Mizzou Baseball drops first two games of final regular season series to Mississippi State

The Tigers’ pitching suffered major setbacks against the Bulldogs

Mizzou Baseball was riding high after a sweep of 2024 national finalist Texas A&M last weekend, securing the team’s first three conference wins of the season. But Mississippi State quickly brought the Tigers back down to earth Thursday and Friday, scoring two dominant victories in Columbia.

Mizzou gave up eight home runs in the series opener against the Bulldogs, falling 25-7 after allowing 10 runs in the final inning.

True freshman starter Brady Kehlenbrink faced his second straight setback, allowing seven hits and seven runs (five of them earned) in 3.1 innings pitched.

Mississippi State put three runs on the board in the top of the first with the help of a wild pitch and an error by Keegan Knutson, then Reed Stallman added a solo home run to left-center field the next inning to make it 4-0.

The visitors’ power was put back on display in the top of the fourth, when homers by Joe Powell and a second longball by Stallman gave them a seven run advantage. Kaden Jacobi replaced Kehlenbrink during the frame but he allowed another home run to the second batter he faced, Ace Reese, on a solo shot to center field.

The slugfest continued in sixth as Reece sent another ball beyond the fence, scoring three more runs after a leadoff single by Gatlin Sanders and a walk, for an 11-0 advantage.

Two more hits for the Bulldogs ended Jacobi’s outing, but Bryce Chance hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Noah Sullivan and extend the lead to 12-0 after Ben Smith entered in relief.

The Tigers finally got on the board in the bottom of the sixth, scoring four runs. Isaiah Frost’s leadoff walk was followed by a Mateo Serna single to right field, placing two runners on for Keegan Knutson.

Knutson singled through the left side to score Frost and make it 12-1. And Jackson Lovich brought the team closer with a three-run homer to center field with two outs in the inning, 12-4.

Serna continued Mizzou’s surge the next inning, smashing a three-run home run to right-center after Peyton Basler and Frost reached base to begin the bottom of the seventh. The longball cut further into the deficit, 12-7, and made it possible to end with a respectable outcome.

That changed quickly.

Victor Christal lost his control in the eighth, hitting the leadoff batter and walking two more before being replaced by P.J. Green.

He immediately allowed singles to Nolan Stevens and Sanders alongside a groundball by Aaron Downs, plating three more runs for the visitors and giving them back an eight-run lead.

With any hope of a comeback erased, head coach Kerrick Jackson reached deep into his bullpen in the top of the ninth to conserve his top remaining arms for the rest of the weekend.

Mississippi State leaped at the opportunity, putting ten runs on the board in the final inning. The Bulldogs scored on a hit-by-pitch, sacrifice fly, wild pitch, a triple to right-center field by Steven Spalitta and three more home runs.

Sullivan got the visitors their first runs of the inning with a two-run shot to left-center, but it was Hunter Hines who stole the show. The senior hit two home runs in the same inning, batting in three of the team’s runs during the rally.

Nate Williams completed his multi-inning relief appearance in the bottom of the ninth, mercifully ending a brutal night for the Tigers.

Mizzou didn’t fare much better in the second game, getting run-ruled 13-3 in seven innings.

Doubles by Reese and Sullivan in the top of the first set the stage for a 5-0 Bulldogs lead. Three of those runs scored via the longball, a common theme the first two games of the series, as Powell lifted Tony Neubeck’s pitch over the center field fence.

Reese hit another double in the top of the second, eventually scoring on an error by Serna. The visitors got their second homer of the game, this time from Chance, the next at-bat to jump out to an 8-0 advantage.

That inning was Neubeck’s last. He allowed seven hits and eight runs, five of them earned, alongside a strikeout in two innings of work. He was replaced on the mound by Brock Lucas.

The Tigers kickstarted their offense in the bottom of the third with a single to center by Tyler Macon and a walk by Lovich before both advanced into scoring position on a passed ball. Cayden Nicoletto lived up to the moment in one of his final games in Columbia, doubling to left field with a flyball that got lost in the sun to make it 8-2.

Mississippi State responded yet again with power in the top of the fourth as Reese hit a leadoff homer to right field.

Mizzou bounced back with a rally in the bottom of the inning, scoring another run on Yadi Hernandez’s single after Knutson hit an infield single and Chris Patterson was hit-by-pitch.

Both teams went down quietly in the fifth before the Bulldogs flexed their power again in the top of the sixth.

Lucas began to struggle, walking Reese and hitting Sullivan with a pitch, before Hines hit his third home run of the series to put the visitors ahead 12-3. The home run allowed Hines to pass Rafael Palmeiro and become his program’s new record holder in career homers.

Mississippi State got the final run it needed to reach a double-digit lead in the next inning, this time using small ball.

Sanders and Sawyer Reeves hit consecutive singles with one out before Reese walked to load the bases for Sullivan. He hit a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Sanders to put the Bulldogs ahead 13-3.

Ben Davis completed his third full frame of work in the inning’s bottom half, putting the Tigers away and clinching the series for Mississippi State.

Mizzou’s pitching severely regressed after its best three-week stretch of the season and best individual week of the year, allowing a combined 38 runs over two games and 12 home runs.

Nearly every Tigers pitcher that took the mound ran into trouble, putting pressure back on an offense that just showed in College Station it can rise to the occasion when given the chance.

Mizzou’s final game of the regular season should not have any significant impact on the lessons from this season, or how this team is viewed. But another victory could serve as a reminder of the progress seen over the last few weeks, which has mostly disappeared over the course of two games.

The Tigers aim to provide that reminder and record a fourth SEC win (and their first in Columbia) tomorrow, when they face the Bulldogs at 2 p.m. on Senior Day. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+.