Baseball Levels Series With LSU, 8-7

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Thanks to the combination of timely hitting and five strong innings from Javyn Pimental, University of Missouri baseball edged LSU, 8-7, Saturday afternoon at Taylor Stadium to even its Southeastern Conference series with the defending national champions at one game apiece.

Pimental (2-2) limited LSU to one run on just two hits while striking out four batters over the first 5.0 innings, and the Mizzou offense scored seven two-out runs over the same span to build a 7-1 advantage. Pimental, along with relievers Carter Rustad and Ryan Magdic made the lead stand, holding off a late charge that saw LSU score five times over the final two innings.

Mizzou (18-22, 6-11 SEC), which went 8-for-16 with two out on the afternoon, seized the lead early, using the first of two Trevor Austin RBI doubles to put the game’s first run on the board in the first inning. Jedier Hernandez followed with a sharp grounder that caromed off the mound for a single that ultimately brought Austin around to score when the ball was misplayed off the ricochet for a 2-0 MU lead.

After a hit batsman and a Michael Braswell single put LSU on the board in the top of the second, Mizzou answered in the home half after a two-out Jackson Beaman double sparked another scoring opportunity for the home-standing Tigers. Brock Daniels delivered an RBI single to left field for the first of two key run-producing hits for the sophomore, making it a 3-1 game.

Pimental worked 1-2-3 frames in the third and fifth innings and avoided damage in the fourth after LSU put runners on the corners with one out. The Tigers junior left-hander recorded a strikeout and induced a pair of fielder’s choice grounders to maintain the two-run cushion.

Mizzou’s four-run fifth proved the be the difference — and followed a familiar pattern as the Tigers’ first two scoring rallies. After LSU starter Luke Holman (6-3) quickly dispatched the first two batters of the inning, a walk to Jackson Lovich sparked the game’s biggest inning. Austin came through with another run-scoring double, lining a 1-0 offering into the gap in right-center to chase Lovich home from first. Next, Hernandez drew a walk, before Matt Garcia drove in the fifth MU run of the game with his second extra-base hit of the afternoon, a double to left-center.

Danny Corona put the finishing touches on the Mizzou surge, lining a two-run single to right that brought home Hernandez and Garcia for a 7-1 Tigers advantage.

LSU (24-16, 4-13 SEC) made the contest interesting in the late innings, using a sixth-inning Jared Jones solo shot and a two-run homer by Hayden Travinski in the eighth to pull to within three runs.

But Daniels came through with another critical at-bat in the bottom of the eighth, launching his fourth homer of the season to extend the margin to 8-4.

LSU sliced its deficit to just one run in the ninth, as Steven Milam’s RBI double and Tommy White’s two-run homer brought the potential tying run to the plate. But Magdic struck out Jones for the second out, then induced a game-ending ground ball to second to hand Mizzou its first win over LSU since 2019.

With the victory, Mizzou improved to 4-2 in the middle game of its SEC series this season.

Austin led the Tigers with a 2-for-4 afternoon, two RBIs and two runs scored, while Daniels notched his sixth multi-RBI performance in the month of April with his 2-for-4 effort.

TIGER NOTEBOOK

• Missouri ended a four-game skid in its series with LSU, claiming its first victory over the visiting Tigers since April 14, 2019.
• MU improved to 4-19 all-time vs. LSU, including a 3-8 mark at Taylor Stadium.
• Pimental notched his second SEC mound victory of the season and improved to 3-0 in his Mizzou career at Taylor Stadium; in his collegiate career spanning 39 total appearances, the junior has never lost a home decision (4-0).
• Daniels extended his career-best hitting streak to eight games, logging his seventh multi-hit performance of the season.
• Daniels produced multiple RBI’s for the fourth time in eight games (since April 7).
• LSU starter Luke Holman allowed a season-high five earned runs to Mizzou in just 4.2 innings.
• Magdic picked up his second save, both of which have come in SEC play (April 12 at Georgia).
• Austin drove in his team-leading 25th and 26th RBIs of the year; the senior leads the team in multi-RBI outings (9) and multi-hit performances (11).
• Garcia finished the day 2-for-3, including his third triple of the season, tying Lovich and Texas A&M’s duo of Jace Laviolette and Caden Sorrell for the top spot on the SEC leaderboard.
• Corona matched his Mizzou career high with his two RBIs.
• Mizzou improved to 8-4 in the month of April and 11-9 at Taylor Stadium in 2024.

UP NEXT
Mizzou and LSU conclude their three-game set Sunday (April 21) with a 2 p.m. (CDT) contest. Sunday is Family Day at Taylor Stadium, and Mizzou single-game tickets are on sale now via phone at 1-800-CAT-PAWS or by visiting MUTigers.com/Tickets.

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