Evansville out-hits Mizzou baseball for win in series opener
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Mizzou baseball team failed to capitalize on an opportunity to get above the .500 mark for the first time this season, on Friday night, as the Tigers lost the series opener to Evansville 7-6.
The win for the Purple Aces marks just their second of the season, while head coach Kerrick Jackson and company drop to 4-5 to start the 2025 campaign.
While Mizzou continued its inconsistency on the bump, the team also struggled to capitalize on opportunities at the dish. Evansville ended up out-hitting the Tigers 14-7 on Friday night, but the bigger stat may be how MU did with runners in scoring position. The Purple Aces weren't necessarily efficient with runners in scoring position, either, as they only managed to plate a run 31 percent of the time in those situations. But, Jackson's team really struggled in that specific category, going just 2-10 on the night.
In total, Mizzou stranded eight runners on base on Friday night.
Meanwhile, the Tiger pitching staff is still working to find its grove in the 2025 campaign. Jackson burned through four pitchers in the loss to Evansville, with the loss going to graduate James Vaughn.
Graduate pitcher Ian Lohse actually got the start for MU and threw for five innings. In that time, he yielded three runs, two of which were earned and struck out six batters. However, things continued to slide downhill from there. Vaughn gave up three earned runs in relief for Lohse, pitching for just 1.1 innings. Junior Nic Smith followed up Vaughn on the hill, but also gave up a run in his one inning of action.
The only MU pitcher to not give up any runs on the night was sophomore Ben Smith, who closed for Mizzou on Friday night. He struck out one batter and only allowed one hit in 1.2 innings of work.
Although Ben Smith managed to shutout the Purple Aces in the top of the ninth, Mizzou couldn't find the hits it needed to overcome the one-run deficit, as the game ended redshirt-freshman Tyler Macon striking out. That final out gave Evansville pitcher Kellen Roberts his first save of the season.
The Purple Ace's starting pitcher, Kenton Deverman, ended up throwing for seven innings, allowing four earned runs on seven hits, while striking out seven batters.
Up next - Mizzou will look to even up the series on Saturday, March 1. First pitch against Evansville is set for 1 p.m. at Taylor Stadium.
