Mizzou Baseball out-slugs Missouri State in midweek win

The Tigers scored seven runs in the second inning

Mizzou Baseball survived ninth inning drama Tuesday, securing a 10-9 win over Missouri State.

The win gave the team its fifth consecutive victory in mid-week games.

“When you can start off with some zeros, that helps,” head coach Kerrick Jackson said when asked what’s allowed his team to stay hot against nonconference opponents, “Quality pitching and being able to go out and just be really productive on the offensive end.”

Chris Patterson put the Tigers on the board in the bottom of the second inning with a double to right-center field, scoring Pierre Seals one at-bat after his leadoff single. Patterson advanced to third on a wild pitch before coming around on Peyton Basler’s one-out single through the left side, 2-0.

Tyler Macon continued the rally after a pitching change with a double to left-center before Keegan Knutson’s walk loaded the bases. Kaden Peer brought home another run when he was hit by a pitch, his second straight at-bat getting plunked by a Bears pitcher.

Jackson Lovich responded with his second grand slam of the season, hitting it just beyond the wall in right-center field to put Kerrick Jackson’s squad up 7-0.

“He’s starting to understand where his strength lies and that he can still pull the ball,” Jackson said about Lovich, “but those will be pitches that he catches out front instead of having a pull-side approach.”

Wil Libbert cruised in his first three innings on the mound for Mizzou, striking out five batters and not allowing a hit. But cracks started to show in the fourth inning as Tyler Epstein singled to right field, scoring Nick Rodriguez for Missouri State’s first run.

Libbert’s outing fell apart in the fifth inning.

He allowed a leadoff double to Curry Sutherland, then walked a batter and hit one with a pitch to load the bases. Kadden Drew entered in relief for Libbert and was tasked with ending the visitors’ rally.

He hit a rough patch to begin his outing instead, allowing an infield single to Caden Bogenpohl and allowing another run before Nick Rodriguez walloped a grand slam to right field, making it a 7-6 ballgame.

Though Libbert struggled late in his outing, the first three innings were a promising sign for the redshirt freshman.

“He’s starting to show that he can pitch, as opposed to just throw,” Jackson said. “Now he’s starting to understand, ‘I do have a changeup, I do have a slider, I can throw those for strikes.’”

The Bears pulled back to even in the top of the sixth on a solo homer to left field by Sutherland, 7-7, and momentum was firmly on Missouri State’s side.

The Tigers’ offense roared back to life in the bottom half of the inning, though, scoring three runs to retake the lead.

Macon and Knutson kicked off the inning with hits, then Macon scored on a groundout to first by Peer. Lovich came up in the clutch again the next at-bat, slamming a line drive triple to deep center field and plating Knutson.

Cayden Nicoletto gave Jackson’s squad another insurance run with his single through the left side, bringing home Lovich to make it 10-7.

But like any Mizzou win this year, it wasn’t without its late-inning drama.

P.J. Green sailed through his first two innings of work for the Tigers but ran into trouble in the ninth when he walked Dylan Robertson.

Bogenpohl pulled the visitors within one run the next at-bat with a homer to right field, 10-9. And Jake McCutcheon tripled down the right field line with two outs, putting him 90 feet away from potentially sending the game to extra innings.

Green came up with the final out, though, inducing a pop up to clinch the in-state victory over Missouri State.

Tonight was another strong outing for the Tigers’ offense, including a surging Pierre Seals. The Memphis transfer went 2-4 with one and a double, bringing his season average up to .318 and OPS to .940.

“I don’t know what his average is right now, but it’s the quietest above .300 I’ve ever seen,” Jackson said. “He’ll get a hit here and there and then he’ll have two strikeouts, and then he’ll get a hit here and there. So the biggest thing we’re getting him to work on being is just consistent.”

Tyler Macon also stood out, scoring two runs and going 2-4 with an extra-base hit. The true freshman is now hitting .294 with a .886 OPS in 24 games and looks like a prime breakout candidate to watch entering next year.

The pitching still has plenty of room for improvement but has also shown signs of growth over the last two weeks, which mostly carried over to tonight’s game. Libbert and Green both went out for one too many innings, though, leading to most of the Bears’ runs tonight.

“One of the things I’ve been trying to do with [Libbert] is push that [pitch] count a little bit to see if he can hold stuff,” Jackson said. “Let’s see if you can go out and now pitch a little bit. I think the calf (Libbert dealt with a cramp in his calf later in his outing) bothered him a little bit more than he let on and didn’t allow him to finish.”

But Mizzou avoided a letdown against a quality Missouri State team which has beaten power conference teams like Oklahoma State and Arkansas, who the Tigers were dominated by in Fayetteville.

Jackson’s squad will hope to continue its improved streak of pitching this weekend against 18th-ranked Oklahoma.

The first game of the series is Thursday, when Mizzou faces the Sooners at 7 p.m. in Columbia. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+.