Jackson Lovich leads Missouri baseball to 22 runs in three games against Ole Miss with eight hits and nine RBIs
Missouri baseball came into a three-game series with the Ole Miss Rebels looking to pick up its first conference win of the season. The Tigers ultimately failed in this effort despite 22 runs scored in three games.
Pitching disaster
The Tigers’ pitching woes continued into this series with an abysmal 40 runs allowed in the three games.
While the starting pitching wasn’t particularly good, allowing nine runs in 11 innings pitched, the relief pitching continued to be the true downfall in this series, allowing 31 runs to be scored.
This issue was very apparent in the first game of the series when the Tigers allowed seven runs across the sixth, seventh and eighth innings to blow a 3-2 lead.
Graduate student starting pitcher Ian Lohse had a solid outing, allowing just one earned run and five hits along with eight strikeouts throughout five innings pitched. His efforts were in vain, as senior relief pitcher Kaden Jacobi allowed five runs in just over an inning.
In game two, both starting and relief pitching were major issues, as junior starting pitcher Kadden Drew allowed six runs and seven hits before junior relief pitcher Brock Lucas allowed five more runs and four hits.
However, the loss of the third game clearly fell on the relief pitching, as three different relief pitchers allowed four runs and Ole Miss scored 13 of their 14 total runs off of relief pitchers.
Bats on Fire
While the mound wasn’t being set on fire by the Tigers, the plate sure was as Missouri averaged 7.33 runs a game in this series. Junior infielder Jackson Lovich led the way with eight hits and nine RBIs over the three-game series.
What really put runners across the plate was the home runs the Tigers tallied. Missouri sent six over the fences for an average of two per game. This was a surprising sight, as the Tigers had only hit 22 home runs in their first 19 games of the season.
This strong showing of six home runs was in large part thanks to the Tiger’s three-home run performance in game one. This tied for Missouri’s season-high as sophomore catcher Mateo Serna went yard for the fifth time this year. He did it again in game three, now leading the Tigers with six home runs all season.
Other Standouts at the Plate
Serna had another solid series, racking up three hits, three runs, a pair of RBIs, a drawn walk, and the aforementioned home runs. Serna wasn’t the only standout at the plate, as a plethora of upperclassmen stepped up when they were called upon.
Junior infielder Keegan Knutson had a great outing in game three going 3-for-4 with a run. Senior outfielder Cayden Nicoletto also went 3-for-4 in game two, along with two runs and an RBI. In that same game, junior Brock Daniels went 2-for-5 at the plate with two runs and a game-leading four RBIs.
Edited by Colin Simmons l csimmons@themaneater.com
Copy edited by Natalie Kientzy | nkientzy@themaneater.com
Edited by Annie Goodykoontz | agoodykoontz@themaneater.com