Rout Aggies With 13-Hit Attack, 12-6
(Columbia Daily Tribune, April 19, 1954)
The Missouri Tigers will go after victory No. 5 against Sedalia Air force base at Rollins field this afternoon after winning the wind-up of a two-game series with Oklahoma A&M at Stillwater Saturday, 12-6, to gain a split with the Cowpokes.
Coach John Simmons planned to send right-fielder Harold Gastineau against the air force team this afternoon and was undecided between Bert Beckmann and Norman Stewart for tomorrow's game. The Sedalians' latest triumph was an 11-4 win over Smith-Cotton High School of Sedalia.
Cook fashioned a 2-0 lead for himself in the second inning by lashing a double to left center after Buddy Cox and Bob Schoonmaker had walked and advanced on a sacrifice by Kent Henson. Walks to Bob Musgrave and Jerry Schoonmaker, George Gleason's sacrifice, a single by Cox, and an infield out produced two more Missouri runs in the third.
Cook, meanwhile, breezed through the first four innings holding the Cowpokes hitless. Their first and only run off the Bengal southpaw game in the fifth and it was unearned. A single, a walk, and Cox' wild throw on an attempted double play turned the trick.
The Tigers went to work again in the sixth and sent three more runs across. Bob Schoonmaker reached first on Ron Bennett's error, and after Henson flied out, Cook drew a walk. Dickinson doubled to deep center to score Schoonmaker, Sickel flied out, but Musgrave walked to load the bases. Jerry Schoonmaker's single then scored Cook and Dickinson.
Missouri counted four more in the eighth inning, which was highlighted by Dickinson's 260-foot homer to left center, and Jerry Schoonmaker's double that drove in two runs.
Cook went out for a pinch-hitter in the Missouri eight and Stewart, who replaced him, didn't fare too well. He walked the first three batters to face him and then gave up a single that sent two runs across. After consecutive errors produced two more runs, Gastineau relieved Stewart and retired the side without further damage.
The Tigers picked up a lone tally in the ninth on three singles and a sacrifice, and the Cowpokes got that one back in their half when Fred Babb homered with the bases empty.
The Big Seven race speeds up this week with half dozen league games on the schedule.
The Kansas Jayhawks, who whipped Kansas State 7-4 last Wednesday in the only conference encounter thus far, and the Nebraska Cornhuskers each are carded for four games. Iowa State and Oklahoma both play two conference games.
Missouri and Colorado don't swing into conference play for another week.
Here's this week's schedule:
Today - Kansas at Nebraska, Sedalia (Mo.) AFB at Missouri
Tuesday - Kansas at Nebraska, Sedalia AFB at Missouri, Colorado A&M at Colorado
Wednesday - Hutchinson (Kas.) Naval Air Station at Kansas State
Friday - Iowa State at Kansas, Nebraska at Oklahoma
Saturday - Iowa State at Kansas, Nebraska at Oklahoma, Regis at Colorado
We traveled to Oklahoma A&M for a two-game road trip. They beat us the first day, but the second day we had them beat 10-2 and Simmons put me in the ball game, my college baseball debut. I was a flop.
I walked four batters. Two ground balls were hit to me. I threw one of them over the shortstop’s head, and the other I managed to get over the center-fielder’s head. Three runs hasd scored and two men were on base when Simmons called in another pitcher.
I felt terrible after that game because I had never suffered a setback like that in sports. Seeing mud on my spikes, I took them off and slammed them on the side of the bus to clean them. That made the bus driver mad as hell. I was not a popular guy that day.
When I got back to Columbia, I told Coach Simmons, “I’m going to quit baseball. I don’t think I can help the team any.”
“Well, let’s do this,” he said. “Your performance against A&M was the worst I had ever seen. You were horrible. But we’re going to play Fort Leonard Wood soon [actually Sedalia AFB - editor]. I’m going to start you. If you don’t do any better than your last outing, you won’t have to turn in your gear. I’ll pick it up for you.”
~ Norm Stewart, Stormin' Back
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