No. 21 Missouri baseball (26-15-1) entered the weekend winner of six of its previous seven games, having taken a series from then-No. 8 LSU for the first time in program history the weekend before. The momentum abruptly stopped in Athens, Georgia, as the No. 6 Bulldogs took all three games to sweep the Tigers, allowing just four runs in the weekend.
####Thursday####
Junior Jacob Cantleberry started game one on the hill for Mizzou, taking on Georgia’s sophomore phenom Emerson Hancock. The pair delivered the pitchers’ duel one would expect from two Friday night starters, even though the series started a night early.
Cantleberry went 5 ⅓ innings, allowing three runs on three hits. Hancock was even better. The right-hander pitched eight shutout innings, allowed three hits and struck out 11. In the sixth inning, Georgia pushed three runs across on a Riley King double, an L.J. Talley sacrifice fly and a John Cable double. Missouri put just one runner on in the next three innings and fell 3-0.
####Friday####
In his second SEC start of the season, junior Art Joven didn’t record an out in the first inning. After giving up four runs, he was lifted for sophomore Konnor Ash. The Tigers countered in the top of the second inning, plating their only two runs of the game.
Senior Paul Gomez’s two-run double that had the potential to sway the momentum in the game back to Missouri quickly dissipated in the bottom half of the inning when Ash gave up a home run to put Georgia back up by three.
While Ash, freshman Trae Robertson and sophomore Ian Bedell held the Bulldogs scoreless for the rest of the game, Missouri couldn’t muster up any runs to close the deficit and dropped the second game of the series 5-2.
####Saturday####
An already frustrating weekend for Missouri’s batters got even worse in Saturday’s series finale, as the Tigers only mustered one hit in a 4-2 loss to complete the sweep. Most of Missouri’s eight baserunners came from pitching mistakes, with six Tigers drawing walks and one being hit by a pitch.
MU’s offensive production came in the fourth inning, when three walks loaded the bases with two outs. Senior Tony Ortiz was plunked to send junior Kameron Misner home for Missouri’s first run, and Gomez followed up with a single to score junior Peter Zimmermann.
Georgia scored all of its runs against junior starter T.J. Sikkema, who gave up five hits and six walks while striking out seven. At five innings, it was his shortest start since February, and his most runs allowed since a March outing at Arkansas.
Senior Cameron Dulle did his part out of the bullpen with three scoreless innings to preserve the two-run deficit, but the Tigers could only plate two men, both via walks, in the final five innings of the game.
Missouri will have a chance to rebound with a five-game homestand, beginning Tuesday with a nonconference matchup against Missouri State. First pitch from Taylor Stadium is set for 6 p.m.
_Edited by Emily Leiker | eleiker@themaneater.com_