Mizzou’s pitching leads team to first SEC series win of season
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KMIZ)
Mizzou Baseball has won its first SEC series since sweeping Florida on April 7, 2024.
The Tigers (15-35) earned their second straight win over Texas A&M (27-22), riding their best pitching performance of the season to a 4-1 victory in game two of the weekend series.
Collectively, head coach Kerrick Jackson's pitching staff allowed zero earned runs on just two hits and recorded 12 strikeouts over nine innings, marking the first time that the Tigers did not surrender an earned run to an SEC opponent since the 2019 season. Before Saturday's performance, Mizzou had ceded at least five earned runs in 23 of its last 25 conference games.
Sam Horn's fourth start of the season was excellent. The dual-sport athlete allowed zero hits and struck out five of nine batters over 2.2 shutout innings. Horn's outing was cut short, due to a weather delay that lasted nearly two hours.
However, the rain did not hinder Mizzou's focus on the mound. Tony Neubeck, who was awarded the win, tossed 3.1 shutout frames in relief of Horn, giving up only two hits and posting four strikeouts. From there, four different pitchers combined to throw three no-hit innings for the Tigers.
MU's bullpen only ran into trouble once in this contest. In the ninth inning, Texas A&M loaded the bases with two walks and a hit batsman while facing Ian Lohse. However, Coach Jackson called on Brock Lucas to close out the game, and he limited the damage. The St. Elizabeth graduate gave up just one unearned run on a fielding error before striking out the final batter to earn his first save of the season.
Offensively, Mizzou out-hit Texas A&M by an 11-2 margin, paced by a pair of three-hit performances from Jackson Lovich and Pierre Seals. The Memphis transfer's effort at the plate was highlighted by an RBI double in the ninth frame.
Chris Patterson also tallied the second home run of his true freshman season, which ended a two-run first inning.
Up next - The Tigers will hunt for a three-game series sweep against the Aggies on Sunday, May 11. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
