This is exactly what Steve Bieser imagined when he made the switch.
In a surprising shift of the weekend rotation — with Bryce Montes de Oca moving to the Sunday slot and Andy Toelken moving to the bullpen — T.J. Sikkema received his first starting opportunity of the year on Friday against Mississippi State.
He didn’t disappoint.
In the Tigers’ 4-1 victory over the Bulldogs (12-11), Sikkema shined amidst the swirling winds and biting chill in Missouri’s (18-5) first SEC home game of 2018 and first-ever defeat of MSU. The lefty turned in his longest outing of his season, striking out seven and allowing just four hits and one earned run in seven innings.
Bieser was rewarded for his decision to move Sikkema to the rotation, a role the sophomore will continue to fill until further notice.
“To me, it was perfect timing to get T.J. in there,” Bieser said. “He’s been up and down and hasn’t had any consistency at all, so I just wanted him to get in a groove with his pitches. It was good to get him some good work and stretch him out. Really pleased with how that worked out.”
After allowing a single and throwing a wild pitch in the opening frame and allowing a walk in the second, Sikkema settled in thereafter, retiring 12 straight Bulldogs on his way to his second win of the year. Sikkema was surgical — only 15 of the 85 pitches he threw were called balls.
“He came out and threw strikes,” Brett Bond, Sikkema’s catcher on Friday, said. “That’s what he does, and that’s what I love about him. He competes. He’s not afraid of any hitter. I don’t care who you put up there, he’s gonna attack them. It took him a few pitches to get going, but when he did, he was cruising along the way.”
Sikkema’s arrival to the rotation meant an exit for Toelken, who has had a middling year with a 2-2 record and 4.56 ERA. But the senior still fills an important role for the Tigers — Sikkema’s previous role, in fact.
“Toeklen and T.J. are just switching spots,” Bieser said. “T.J. is a guy that we’ll bring in in the 5th inning and let him ride out a game. And we’ll do the same thing with Toelken when it calls for it.”
Friday night called for it, when Missouri needed a reliever up 4-1 in the eighth. Toelken got the call and did his job, throwing two scoreless innings and grabbing his first save of the year.
Bond carried the offense against MSU, recording Missouri’s only two RBI of the night. The first came in the third, when he rifled an opposite-field single to right, scoring Trey Harris, who is second only behind teammate Kameron Misner for the most runs scored in the SEC. Misner scored a batter later on a wild pitch.
Bond gave Missouri its third run on another RBI single in the 7th, and his failed stealing attempt afterwards resulted in Misner being able to score from home on the throw. After starting the season flatly, Bond is beginning to remind everyone of the guy who slashed .307/.385/.507 a year ago.
“Brett’s a gamer,” Bieser said. “When SEC play arrives … Brett’s just ready to go. He got off to a slow start, but we know what he’s capable of. It’s nice to have your 4-hitter back.”
Missouri will look to keep its perfect 12-0 home record alive when Michael Plassmeyer (3-0, 2.81 ERA) takes the mound tomorrow at 2 p.m.
