Mizzou pitching gave up 20 runs through the first 12 innings of the series against Illinois-Chicago, then it did not allow its opponents to touch home plate for the next 22.
The Tigers recorded consecutive shutouts for the first time since 2017 with their 10-0 run-rule victory in the series finale. Mizzou won all four games in the series, bringing its streak to 12 games.
“It’s unreal,” Missouri starter Brady Kehlenbrink said. “We had a tough go around the first game and the second game, a lot of walks, and then our new pitching coach, Drew Dickinson, pulled us in here and really motivated us. I almost stood up and started doing air punches.”
The left-handed Kehlenbrink was relentless in the strikezone, throwing 59 strikes in 81 total pitches for a career-high 11 strikeouts. UIC managed to scatter three hits off of Kehlenbrink, but the starter outlasted the Flames and tossed six scoreless innings for a new career-high.
His impeccable control was also evident in his first outing of the season without a walk. Free bases is something that Kehlenbrink has struggled with throughout his time at Mizzou. Kehlenbrink put UIC down in order in the second and sixth innings.
“Everything pretty much (was working),” Kehlenbrink said. “I’ve had trouble with my changeup a little bit on getting that to move around, and normally that’s my best pitch, but it wasn’t working today, so we went to the other pitches, and everything worked well.”
Dickinson had a heart-to-heart with his players, but sometimes there is just a little bit more that is needed to get back on track. What was it that motivated the pitchers to turn 12 runs allowed in two frames into 22 scoreless innings?
“A lot of the Twitter comments,” Kehlenbrink said. “We read those and saw how disrespectful it was. They thought we weren’t ready, but we showed them that we are.”
Aside from the pitching, the offense remained unstoppable, clearing the fence four times in the contest. Designated hitter Jase Woita began the scoring with a two-run homer in the first inning. It went 417 feet and was the second-longest of the home runs.
In the third, the Tigers smashed three home runs in a row. It started with centerfielder Kaden Peer’s 433-foot shot to deep right. Left fielder Cameron Benson followed, hitting one 415 feet to right. A 362-foot homer from right-fielder Pierre Seals capped off the blasts; it was his first homer of the year.
“I mean, that was unreal,” Peer said. “That was something I haven’t been a part of in a long time, and to do it with my fellow outfielders, it was a really fun experience.”
From when Peer stepped to the plate to the final ring of Seals’ bat, only six pitches were thrown. The energy in the dugout was palpable and unstoppable.
“The talent that (Missouri coach Kerrick Jackson has) built and the culture that he’s built is really unreal,” Kehlenbrink said. “He kind of has a different way of going about things, but it all works out.
“I’m having the most fun I’ve ever had playing baseball, and I’m pretty sure the team could say the same thing.”
Four more runs were added via small ball with RBI hits from Woita, catcher Mateo Serna, third baseman Chris Patterson and shortstop Kam Durnin to bring the run total to 10.
The Tigers (14-2) will play their final midweek before conference play against Southern Indiana at 6 p.m. Tuesday at home.
“We’ve been preaching the same thing over and over again,” Jackson said. “It just took some time for guys to understand what that means and be in our system. Now that we’ve created that, I think we’re gonna be in a good situation moving forward.”