Missouri baseball came into a four-game series with the Evansville Purple Aces looking to get its season back on track after a sluggish start to the 2025 season.

Game #1

The Tigers were defeated by the Aces 7-6, yet another close game. Missouri held a two-run lead thanks to a four-run fourth inning, but couldn’t hold on down the stretch.

After a 2-2 start through the first three and a half innings, things started to heat up in the fourth inning. The Aces scored one in the top of the fourth before the Tigers put three across home plate. Sophomore Mateo Serna made his mark in this game, as he had already hit a solo home run in the first inning before earning an RBI to put the Tigers up 5-3.

The Tigers pitched well until later on in the contest, an unsettling trend for Missouri this season. Starting pitcher and graduate student Ian Lohse pitched five innings, allowing just two earned runs and striking out six.

Unfortunately, the Tigers only scored one more run after the fourth inning and allowed four total runs in the seventh and eighth innings, resulting in a 7-6 loss.

Game #2

The Tigers evened the series back up with a solid performance the next day, defeating the Aces 6-2.

The Tigers got off to a quick start, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first before adding another run in the second. This scoring was in part thanks to key RBI singles from senior Cayden Nicoletto and freshman Brady Picarelli.

The Aces scored two runs to make it 4-2, then things cooled off significantly. This was partly due to the performance of Missouri starting pitcher and redshirt freshman Wil Libbert who allowed only two runs through over five innings pitched.

Neither team scored another run until the seventh inning, where junior Gehrig Goldbeck reached home on an error and junior Brock Daniels grounded out, sending freshman Brady Picarelli home.

Freshman PJ Green cleaned up the game, pitching three innings and allowing zero runs with two strikeouts to help give the Tigers the 6-2 victory.

Game #3

The Tigers continued their momentum in the third game, scoring the most runs of their season to win 17-7.

Seven of those 17 Missouri runs came early, as the Tigers got a 7-0 lead after just two innings. The scoring onslaught cooled down after that, as the Tigers scored just one run throughout the next three innings. Missouri’s starting pitcher junior Kadden Drew performed well on the mound for six innings, allowing two runs while striking out five.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Tigers put up nine runs. While the Aces attempted a late-inning comeback in the top of the seventh, five runs wasn’t enough. The Tigers were rendered the mercy rule victors in the seventh inning, winning 17-7.

Four Tigers ended the game with two or more RBIs. Junior Peyton Basler was the biggest standout with four RBIs while going 2-for-4 at the plate. Goldbeck, Serna and Nicoletto ended the game with three hits, with Goldbeck going 3-for-3 at the plate with an RBI and two runs.

Game #4

The Tigers ended the series on a whimper, losing the final game 9-5 to split the series 2-2.

Both teams began scoreless until the Aces scored two runs in the top of the third thanks to a two-run home run by senior Harrison Taubert. The Tigers answered in the bottom of the inning with a solo shot from junior Jackson Lovich, his second of the season.

The Tigers couldn’t string together a consistent offense, scoring just two runs throughout the first six innings. Starting pitcher and junior Brock Lucas struggled a bit, allowing five hits and four runs through just over three innings pitched.

Senior Kaden Jacobi kept the Tigers in it, as he allowed just one hit over three innings while striking out four.

The Tigers made it a one-run game in the eighth at 4-3, showing signs of life. However, the Aces put together a five-run inning off the back of a three-run RBI double by Taubert for his fifth RBI of the day.

A last-ditch Tiger effort of two runs was too little and too late, making the final score 9-5.

Next Matchup

This put the Tigers at 6-6 on the season, and the Tiger’s next matchup was against the Binghamton Bearcats on Friday, March 7 at Taylor Stadium in Columbia.

Edited by Killian Wright | kwright@themaneater.com
Copy edited by Natalie Kientzy | nkientzy@themaneater.com
Edited by Annie Goodykoontz | agoodykoontz@themaneater.com