Baseball Concludes Nonconference Slate Tuesday Against Lindenwood

COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri baseball wraps up the nonconference portion of its 2024 schedule with a 6 p.m. (CDT) matchup against Lindenwood Tuesday (April 30) evening at Taylor Stadium.

The Tigers (19-26) are aiming to close out a successful month of April with a victory, following back-to-back midweek victories over Missouri State the last two weeks. MU brings a 13-11 nonconference mark into Tuesday’s game, as well as a 51-17 overall mark against non-SEC foes since the start of the 2022 season.

Tuesday’s game will be televised live on SEC Network with Connor Onion and Mike Rooney calling the action. All Mizzou baseball games in 2024 will be produced by the Tiger Radio Network and streamed live through the Varsity Network App (by searching ‘Missouri’) with Tex Little and Matt Michaels once again handling broadcast duties.

TICKETS

Single-Game Tickets – bit.ly/42VxrsJ

PITCHING PROBABLES

TBD (Mizzou) vs. TBD (Lindenwood)

SERIES HISTORY

Tuesday’s meeting will be the sixth in the series between Missouri and Lindenwood.
The Tigers have claimed each of the first five matchups with the Lions, including all four meetings in Columbia.
Mizzou topped LU by a 5-4 score in the two clubs’ first matchup of the 2024 season on March 5. INF Matt Garcia led the Tigers with a 2-for-3 day at the plate, while C Mateo Serna drove in three runs.
LHP Daniel Wissler worked 5.0 innings in the first meeting with LU, allowing just one run on three hits while fanning five to earn the victory. RHP Charlie Miller and RHP Jacob Peaden combined for 3.0 innings of solid relief to lock up the victory.
In three career outings vs. LU, Wissler has allowed just one earned run on four hits in 7.0 total innings.
The Tigers have scored in double-figures in three of the five contests, averaging 11.2 runs per outing vs. LU.

SCOUTING MISSOURI

Missouri posted a 30-24 regular-season finish last spring, including a 10-20 SEC mark.
Kerrick Jackson was named the 15th head coach in Mizzou history in June, returning to Columbia to lead a program for which he served as an assistant coach from 2011-15 under Mizzou Hall of Fame head coach (and current pitching coach) Tim Jamieson.
The Tigers return three regular starters from last season, led by senior INF Trevor Austin, who batted .311 with eight homers and 10 steals to help bolster the MU offense.
Senior INF Matt Garcia turned in a solid debut season with the Tigers, providing clutch hitting and lock-down defense on the MU infield.
MU should also receive a lift from sophomore INF/OF Jackson Lovich and junior OF Juju Stevens, who each made key contributions in limited duty in 2023.
Several newcomers could also make early contributions, including junior INF Danny Corona, who helped Wake Forest to a 2023 College World Series berth, C Jedier Hernandez, a standout behind the plate for Seton Hall the last two seasons, and sophomore OF Jeric Curtis, a Texas Tech transfer who brings significant speed to the Tiger outfield and batting order.
On the mound, sophomore RHP Logan Lunceford is back to help anchor Mizzou’s weekend rotation after posting 68 strikeouts to lead all SEC freshman hurlers last spring.
Junior LHP Javyn Pimental also contributed mightily to the Tigers’ mound efforts in 2023, making eight starts for the Tigers.
Mizzou should also benefit from the potential return of a pair of veterans who missed significant time last spring; left-hander Ian Lohse and RHP Carter Rustad missed significant portions of 2023 due to injury following promising starts to the campaign.
New arms like RHP Xavier Lovett and RHP Bryce Mayer could compete for starting rotation spots, while RHP Jacob Peaden may give the back end of the Tigers’ bullpen a strong presence.

MIZZOU BY THE NUMBERS

Missouri is coming off a 30-win campaign last spring, which marked the 20th time the Tigers reached the 30-win plateau in the last 30 seasons, as well as the 35th time overall.
RHP Bryce Mayer has locked into a groove over his last three outings, allowing just one earned run on eight hits while striking out eight hitters in 8.0 combined innings.
INF/OF Brock Daniels has been Mizzou’s hottest hitter in the month of April, batting .343 (23-of-67) with 21 RBIs and seven steals in helping the Tigers go 9-8.
Daniels, who ranks fourth in the SEC with four sacrifice flies on the season, logged a career-best 10-game hit streak, April 7-23. The sophomore hit .390 (16-for-41) and drove in 12 runs over the course of the streak.
Daniels leads all Mizzou regular position players with a .405 batting average at Taylor Stadium this spring.
C Mateo Serna powered the Tigers in their season sweep of Missouri State, clubbing home runs in each of the two games and driving in a career-best five runs last Tuesday in a 10-6 victory.
Serna belted a critical grand slam in the win, marking the first by a Tiger since Luke Mann’s slam vs. Ole Miss on May 6, 2023.
Serna followed that effort with a home run in Thursday’s series opener at No. 3 Tennessee.
INF Trevor Austin logged his team-leading 13th multi-hit game of the season and the 31st of his Mizzou career Thursday at Tennessee.
Austin belted his club-leading 10th home run of the season in Friday’s contest, hiking his career total to 26 round-trippers.
Austin has been hit by 16 pitches so far this season, ranking second in the SEC; additionally, his total of six sacrifice bunts is tied for fourth in the conference.
Austin brings a six-game hit streak into Tuesday’s game, over which the Jefferson City product has hit .450 (9-for-20).
INF Danny Corona was the Tigers’ hottest hitter last week, batting .538 in four games, raising his season average 51 points by recording hits in seven of his last 12 at-bats for the week.
Corona launched his first home run as a Tiger — a fourth-inning solo shot — last Tuesday vs. Missouri State, then went deep for the second game in a row Thursday at Tennessee.
The Tigers are batting .281 and averaging 8.1 runs per game at Taylor Stadium this spring.
INF/OF Jackson Lovich and INF Matt Garcia share the No. 2 spot on the SEC triples leaderboard (3).
As a team, the Tigers’ 10 triples this season rank second in the SEC.
Lovich recorded a career-best 13-game hit streak, February 24-March 15, batting .388 (19-for-49).
Garcia turned in his best weekend of SEC play to date at Georgia (April 11-13), leading the Tigers with a .500 batting average, including a career-best four-hit performance in the series opener.
For the week of April 8-14, Garcia went 8-of-17 (.474) with a .824 slugging percentage.
LHP Ryan Magdic has proven to be a valuable weapon out of the bullpen, securing either a save or a victory in each of his last three relief appearances (April 6-20).
LHP Ian Lohse has logged four consecutive scoreless outings on the mound, including 3.0 innings April 21 vs. LSU in his first start since March 25, 2023.
The Tigers rank fourth in the conference in steals (54).
The Tigers are 9-7 in one-run contests this spring, including a 6-3 mark in SEC play.
Mizzou is hitting .293 as a team with two outs, logging 105 of its 232 RBIs on the year after the second out in an inning has been recorded.

SCOUTING LINDENWOOD

Lindenwood enters Tuesday’s contest 14-29 overall this spring under first-year head coach PJ Finigan.
Coming off a 13-42 season in their inaugural Division I campaign last spring, the Lions enter Tuesday’s game hitting .254 with 79 steals as a team to their credit.
Dawson Hokuf leads LU at the plate, bringing a .345 batting mark and six homers — one of which came against the Tigers in their first meeting of the season — into Tuesday’s game.
On the mound, LHP Eli Brown has led the staff with 51 strikeouts in 60.0 innings, logging a 4.50 ERA in 11 starts.
The duo of RHP Bennett Stice and RHP Preston Salazar have anchored the LU bullpen. Stice has recorded a 4.91 ERA and one save in 12 appearances, while Salazar leads the club with three saves.

NON-CON DOMINATION

Mizzou has claimed 13 nonconference victories over the first 11 weeks of the season, continuing a string of recent dominance in nonconference play.
MU logged a 20-3 mark against non-SEC foes last spring, after going 18-3 in nonconference in 2022.
MU has an overall mark of 51-17 in non-SEC competition since the start of the 2022 season.
Over the last decade, the Tigers’ dominance has been equally impressive, with MU winning 101 more nonconference games than it has lost (178-77).
With their victory over Missouri State last week, the Tigers improved to 13-11 in non-SEC games.
With just one remaining non-league game on their 2024 schedule, the Tigers have clinched a winning nonconference season slate for the 10th time in the last 11 seasons.
Only MU’s 2021 squad (7-14) failed to reach the .500 mark against non-SEC foes over that span.

TARGET: TREVOR

INF Trevor Austin has made a habit of reaching base throughout his four-year career with the Tigers, particularly when it comes to serving as a target, logging 45 free bases due to hit by pitches.
Austin, the SEC’s active leader in HBPs, was hit by a pitch in Friday’s game at Tennessee, running his 2024 total to 16 HBPs, which ranks second in the SEC.
As a result, the Jefferson City native climbed into sole possession of third place on Mizzou’s all-time HBP chart.
Austin is six HBPs away from matching John Hay (1989-93) in the No. 2 position on the list.
John McKee (2004-07) owns the Tigers’ all-time mark of 70 HBPs.

TIGERS AT THE TURNSTILES

For the second season in a row, Mizzou baseball fans are leaving their mark on the Tigers record book.
Entering the final home stand of the season, MU has drawn a total of 28,928 fans to Taylor Stadium in 22 home dates.
The Tigers’ per-game average of 1,377 fans ranks second all-time in Mizzou history, trailing only last season’s 1,614 average on the program’s single-season attendance chart.
Mizzou shattered its all-time record for total home attendance last spring, drawing 37,133 fans over 23 dates to eclipse the previous program mark of 31,450 (2008).
MU would need to draw 8,205 fans, or an average of 1,173 per game for the remaining seven home dates, to eclipse last year’s cumulative season attendance record.

APRIL ACCOLADES

Mizzou is off to a 9-8 start to the month of April, making it the Tigers’ most successful month of the 2024 season to date.
In SEC play, the Tigers have won five April contests, including a three-game sweep of No. 6 Florida (April 5-7), an extra-innings road win over Georgia (April 12) and an 8-7 victory over defending national champion LSU last weekend.
With its .545 winning percentage this month, April also marks MU’s best overall month since Marce 2023, when the Tigers finished 13-5 (.722).
The Tigers have not posted a .500 month of April since 2019, when they went 12-5 (.706).
As a team, the Tigers have hit .269 and averaged 6.1 runs per April contest.
INF/OF Brock Daniels has been MU’s most productive hitter this month, going 23-for-67 (.343) with three home runs and 21 RBIs.
INF Matt Garcia has been red hot in April as well, raising his average from .167 to .246 by going 20-for-62 (.323) with 14 RBIs this month, including five multi-hit performances.
INF Trevor Austin has reached base safely in 16 of 17 April games, recording hits in 14 of those, while logging a team-high .494 on-base percentage.
LHP Ryan Magdic has emerged as a dominant force out of the MU bullpen in recent weeks, including three April relief outings over which he has fanned 10 hitters and allowed just two runs in 6.0 combined innings, earning a victory and two saves.

TERRIFIC WITH TWO

The Tigers have been clutch this season with two out, both at the plate and on the mound.
Mizzou’s offense has recorded 105 two-out RBIs in just 45 games, while hitting .293 (155-for-529) after the second out has been recorded in an inning.
In its three games vs. LSU, MU went 10-for-33 (.303) with two out, scoring seven two-out runs in its 8-7 victory in game two of the series.
The weekend of April 11-13 at Georgia, the Tigers hit .325 (13-for-40) with two out, producing 11 RBIs.
Against vs. No. 6 Florida, Mizzou recorded eight two-out RBIs, including all four of its runs in its game two victory (April 6).
INF/OF Brock Daniels and OF Jackson Beaman have been MU’s most consistent two-out threats, hitting .480 (12-for-25) and .400 (10-for-25) in such situations, respectively.
Additionally, INF/OF Jackson Lovich and INF Matt Garcia have each produced 14 two-out RBIs this spring, accounting for 27-percent of the Tigers’ two-out RBIs.
Mizzou pitchers have been equally dominant, holding the opposition to a collective .228 (113-for-496) two-out batting average this spring.

TICKETS
Mizzou baseball 2024 single-game tickets are on sale now. Fans can purchase tickets by calling the ticket office at 1-800-CAT-PAWS or by visiting MUTigers.com/Tickets.

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This article is provided by University of Missouri Athletics