeastern Conference) plated two runs off right-hander Tucker Simpson in the first inning on Sunday afternoon at Taylor Stadium in Columbia, Mo., to snap the Gators’ (22-19, 10-8 SEC) eight-game winning streak...

MISSOURI BASEBALL IN THE MAJORS

♦ Nick Tepesch expects to make next start Thursday at Minnesota (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

Nick Tepesch felt a little soreness in his right wrist the morning after taking a liner off it, but he expects to make his next scheduled start Thursday at Minnesota.

The 24-year-old right-hander planned to play catch before Sunday’s game, but the big test will come Monday when he throws a bullpen session in Anaheim. If that goes well, the Rangers won’t have to skip his turn in the rotation.

“It feels all right now,” said Tepesch, who was diagnosed with a contusion on his right wrist...

♦ Tepesch’s injury scary in more ways than one (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

Montero’s liner through the box appeared to skip off Tepesch’s arm and barely lost any momentum as it bounced into the outfield. Washington and medical chief Jamie Reed all but sprinted to the mound to check on their pitcher.

“He really wasn’t saying anything,” Washington said later. “He wasn’t showing any emotion at all. He’s a tough kid. ‘He said, ‘Let me finish the inning,’ but there was no way I was going to let him do that.”

In the clubhouse later, under prodding, rookie Tepesch showed the damage the ball had done.

“I’m all right,” he announced. “It’s a little sore, but not too bad. I think it scraped me a little more than made solid contact, I guess.”

Scraped would be one description, but a more accurate one might be that the back of Tepesch’s wrist looked as if something had bitten a small, bloody chunk from it...