His plan worked out better than expected as the Tigers routed Truman 12-2 last night at Taylor Stadium.

The star of the night was Lee Laskowski, playing for injured Wes Fewell. The freshman rightfielder had his first three hits as a Tiger, including two RBI coming off a home run in the eighth inning that put away the Bulldogs (3-5).

"I’m getting the chance to play and that’s all you can really ask for," said Laskowski, who entered the game 0 for 4 in one previous appearance. "Right now I’m doing pretty well."

Added Jamieson, "Lee Laskowski was the spark we were looking for."

Missouri (9-8-1) started with two runs in the first inning and one each of the following three innings. But thanks to Laskowski’s homer and back-to-back doubles by leftfielder J.T. Hoover and centerfielder Jayce Tingler, the Tigers exploded for five runs in the decisive eighth inning that ended any hopes for a Bulldog comeback.

"I would liked to see our guys swing the bats throughout the whole game like we did the last few innings," said Jamieson. "We had good pitching and good defense and that gave us a chance to relax a little bit, offensively."

Added Tiger shortstop Ryan Stegall, who belted his fourth homer of the season: "We didn’t hit the ball until the seventh inning. We started late but finished strong."

Junior pitcher Matt Hobbs (3-2) got the win for the Tigers, going 6 2/3 innings, allowing five hits, two runs and striking out a career-high eight.

Missouri had three home runs, four doubles and a triple and five players had at least two hits.

"We’re starting to come around," said Stegall, who hit his 24th career home run in the third inning moving him to ninth all-time at Missouri. "We’ve been led by Mick Weiss and Jon Williams so far this year, but today everybody came around today to hit the ball."

Weiss led the Tigers with four RBI. He drove in two runs with a first-inning double and added a two-run homer in the seventh inning. Tingler went 3 for 5 with three RBI as the leadoff hitter.

Catcher Brian Desch and second baseman Felipe Tetelboin each had hits in their fourth starts of the year. Junior transfer Scott Nichols made his first appearance as a Tiger pitcher in the seventh and freshman Mark Alexander made his second appearance of the year, allowing no runs in relief of Hobbs.

The Tigers are on a four-game winning streak entering the home weekend series against No. 6 Pepperdine.

"To be able to win a game and maintain momentum is important, but it was more important to get a lot of people involved, especially in pitching," Jamieson said. "This game gives us the confidence we need entering this weekend."