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COLUMBIA, Mo. – Despite wiping out an early two-run deficit and nearly completing another comeback effort in the ninth inning against No. 21 Kentucky, University of Missouri baseball came up on the short end of a 7-6 decision in the rubber match of its Southeastern Conference series with the Wildcats Sunday afternoon at Taylor Stadium.
Kentucky scored three runs in the sixth inning to snap a 4-4 deadlock, as Devin Burkes RBI double plated the go-ahead run before five UK relievers combined to preserve the lead over the final four innings. The victory extended a torrid start to the season by the Wildcats (20-4, 5-1 SEC), who won for the eighth time in their last nine outings.
Mizzou (10-14, 1-5 SEC), which rallied from an early 3-1 deficit with a single tally in the second and two more in the third to claim a 4-3 advantage, nearly completed a second comeback in the ninth. Trevor Austin’s third hit of the day with two out sparked the late charge, before Jedier Hernandez lined an RBI single through the right side to trim what was once a 7-4 UK cushion to just a one-run lead.
But Wildcats reliever James McCoy coaxed a pop foul to the left side of the infield off the bat of Kaden Peer for the final out, stranding the potential tying and go-ahead runs.
The loss spoiled another dominant mound performance by sophomore Brock Lucas, who limited the Wildcats to one hit and a pair of walks over his 4.0 scoreless innings to keep the Tigers within striking distance.
Austin led the Mizzou offense with his sixth career three-hit performance, including his eighth home run of the season that opened the scoring in the home half of the first inning.
UK responded by taking advantage of a Mizzou defensive miscue to plate three unearned runs in the second to seize the lead. Nolan McCarthy tied it up with a one-out single, before No. 9 hitter Grant Smith rolled a seeing-eye two-run single through the left side to make it a 3-1 contest.
The Tigers chipped away with a run in the second, using Isaiah Frost’s one-out single and Danny Corona’s two-out double to slice the deficit in half. MU mounted another two-out rally an inning later when Hernandez bounced a single up the middle to score Jackson Beaman from second with the equalizing run. Peer followed with a run-scoring single to right on a 2-2 offering from UK starter Mason Moore (5-0), handing the Tigers a 4-3 lead.
Once again, Kentucky promptly answered, this time on Ryan Nicholson’s leadoff homer in the fourth.
The game’s turning point arrived in the sixth, as Nick Lopez’s leadoff single preceded Burkes’ liner to left that put UK on top to stay. After Mizzou reliever Ian Lohse (0-2) plunked Nicholson to put runners on first and second, another Tigers error on McCarthy’s sacrifice bunt chased home a second run, before McCoy capped the rally with a sacrifice fly to center.
Mizzou began its second comeback effort in the seventh, getting a two-out walk to Beaman to set the table. Austin came through with a single to left that was misplayed into extra bases and the fifth Tiger run of the game when Beaman raced all the way home from first.
The ninth inning followed a similar pattern, as UK reliever Cooper Robinson quickly dispatched the first two MU hitters, before Austin extended the inning with his third hit of the day. Thomas Curry drew a walk to put two on base, and Hernandez went the other way with a base hit to right that brought home Austin to make it a one-run affair.
But McCoy induced a soft pop foul from Peer on a 1-2 pitch, locking up his first career save and the series for the Wildcats.
TIGER NOTEBOOK
- Mizzou fell to 14-20 all-time vs. Kentucky.
- Austin homered for the eighth time this season matching his career best for a single-season total (2023).
- Austin’s 3-of-5 performance marks the 25th multi-hit game of his career and his sixth three-hit effort, matching a career high.
- Austin’s home run is his 24th as a Tiger, moving him to within eight round-trippers of cracking Mizzou’s career top 10 list.
- Corona doubled to extend his hitting streak to three games, which is one shy of matching his best as a Tiger.
- With an RBI single in the third inning, Peer extended his hitting streak to a career-best three games.
- Peer ended the day going 2-of-5, marking his third multi-hit effort of his career.
- Frost logged his second multi-hit performance as a Tiger. He has recorded hits in back-to-back appearances for the first time in his career.
- Hernandez finished 2-of-5 with a pair of RBIs, and now has hits in 10 of his last 11 games since Feb. 27.
- Lucas turned in his second four-plus inning effort of the week. He has worked a total of 9.1 consecutive scoreless innings over his last three appearances.
- The scoreless appearance from Lucas marks his fifth of the season and his third in a row.
UP NEXT
Mizzou will travel to Grizzlies Ballpark in Sauget, Ill., for a Braggin’ Rights matchup with Illinois Tuesday (March 26) at 6 p.m. (CDT). Tickets to the game are available for purchase through TicketReturn.com.
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