Mizzou baseball wins its 13th-straight game ahead of SEC play
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
To put it simply: the Mizzou baseball team cannot stop winning.
On Tuesday, head coach Kerrick Jackson and his squad extended their winning streak to 13 games with a 14-6 win over Southern Indiana at Taylor Stadium. That victory moved the Tigers to 15-2 overall, ahead of the start of conference play this weekend.
The Screaming Eagles actually jumped out with the first lead, on Tuesday, as Khi Holiday came home on a sacrifice fly after he hit a ground-rule double on the first pitch of the game.
But, it didn't take long for Mizzou to respond. In fact, in the home half of the first, the Tigers not only tied the game, but took the lead and never looked back. Camdenton alum Kam Durnin got the bats going with a RBI double into left field to tie it. MU scored on back-to-back-to-back plate appearances, as Cameron Bensen and Pierre Seals each drove in runs in that same inning to grab a 3-1 lead.
Mizzou only poured onto that lead, courtesy of a big day from Durnin. The shortstop launched a solo shot, his second homer of the season, to make it a three-run game. By the time the fourth inning was over, MU had added on five more runs.
Freshman Luke Sullivan made his second start of the season on the bump, throwing for 4.1 innings and allowing four runs on five hits. Right-handed pitcher Eli Skidmore came in in relief for Sullivan in the fifth to get the Tigers out of a bases loaded, one-out jam. He ended up sending in back-to-back strikeouts in a clutch performance.
In the fourth and fifth innings, Southern Indiana cut its deficit to four with a three-run homer to left-center and an RBI single.
However, once again, the Tiger offense had a response in the home half of the fifth. Eric Maisonet knocked an RBI triple down the third base line and was later brought home on a sac-fly off the bat of Tyler Macon to get the lead back up to six runs.
Kaden Peer extended MU's lead in the seventh inning, delivering an RBI fielder's choice with the bases loaded to bring home Chris Patterson. Then, Durnin added to his big day with his third RBI to to put the Tigers up 14-6.
Left-handed pitcher Juan Villarreal came in in the ninth and retired the side with just eight pitches to secure the Mizzou victory.
Overall, Durnin led the attack at the dish, going 3-for-4 with his second home run of the season, along with a double, a walk, three RBI and three runs scored. It was the eighth three-hit game of his career
Up next - Mizzou will look for its 13th-straight win, as No. 6 Auburn will roll into Columbia for a three-game series. The Tigers will open up SEC action on Friday at 6 p.m.
