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COLUMBIA, Mo. – A season-high 19 hit attack and five shutout innings by Logan Lunceford lifted University of Missouri baseball to a 20-2 victory over Purdue Fort Wayne Sunday afternoon, as the Tigers earned a split in the four-game series with their second-straight win over the Mastodons at Taylor Stadium.
Mizzou (8-8) took control of the contest with an eight-run second inning, then rode the right arm of Lunceford, who limited the Mastodons (6-11) to three hits over his 5.0 scoreless innings.
Matt Garcia’s two-run single highlighted the second-inning explosion, as the senior infielder paced the Tigers offense with a 3-for-5, 3-RBI afternoon. The Tigers sent 14 batters to the plate in the second, as Danny Corona and Jedier Hernandez added two-run singles and Thomas Curry drove in a run with a base hit as well. In all, Mizzou took advantage of six walks and a hit batsman in the game’s critical rally to pull away early.
All 13 Mizzou hitters to come to the plate in the game recorded at least one hit, led by three-hit games from Garcia and Kaden Peer. The Tigers’ 19 hits eclipsed their 17-hit afternoon vs. Northern Kentucky on March 2 as their top single-game total of 2024.
Mizzou recorded nine walks and drew four free bases via hit by pitches in addition to its 19 hits. The Tigers tacked on four runs in the third to extend the lead to 12 runs, then touched up the Mastodons bullpen for six more in the fifth and two in the sixth. Trevor Austin’s fourth homer of the series—a two-run shot—sparked the third-inning rally, before back-to-back long balls from Brock Daniels and Jackson Lovich keyed the fifth-inning outburst.
Lunceford (1-0) was the model of efficiency on the mound, allowing just three PFW singles in a tidy 62-pitch effort that earned the sophomore his first victory of the season.
In addition to big days by Garcia and Peer, Isaiah Frost turned in a 2-for-3 effort and three RBIs and Daniels hit his first career homer while driving in three runs off the Mizzou bench. Hernandez reached base safely in all five of his plate appearances, scoring three runs and driving in two more with a pair of singles, two HBPs and a walk.
TIGER NOTEBOOK
- With their victory, the Tigers earned the split with the Mastodons and improved to 2-3 in the all-time series.
- Mizzou’s 20 runs scored marked its fifth double-digit run total on the season and the Tigers’ fourth such total in their last seven games.
- Lovich extended his career-best hit streak to 11 games with his fifth-inning homer—his fifth of the season.
- Lovich is now hitting .395 (17-for-43) over the course of his hit streak which dates back to February 24.
- Mizzou tallied three rallies of four runs or more, marking the ninth, 10th and 11th times this season the Tigers have scored at least four runs in a single inning.
- Hernandez’s two-hit performance marked his third multi-hit effort in his last four starts dating back to March 2; the junior catcher has hit .529 (9-for-17) with nine RBIs over the same stretch.
- Austin ran his personal hit streak to seven games, dating back to March 2.
- Austin hit .500 (7-for-14) for the series with four homers and seven RBIs.
- As a team, the Tigers batted .343 and hit nine homers, while averaging 9.0 runs per contest in the four-game series.
- Peer recorded his first three-hit game as a Tiger and his third multi-hit performance in his last five games; the freshman also scored a career-best three runs.
- Curry reached safely in all five of his plate appearances, logging a single, two walks and two hit by pitches.
- Lunceford earned his fourth career victory as a Tiger and his first since March 28, 2023 vs. Illinois.
UP NEXT
Mizzou embarks on a five-game road swing Tuesday (March12) when they travel to Lawrence, Kan., for a 6 p.m. contest against Kansas.
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