Cook Hurls Tigers to 3-1 Win Over Huskers

Victory Today Would Clinch Tie for Title
(Columbia Daily Tribune, Tuesday May 18, 1954)

A victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers this afternoon would assure the Missouri Tigers of at least a tie for the Big Seven conference baseball championship and send the Bengals to Iowa State this weekend needing only one win in their two-game series there to clinch their second title in three years.

Southpaw Ed Cook pitched the Bengals to a 3-1 victory over the Huskers at Rollins field yesterday afternoon and stretched Missouri's lead over the second place Oklahoma Sooners to two and a half games. Oklahoma will entertain the Colorado Buffs this weekend while the Tigers are at Ames, and will wind up its schedule against Iowa State at Norman on Monday and Tuesday.

The Big Seven is host conference at the NCAA College World Series at Omaha in June and thus the Tigers, should they win the conference flag, will capture a tournament berth without participating in a playoff.

Cook went the distance for the first time this season yesterday, spaced six Cornhuskers hits and walked only one batter. The Huskers took a 1-0 lead in the third inning on a walk to pitcher Brian Sievers and singles by Don Brown and Ray Novak, and held on until the fifth when the Tigers scored twice.

Sievers started the inning by issuing successive walks to Cook, Dick Dickinson and Todd Sickel, then got Bob Musgrave to foul to Brown. But Coach Tony Sharpe then yanked Sievers, a Southpaw, and brought in right-hander Pat Mallette to pitch to right-handed swinging Jerry Schoonmaker. Schoonmaker foiled the strategy with a ground single past third to score Cook and Dickinson and the Tigers were out in front. Gleason drew a pass to load the bases again, but Bob Schoonmaker grounded into a double play, one of three executed by the Husker infield.

Buddy Cox and Cook walked in the Missouri sixth and Dickinson moved them along with a sacrifice. Cox then raced home on Sickel's single to left, but Cook was cut down at the plate by left fielder Dirkes Rolston.

Cook allowed only one base runner after the third inning. That was shortstop Norman Coufal, who singled in the eighth, went to second on a wild pitch, moved to third on a bunt and died there as Brown grounded out to Sickel.

Mallette pitched his way out of trouble in the Tiger eighth after Bob Schoonmaker's double and walks to Cox and pinch-hitter Sam Sayers loaded the bases with none out. Cook and Dickinson then fanned and Sickel rapped to Brown, who stepped on third for a force-out.


Oklahoma Aggies Win Mo. Valley Baseball Title

Right-hander J.B. White scattered eight hits and struck out 10 Saturday as Oklahoma A&M trounced St. Louis university, 9-1, to win the Missouri Valley conference baseball championship.

It was the second straight triumph for the Aggies in the best-of-three series for the crown. They beat the Billikens, 7-2, in Friday's opener.

Oklahoma A&M, which also won conference titles in basketball, golf and track, now moves into the NCAA district 6 baseball playoffs.