COLUMBIA, Mo. • One strike away.
That’s how close the Missouri baseball team might have been to making the NCAA Tournament field last season. The Tigers already had engineered a breakthrough season in the Southeastern Conference, but a ninth-inning meltdown against Vanderbilt in the SEC tournament could have been the difference between extending the season another week and watching NCAA regionals on TV.
Nursing a 6-5 lead in the ninth inning on May 20, Mizzou closer Breckin Williams had Vandy pinch-hitter Penn Murfee in an 0-2 hole with two outs. Murfee’s single sent the game to extra innings, where Vandy won 7-6 with a walk-off homer.