Missouri Tigers baseball entered the series against the Mississippi State Bulldogs with more momentum than at any other point in the season, thanks to a series sweep of Texas A&M. That momentum was put to a screeching halt as the Tigers were swept by Mississippi State, dropping to 16-38 on the season. Below are three takeaways the Tigers can look back on following a disappointing series.
Pitching Plummets
The Tigers allowed 50 runs over the three-game series, the second-most they’ve allowed this season. In April, the Arkansas Razorbacks put up 51 runs in a series against Missouri. This time, it was the Bulldogs that kept rounding the bases, as they accumulated 47 hits en route to their 50 runs.
The Bulldogs still scored more runs than gained hits, thanks to an issue that’s remained prevalent all season for Missouri: putting players on base with walks and hit by pitches. The Tigers walked 13 batters and hit 10 batters for a total of 23 base runners who got on base without a hit.
To add on to this, no Missouri pitcher to play more than one inning allowed less than three runs, with numerous pitchers not even making it out of an inning.
Fight at the plate
The Tigers put up a valiant effort at the plate in game one with seven runs in the sixth and seventh innings after falling behind 12-0. This rally was led by junior Jackson Lovich and sophomore Mateo Serna, the two leaders in home runs this season for the Tigers. Both players added on to their totals, smacking one ball each over the fence to drive in a combined six runs. After a solid first game at the plate, the Tigers would score a combined four runs over the last 17 innings of the series.
Bright spots
Lovich and Serna weren’t the only ones to show flashes at the plate, as senior Cayden Nicoletto nailed two doubles while senior Isaiah Frost went 2-for-2 in game one.
At the mound, sophomore Ben Smith, freshman PJ Green, Nicoletto, freshman Victor Christal, junior Seth McCartney and graduate student James Vaughn combined to face 18 total batters and allow zero runs and only three hits.
Edited by Killian Wright | [email protected]
Copy edited by Ava Mohror | [email protected]
Edited by Chase Pray | [email protected]
