Jack Andersen
Missouri baseball looked to gain its first conference win of the year, this time in a series against the No. 18 Alabama Crimson Tide. However, Missouri failed to claim its elusive first conference win.
Close, but no cigar
Missouri pounced early on Alabama, scoring five runs in the first inning of game one. However, the offense completely dried up from there, as the Tigers didn’t put up any more runs for the remainder of the game. They came close in the eighth inning when Missouri had players on first and third base with just one out. A throw-out at home and a strike-out right after spoiled the scoring opportunity.
Missouri’s pitching also had a nice start to the game, as freshman Brady Kehlenbrink and graduate student Xavier Lovett combined to allow just four hits and two runs through the first five innings. However, things started to fall apart in the sixth as redshirt senior infielder Garrett Staton smacked a two-out, three-run homer over the wall to tie the game at five-a-piece.
Freshman relief pitcher PJ Green stepped in on the mound for Missouri and allowed two runs in the eighth as Alabama came back from five runs down to win 7-5.
More pitching problems
Things got worse for Missouri at the mound after game one, as the team allowed 19 runs over the next two matchups of the series. No Missouri pitcher who played for more than an inning allowed fewer than three runs, including sophomore Sam Horn.
Horn, who recently returned from a Tommy John injury and is also a member of the football team, lasted only the first inning of game three, allowing four hits and five runs before being pulled. It was performances like these at the mound that led to a 7-3 defeat in game two and a 12-1 mercy rule defeat in game three.
Bright spots
While struggles at the mound continued, there were yet again some solid performances at the plate for the Tigers. Freshman infielder Chris Patterson had a decent series, going 4-for-11 with two runs and one RBI. Patterson has made an impact this season in his limited number of at-bat appearances. In his first 71 at-bats, Patterson is tied for the second most doubles of any Missouri Tiger this season with six.
Freshman outfielder Brady Picarelli also made an impact in this series, however it was limited to just one game. Picarelli went 2-for-4 in game one with two RBIs to help spearhead the team to a near win.
Edited by Colin Simmons l [email protected]
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Edited by Emily Skidmore | [email protected]