Missouri State (26–6, 1–1 MVC) has claimed a stake in the in-state baseball rivalry against Missouri (20–15, 4–8 SEC). In front of a crowd of 4,077, the No. 15 Bears took Tuesday night’s game at Hammons Field in Springfield by a score of 16–1 for their fourth consecutive win in the series.
After opening up a 2–0 lead in the second inning off Mizzou starter Ryan Lee, some self-inflicted damage by the Tigers put the game out of reach early. It only escalated from there.
Freshman Ty Shoaff struggled in his relief effort in the fourth inning. The southpaw hit two batters, including one with the bases loaded, walked another and committed an error before Mizzou coach Tim Jamieson had seen enough. The Bears had extended the lead to 5–0 without recording a hit.
Redshirt freshman Liam Carter replaced Shoaff, but didn’t fare much better, allowing three runs on four hits in 1.1 innings of work. The Missouri State lead had ballooned to 8–0 by that point, and the Tigers could not manufacture a run in response. The Bears scored eight more times in the eighth and put the game into embarrassment range for the Tigers. The 16 runs tied the second-most runs given up by Mizzou in a single game since 2011.
In brighter news for Mizzou, senior Zach Lavy continued to swing the bat well. The Tigers’ first baseman collected a pair of hits, including a double to the left-center gap. His hitting streak climbed to seven games, a new career-high.
Junior catcher Jack Klages poked an RBI-single over the second baseman’s head with two outs in the ninth for Missouri’s only run of the game. Springfield native Austin Tribby, a senior, fired a shutout inning in his final homecoming with the Tigers.
Missouri State now holds a 27–24 edge in the all-time series against the Tigers. The Bears are in the midst of their best start in school history and have been dominant at home this season, compiling a record of 17–3.
Mizzou will attempt to right the ship at 6 p.m. Friday against No. 11 LSU (21–10, 6–6 SEC). The Tigers look to avenge last season’s sweep in Baton Rouge and will try to continue their momentum in conference play. They have won four of their last five SEC contests after beginning their conference schedule with seven consecutive losses.
All three games in the series will be broadcast on SEC Network and KTGR.
_Edited by Alec Lewis | alewis@themaneater.com_
