Missouri sweeps Nebraska

Sunday: MU 6, NU 5

Huskers can't tie the score...final score..Missouri 6, Nebraska 5 (Husker_Baseball on Twitter.com)

Saturday: MU 12, NU 7

■ Lefty Fick comes through for Tigers (Columbia Tribune)

Needing a series victory to stay alive for the postseason, the Tigers handed the ball to the junior left-hander who had pitched exclusively out of the bullpen this season. Missouri didn’t need a masterful outing from Fick, just a serviceable one. And that he delivered in a 12-7 victory on Simmons Field.

“He’s been really good in his” bullpen “role, and this was a move out of necessity more than anything else,” Jamieson said. “I thought he did fine. I thought Nebraska had a pretty good approach against him, but we scored some runs, which made it easier for him.”

■ Nebraska falls at Missouri (Grand Island Independent)

■ Missouri hammers NU pitchers for 12-7 win (HuskerExtra.com)

“We just kept giving free bases,” NU coach Mike Anderson said. “Only two extra-base hits, and those really didn’t hurt us. It was just the free bases. ... They scored three runs late there without swinging the bats.”

Nebraska was down just 3-2 after two innings, but the Tigers took control with a five-run third against four pitchers. Thereafter, they never led by fewer than three runs.

Friday: MU 2, NU 0

■ Tigers blank Huskers as Tepesch delivers first career shutout (Columbia Tribune)

Tepesch was an escape artist in the few innings Nebraska put together a threat. But he spent much of the night making the Cornhuskers hitters disappear.

Junior catcher Brett Nicholas wondered what else Tepesch had.

“I could’ve called a magical pitch, and he would have been able to throw it and he would’ve been able to hit his spot tonight,” Nicholas said. “I mean, that’s a once-in-a-season performance. That was just unbelievable.”

■ Tigers snap three-game losing streak (KOMU.com - VIDEO)

■ Missouri tops Huskers (Grand Island Independent)

On a night where Michael Mariot was sharp, Missouri’s Nick Tepesch was superb, tossing a five-hit shutout, as the Tigers topped the Huskers, 2-0, Friday evening.

Tepesch (5-5) fired the first complete-game effort of his career, striking out a season-high nine Huskers, as Missouri (25-22, 8-13 Big 12) took the first game of an important three-game series for both teams. The junior right-hander retired the first 13 Huskers he faced and worked out of a trio of jams in the final four innings in snapping the Huskers’ four-game win streak.

■ Double play helps Tigers shut out NU (HuskerExtra.com)

“I really thought it came down to two pitches,” NU coach Mike Anderson said. “The sacrifice fly that they put into play and scored a run, we were trying to get a double play, obviously, in that situation; and Michael got a pitch up that they got a run on.

“In that identical situation with a left-handed hitter up, they were looking for a double play and they got it. It came down to the same exact pitch. They executed it with the fly ball and we hit into a ground ball double play. … It came down to executing one pitch for them and one pitch for us, and it cost us a game.”

■ Pitcher throws shutout in Missouri baseball victory (HuskerExtra.com)

Former Missouri wrestler Max Askren was one of those fans watching the game. Askren won the national title in the 184-pound weight class in March and was there to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

Askren admitted to not knowing a lot about the traditions of baseball and when asked if he knew what Tepesch was doing, he gave his honest answer.

“I don’t know,” Askren said. “What’s he doing?”

Coach Tim Jamieson, a believer in the tradition of keeping your mouth shut and your mind occupied in these situations, was satisfied with Askren’s answer.

“That’s the right attitude,” Jamieson said with a chuckle.

■ Missouri enters final stretch short on arms (Columbia Tribune)

Season-ending injuries to Eric Anderson and Aaron Blunt meant more than a shuffle of the rotation. The newcomers were expected to earn starting spots — and eat up innings — in conference games before turning contests over to what was thought to be a deep bullpen.

“They were two of our conference guys at the beginning of the year, and they’re done,” Jamieson said May 4 after a win over Missouri State. “So we’ve got to find a way to fight with other guys.”

With Anderson and Blunt and their 14 combined starts shelved, the Tigers didn’t have a lot of good options for replacements. Missouri has used nine different starters this season, including six in Big 12 games.