With the resurrection of the Missouri bats, Nick Tepesch took the mound on Sunday knowing he would get some run support. The offensive didn't disappoint and carried the Tigers to a 15-2 victory and their first sweep of the season.

"The thing is we played well. That's the thing above all us, and then you get the big guy going, it makes you feel a whole lot better not just that you win, but the way we played makes you feel really good about the rest of the year," head coach Tim Jamieson said.

After Tepesch gave up a run in the first inning, the Tigers came out swinging and put three runs on the board thanks to a two-run double by Greg Folgia. Folgia continued his hot hitting and finished the game with 3 R.B.I. Mizzou would not look back and scored at least two runs in every inning except for the third.

Missouri (24-21, 11-10) finished the game with 15 runs on 15 hits to complete the sweep. The Tigers outscored the Red Raiders 42-14 over the weekend and batted .415 as a team.

"Early in the year was kind of tough to rebound from all the different loses and games," Folgia said. "But today we wanted the sweep, and we wanted it bad to help us out with the season."

The middle of the Tiger's lineup was the key to game. Folgia, Aaron Senne, Kyle Mach and Trevor Coleman each had multiple R.B.I. They were all outshined, however, by Ryan Lollis who was 4-for-5 with five R.B.I., which included a two-run homer in the fifth.

"I was seeing the ball pretty well," Lollis said. "My brother actually called me last night, and he gave me suggestions. I don't know if that's what did it, but I took it to heart and worked on it today and hit the ball well."

After struggling in his last two outings, Tepesch stepped up in a big way for the Tigers. "Big Diesel" as Jamieson calls him finished the game with nine strikeouts and had five strikeouts in a row between the six and seventh inning. Most importantly, Tepesch was able to keep the ball in the yard.

"I just tried to learn from what I did wrong in the previous two outings, and today I just tried to simplify things and keep it as simple as possible," Tepesch said.

"I was feeling like I could put the ball wherever I wanted it," he continued. "I just felt really comfortable and everything was working for me today."

Tepesch (4-4) gave all the credit to his offense after the game for the victory and the series sweep. The win has Missouri in 7th place in the Big 12 and only a few games out of fourth place. According to the pitcher, he knew how important the sweep would be when took the mound on Sunday.

"Finishing is everything on the weekend," he said. "You either get swept or sweep someone in this situation. You just gotta win that third game, and it gives you momentum either way."

The Tigers will return to action on Tuesday against the Eastern Illinois Panthers in O'Fallon, Mo and will play Missouri State in Springfield on Wednesday before traveling to Nebraska for a weekend series.