The same issues that plagued Missouri all season showed up in the Southeastern Conference Tournament as the Tigers’ season came to a close with a 7–0 loss to Vanderbilt in Hoover, Alabama.

A quality start from Tanner Houck, who kept the No. 6 Commodores off the board through five innings, was not enough as defense and a lack of hitting cost the No. 11 Tigers a chance for an upset.

Houck ran into some issues in the sixth. Pitching on short rest, the sophomore right-hander was eventually tagged for a pair of runs after a leadoff walk followed by two straight base hits. Two more runs came around to score, giving Vanderbilt some breathing room, after freshman third baseman Brian Sharp committed errors on consecutive plays.

Despite Houck’s effort, the Tigers were undone by their approach at the plate against Vanderbilt’s Patrick Raby. The freshman right-hander tossed six innings of two-hit ball, striking out six batters. Mizzou could not manage to level out its swings against Raby. Half of the Tigers’ outs were recorded on balls hit in the air.

In what was a scoreless ballgame to that point, senior first baseman Zach Lavy popped out weakly to shortstop with two men on in the sixth, ending the Tigers’ best threat to score. Lavy, who managed a .333 clip at the plate during the regular season, went 1-for-4 against the Commodores.

The following inning, sophomore left fielder Trey Harris led off with a four-pitch walk, but Sharp lined into a 6–3 double play to end the frame. Vanderbilt went on to score three more times and pull away to advance to the second round against No. 3 Texas A&M.

This game marked the second straight postseason in which Mizzou has lost to Vanderbilt. Last year, the Tigers nearly pulled off the upset, but fell in extra innings on a walk-off home run.

The loss ended a disappointing season for the Tigers, who limped to a 26–30 mark after falling a game or two short of the NCAA Tournament last season. Perhaps preseason expectations were built too high for a team that still has tremendous youth, but Mizzou was expected to take a step forward and build off last season’s success. Head coach Tim Jamieson will likely be on the hot seat with the Tigers having missed the postseason each season since 2012.

_Edited by Peter Baugh | pbaugh@themaneater.com_