Missouri pitcher Rick Zagone is apparently making up for lost time.

The junior left-hander missed a couple weeks in March with a tired shoulder, and his rehab appearances through most of April were mostly short stints out of the bullpen.

Finally healthy, Zagone got a chance to earn back his starting spot in the weekend rotation with a solid start against Eastern Illinois in O’Fallon. Zagone’s pitching so well, Coach Tim Jamieson is leaning heavily on him.

From that April 22 start through Sunday, Zagone made three appearances, including two starts, covering 162/3 innings and 247 pitches.

The biggest surprise was his 143-pitch outing Sunday, the one where Texas A&M’s Kyle Colligan finally got Zagone off the mound with a home run in the 10th inning.

"I wanted to stay out there," said Zagone, who brushed off any question of his arm being tired. "It was my game to win or lose."

It might not had to have been. Jamieson said Tuesday that had Ian Berger, Ryan Gargano or Nick Tepesch been available, he would have handled Zagone’s start differently.

Berger and Gargano were among four players suspended for Sunday’s game for missing the team’s curfew. Tepesch, who blew a save opportunity Friday, was out with a minor injury. Plus, the Tigers used nine pitchers in the first two games of the series against the Big 12-leading Aggies, limiting the bullpen’s depth.

More disappointing to Jamieson was the disciplinary action he was forced to take against Berger, Gargano, first baseman Steve Gray and shortstop Lee Fischer. The timing of it - Missouri has lost five straight games - raises a concern.

"Is that a symptom, or is that a coincidence?" Jamieson said. "We haven’t had any problems.

"There’s been too many games, particularly on the weekend - too many’s more than one - where we haven’t played our best. It makes you wonder, ‘Is this the way we are, or is this something that just happened on one night?’

"Very disappointing."

● ROYAL GATHERING: The Tigers and Jayhawks’ second attempt to meet at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City went off without a hitch. Last season’s scheduled game was rained out, and mostly the Tigers got a look at a major league batting cage.

Tuesday, a crowd of 2,800 gathered to watch the rivalry game, although the 3-0 Kansas win didn’t count in the conference standings.

"I hate losing - particularly they hate losing to us, we hate losing to them - but this has got to be a good thing," Jamieson said. "Outside of not feeling very good about the loss, I feel real good about the turnout."

Oklahoma and Oklahoma State play their yearly series away from home. The teams meet once in Tulsa before completing the series in Oklahoma City. Texas and Texas A&M split their series between the schools.

Although Jamieson wants to continue meeting the Jayhawks at the K, he said the sides have not talked about adding the date to the conference slate.

"I personally don’t like that, because this ballpark changes the game," he said. "I’m sure they’d like to have all three of their games at their ballpark. Same with us."

● RIGHT AS RYAN: Watching sophomore right-hander Ryan Allen strike out two Jayhawks in a perfect ninth inning Tuesday night led to a question: Where has he been?

He earned a save against Cal on Feb. 28 in San Diego but since then had been relegated to spot duty out of the pen. Allen, who’s had good and bad streaks in his tenure, didn’t have a Big 12 appearance this season until April 20.

If he can keep throwing like he did against Kansas, he should see more conference action.

"The biggest thing for me is just getting back to attacking hitters," he said. "That’s always what’s going to get me the most success and I think I had been getting away from that. … Just got back to pretty much trusting my stuff, just letting it fly and go right at hitters."

● NEVER SAY NEVER: Greg Folgia hasn’t pitched since April 1 against Western Illinois, a second straight start in which he struggled just to get batters out.

It’s not all bad for the sophomore, however. He’s gotten the chance to focus on other aspects of the game, and it’s paying off. Since leaving the rotation, the second baseman has hit .307 (19 for 62) and has solidified himself as the team’s leadoff hitter.

"He wasn’t doing the things as a pitcher that gave us a chance in the middle of the week," Jamieson said last week in O’Fallon. "He has swung the bat and played better defense since he hasn’t pitched."

That doesn’t mean Folgia will not step on the mound again this year.

"Never say never, but he’s behind a lot of guys right now," Jamieson said. "As it gets later in the year and arms start to get tired, he might be a guy with a fresh arm that you just never know about."

Advertisement

13 weeks for $13 | Sunday & Wed In your beach bag, in your car, take it with you this summer