By Justin Sampson (Ozarks Sports Zone)
SPRINGFIELD — The cream threads that Arkansas donned caught the eye of anyone who watched the Razorbacks in the Fayetteville Regional final.
When Aaron Meyer laid eyes on them, there were no thoughts of sharp-dressed opposition. He only saw motivation.
“Those were same uniforms they dog piled on us with in 2015,” said Meyer. “I went out and told the guys: ‘They’re not dog piling on us twice in my time here.”
He was right. Instead, of a blob of maroon digital camouflage grew on the Baum Stadium field on Monday as Missouri State clinched its return to the Super Regionals.
Meyer would have been one of the first ones out there, a short sprint from his platoon at second base. He settled for a hug from assistant coach Matt Lawson in the dugout, just as he did after Jeremy Eierman’s walk off home run to beat Oklahoma State on Friday.
The senior has not been on the field for a single pitch since a ruptured patellar tendon ended his season on April 25th against Missouri. It was early in the game and brought a hush over a crowd energize with the Bears’ in-state rival in town. Meyer stayed no the ground on the first base line for several minutes before being led off the field on a stretcher.
He got a standing ovation, and a greeting from every teammate, knowing he may have played his last game at Missouri State.
“When you’ve played the game for so long and you come to the ballpark expecting to play an enjoyable game, then you don’t know if you’re ever going to play again, it’s bad,” said head coach Keith Guttin.
He was hitting .292 and had driven in 30 runs at the time of his injury. His campaign was already solid enough to put him on the All-MVC First team. His experience became magnified over the next six weeks as he transitioned to a mentor and coaching role, particularly helping with the infield defense and his personal replacement, redshirt freshman John Privitera.
As a player, Meyer routinely led the Bears onto the field after his traditional dixie cup pregame toast. He helped MSU reach a decisive Game 3 in the 2015 Super Regional as a sophomore. As a mentor, that experience helped him pass along perhaps his most critical advice to the underclassmen: just be yourself.
“I want to get into recruiting and coaching, so this is actually a jump start for me,” he said. “It is was it is, the injury happened, and I can’t do anything but make the most of it. “
Meyer has felt the kickback of what he’s given to the program. He was flooded with social media well-wishes after the diagnosis. People have come up to him at the grocery store and apologized for the injury.
“That makes my heart feel great. I love the Missouri State fan base. Every single thing about this place has made me smile every day since it happened.”
If it’s fundamentals, he can tweak that. If it’s acting as a confidence coach, that’s no problem, even for the older guys.
Jake Burger, one of Meyer’s best friends, was open before the season began about getting back to this stage. The two knew what it took to be one of the last 16 teams left standing. After the regional final, Burger made sure to find him.
“It brought a tear to my eye. He crutched out and I hugged him for a while,” said Burger. “It was difficult because I know how much he wants to be out there with us.”
Meyer knew it too, but once the final out was made, he forgot about it.
“In the moment, we won, and that’s all that matters,” he said. “Guys have stepped up when we’ve needed them the most. I think that shows the maturity of our entire team. It’s been a fun rind and hopefully we go further than this.”
