March 14, 2008

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COLUMBIA, Mo. -- - Missouri junior righthander Aaron Crow struck out 15 batters and recorded his first career complete-game shutout as the fourth-ranked Tigers defeated Toledo, 6-0, on Friday at Taylor Stadium. Crow improved to 4-0 on the season with the victory.

The 15 strikeouts are a career-high for Crow, bettering his mark of 10 set two weeks ago against Cal. Only two Toledo batters advanced beyond first base on Friday, as Crow allowed seven hits and did not walk a batter. Starting with the final out of the fourth inning and continuing through the eighth inning, Crow struck out 11 of the 15 batters he faced, including striking out the side in the eighth.

Crow and the Rockets starting pitcher Kyle Rawlings were locked in a pitchers' dual through the first seven innings, as a run scored by the Tigers in the bottom of the first was the only run scored until Mizzou put up five in the bottom of the eighth inning.

In that eighth inning, MU had three hits, including a double by senior Lee Fischer to lead off the inning. The Tigers batted around in the inning and in his second at-bat of the eighth, Fischer was hit by a pitch for the sixth time this season, forcing in a run. Fischer finished the game 2-for-3.

Fischer and junior Kyle Mach each had two hits on the day and each drove in a run. Sophomore Greg Folgia led off the game with a double that extended his hitting streak to six games. He scored the games' first run later in the first on a sacrifice fly by sophomore Trevor Coleman.

Mizzou have won five-straight games and at 10-2 is off to its best start to the season since the 2004 team opened the year 11-2.

Due to the forecast of inclement weather on Saturday, Mizzou and Toledo will play just one game on Saturday, starting at 5 p.m., instead of the originally scheduled doubleheader. A doubleheader is now scheduled for Sunday, with game one starting at 1 p.m. Check mutigers.com throughout the weekend for any scheduling changes due to the weather.