FORT MYERS, Fla. – Mizzou Baseball won its series finale with Eastern Michigan, 7-2, on Sunday at City of Palms Park, completing a 3-1 weekend against the Eagles. RS sophomore Liam Carter (Highland Park, Ill.) turned in a tremendous start, allowing just two runs over 5.0 innings while scattering only four hits and a walk with three strikeouts. He was backed by early runs, sparked by a pair of doubles from sophomore OF Connor Brumfield (Columbia, Mo.), who doubled and scored in each of his first two at-bats.
Carter earned his first career win in what was his first career start. It was also his first decision since March 29 of last season when he earned a save against St. Louis at Kauffman Stadium. The Tigers put men on base throughout the game and actually stranded 14 runners, but the early runs and a late homer by C Brett Bond (St. Louis, Mo.), his first of the season, was all the offense Mizzou needed as the bullpen was outstanding in relief of Carter.
Mizzou got on the board in the first as Brumfield ripped a double into left and was knocked in by Kameron Misner (Poplar Bluff, Mo.) after a sacrifice bunt. Mizzou eventually loaded the bases but a pair of strikeouts stranded them loaded.
Carter came back out in the second and allowed a leadoff double, but he pitched around it brilliantly, picking up a strikeout looking on a big, 12-6 curveball to strand the tying run on third base, sending the game to the bottom of the second. EMU starter Brad Allen appeared to be cruising in the second, retiring the first two men he faced, but Brumfield ripped a two-out double into left for his second of the day. He was then knocked in on a full-count single the other way by Chris Cornelius (St. Louis, Mo.) as the Tigers took a 2-0 lead after two.
It was an easy 1-2-3 inning for Carter in the third as he picked up his second strikeout and a pair of groundouts. Brian Sharp (Liberty, Mo.) led off the third with his first career triple off the wall in right. He came around to score on a wild pitch, extending the Mizzou lead to 3-0.
It was a quiet fourth inning for both teams and EMU finally got to Carter for two runs in the fifth inning. Mizzou answered with a run of its own in the bottom of the fifth, thanks to a throwing error on a double-play ball by the Eagles. That gave Mizzou a 4-2 lead after five as Ty Shoaff (Akron, Ohio) relived Carter in the sixth. He pitched around a one-out single in the frame thanks to a slick play by Alex Samples (Bridgeport, Texas) at third for the second out.
Junior RHP Nolan Gromacki (Smithville, Mo.) pitched a shutout seventh inning and worked around a bases-loaded, two-out jam after a walk and two infield singles in for a shutout eighth. Bond hit his homer, a solo dinger, on a full count in the eighth inning to extend the lead to 6-2. Matt Berler (Hoover, Ala.) had a great at-bat in the eighth inning as well, working a full count and fouling off several pitches before roping an RBI single back up the middle to give Mizzou a 7-2 lead.
RS sophomore RHP Cameron Dulle (St. Louis, Mo.) made his Mizzou debut and closed the game out from there. Mizzou will be back in action next week at the Kleberg Bank Classic in Corpus Christi, Texas. Mizzou will open action Thursday with a true road game at Texas A&M Corpus Christi at 6:30 p.m.
— Mizzou Athletics —
