Missouri baseball hosted its first home series of the season, welcoming Tarleton State to Columbia from March 4-6. The welcome was not a warm one though, as the Tigers beat the Texans three days in a row to complete a series sweep.
Missouri entered the series having won six of its first seven games of the season, which marked the team’s best start since 2017 when began the season with a 6-1 record. They stayed hot upon returning to Columbia.
On Friday, junior infielder Torin Montgomery started the series with an RBI double down the right-field line. The Tigers took a one-run lead in the first inning and held onto it for the rest of the game behind strong pitching.
Junior pitcher Spencer Miles earned the start on the mound for Missouri on Friday. He pitched for five innings, surrendered three hits and zero runs, and struck-out five batters. Miles controlled the game and did not allow the Texans to get anything going offensively. As Miles worked, the bats for the Tigers remained sharp.
Missouri scored five more runs in the game, and freshman infielder Cam Careswell batted in three of them. Careswell got his first career start on Friday and was among the Tigers’ most valuable players of the game. He finished 3-4 with three RBIs and two doubles.
“I was really surprised, actually,” Careswell said regarding the start. “I just had to get ready quickly and lock in. I was a little nervous at that first at-bat, and after that I was like, ‘it’s just another game. It’s baseball.’”
Tarleton State fought back toward the end of the game, hitting three solo home runs and a two-run double in the final three innings. But senior pitcher Austin Cheeley worked the Tigers out of a jam and earned the save to give Missouri a 6-5 victory.
Sophomore pitcher Austin Troesser started game two of the series for Missouri. Troesser entered the game with a 2-0 record, searching for his third win of the season. He pitched for five innings and allowed just three hits and one run, while striking out two batters. The Texans’ only run of the game came in the fourth inning on junior infielder Colby Seltzer’s solo home run.
Saturday’s game showcased a similar start on offense for the Tigers. Montgomery doubled in the first inning again, bringing home two runs. Montgomery and senior catcher Tre Morris finished with two RBIs apiece, and sophomore outfielder Ross Lovich hit the Tigers’ first home run of the series to close out a dominant performance. Missouri won game two 9-1.
The Tigers kept it rolling on Sunday with an opportunity to sweep Tarleton State. Junior pitcher Austin Marozas received the start for the Tigers, but departed after just one inning. Marozas walked two batters and gave up a run in his short stint on the mound.
Missouri head coach Steve Bieser called upon sophomore pitcher Carter Rustad to take over, and Rustad got the job done. Despite giving up four runs in 4.1 innings of action, he struck out five batters and earned the victory for Missouri.
Montgomery posted three RBIs to lead the team, but freshman outfielder Juju Stevens collected his first two RBIs of the season in the first start of his young career. The Tigers scored 11 runs, which was enough to secure the series sweep against Tarleton State.
Missouri is off to its best start in five years and the energy around the team is building.
The Tigers will look to stay hot and enter Southeastern Conference play with the most momentum possible.
Edited by Brandon Haynes | bhaynes@themaneater.com