Missouri baseball was one passed ball away from free baseball in Lexington, Kentucky.
Aside from one bad inning, the Tigers kept the game close until the ninth inning, where Kentucky won the game, and the series, on a walk-off passed ball.
After the Tigers tied the game at four at the top of the ninth inning, it seemed as if they had all of the momentum. The winning run was put aboard by freshman pitcher Ian Lohse on a hit by pitch. Another hit by pitch, an intentional walk and a stolen base later, an unearned run crossed the plate and Kentucky celebrated its second-straight victory in right field.
For a second-consecutive afternoon, Missouri lost a game because of a bad inning, this time a third inning in which it allowed more than three runs.
Prior to Missouri’s series against Illinois State, Missouri had limited its opponents to two runs or fewer just twice this season. The Tigers pitching hasn’t been able to limit base runners and get outs consistently. Missouri has the highest ERA in the SEC with a 7.29 ERA and no other SEC team’s ERA is even close. Arkansas sits at the second highest with a 4.21 ERA.
The Tigers have allowed five runs or more in 13 of their 19 games this season, and consistently ranks dead last in several SEC pitching statistics. They’ve allowed 129 earned runs this season, compared to Kentucky who is tied for an SEC-best with Missouri’s next opponent, Vanderbilt, with 38 allowed runs.
Missouri’s pitching staff also has ranked last in the SEC with the most hits allowed at 170, as well as the most walks in the SEC with 143 walks, 50 more than the second-highest LSU.
The Tigers’ consistent poor pitching performances heavily impact the Missouri offense’s chances to overcome its early deficits. In Saturday’s game, Missouri’s pitching showed signs of improvement but still allowed eight walks and just six hits.
Its previous series against Illinois State provided hope that the Tigers’ pitching staff could shut down some of the SEC’s best offenses. Missouri didn’t have the success it had against the Redbirds, but Kentucky is ranked third in several offensive categories: batting average, slugging percentage and on base percentage. This high-powered offense showed its power by effortlessly putting seven runs on the board on Friday night.
Redshirt-sophomore pitcher Seth Halvorsen kept Missouri in the game apart from a three-run third inning that ultimately determined his outing. Halvorsen, like the rest of the Missouri pitching staff, struggles to limit walks, and it showed on Saturday. His walks per nine innings statistic is hovering at 9.3, which means that it does not combine for success to give a free base to an opponent each inning.
The redshirt sophomore somewhat controlled the damage, pitching five scoreless and allowing three runs in the bottom of the third inning, but it ultimately didn’t matter.
“We wanted to play better than we played,” Missouri coach Steve Bieser said. “You got to be prepared for anything and the game caught us a little there today.”
It was an improvement for the Missouri pitching staff, but still a key-skill the team needs to work on as it continues to play top-SEC offenses.
The Tigers will prepare for the series finale on Sunday afternoon at 11 a.m CT, where they try to avoid the sweep.
_Edited by Kyle Pinnell | kpinnell@themaneater.com_