Late in the night, with most of the crowd gone and Missouri’s energy fading, Chad McDaniel was mobbed between home plate and first base — for standing still.
McDaniel was the recipient of the 15th, and mercifully final, walk issued by Saint Louis pitching in Tuesday night’s game between the Tigers and Billikens at Taylor Stadium. With the bases loaded and two out in the bottom of the 10th, McDaniel simply stood in from the left side and watched four pitches out of the zone. Game over. Missouri (19-10-1) beat SLU (11-16), 4-3 in 10 innings.
It was a fitting end to a ballgame in which Missouri had 22 baserunners and left 14 men on base. The Tigers’ third straight extra-inning game took 4 hours, 20 minutes to complete.
“Definitely tired of extra innings,” head coach Steve Bieser said, "but I don’t get tired of winning.”
Missouri didn’t lose any of the last three contests, winning at No. 11 Texas A&M in 15 innings Saturday, tying the Aggies on Sunday in College Station and prevailing Tuesday.
Still, it’s a heavy game load for the Tigers.
“I think, at this level, younger players have a tough time playing game after game,” Bieser said. “They’re not pros yet, and they’re not used to play six games a week, and we’ve been averaging five games a week for it seems like the last month. That’s too many games for our young players, I think.”
Though Missouri seemed flat at the plate during Tuesday’s game, the Tigers’ skill in drawing the free pass was unimpeded. Thomas Broyles, Kameron Misner and Tony Ortiz each walked three times.
In the 10th and deciding inning, Broyles, Peter Zimmermann, Chris Cornelius and McDaniel all drew walks, accounting for all four baserunners in the frame. That was all Missouri needed on a night where its bases on balls more than doubled up the number of hits, 15 to seven.
“I did not know that we drew 15 walks,” Bieser said. “I knew that we were getting some free bases, but I did not know we were getting 15 walks.”
The Tigers rarely capitalized on the free passes the Billikens gave them, stranding the bases loaded in the second, fourth and seventh innings.
But in the 10th, McDaniel came through by no real action of his own. SLU’s Ryan Lefner couldn’t find the strike zone, walking the third straight batter to end the ballgame.
At well past 10 p.m., Missouri's dugout had one main reaction after the win: relief.
“We’ve got to go to class in the morning,” Bieser said. “It seemed like we were going to be here all night.”
Soon after class, the Tigers will be back at Taylor Stadium for Wednesday’s 3 p.m. game against Kansas State (12-17). Bieser has yet to name a starter for the contest.
