Baseball Looks to Extend Hot Streak Tuesday Against SIUE

COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri baseball puts its season-best five-game win streak on the line Tuesday (April 9) evening when it hosts SIUE for a 6 p.m. (CDT) nonconference contest at Taylor Stadium.

Mizzou (15-18) recorded its first unbeaten week of the 2024 season, going 5-0 with a two-game midweek sweep of UT Martin, before claiming three consecutive one-run decisions against No. 6 Florida over the weekend.

Tuesday’s game with the Cougars will be streamed live on SEC Network+, with Jack McGrath and Casey Roehl describing 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.

PROMOTIONS

• Mental Health Awareness Night
• St. Louis Cardinals Tickets Giveaway

PITCHING PROBABLES

• LHP Daniel Wissler (Mizzou) vs. RHP Jacob Kampf (SIUE)

SERIES HISTORY

• Missouri brings a 21-5 series advantage against SIUE into Tuesday’s matchup.
• The Tigers have won 19 of their 24 meetings with the Cougars in Columbia.
• Mizzou is riding a six-game win streak vs. SIUE, dating back to March 2015. The Tigers have won 13 of the last 14 contests in the series (since 1986).
• Tuesday’s game will mark Mizzou’s fifth against Ohio Valley Conference foes this season. MU swept UT Martin in a two-game midweek set April 2-3, after falling to SEMO (Feb. 27) and edging Lindenwood (March 5).
• The Tigers are 90-28 all-time against the current membership of the OVC.

SCOUTING MISSOURI

• 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.
• 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.
• Despite being sidelined for much of the last two weeks due to injury, 1B Jackson Lovich leads the Tigers with a .421 on-base percentage and 21 RBIs, while his six home runs are second on the squad.
• The sophomore recorded a career-best 13-game hit streak, February 24-March 15, batting .388 (19-for-49).
• Lovich leads the SEC and ranks 28th nationally with three triples.
• Lovich has reached base safely via a hit or walk in 24 of his 26 games, including the Tigers’ first 18 contests.
• RHP Brock Lucas turned in a string of 11 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings spanning four appearances, March 17-April 2.
• Lucas has posted six scoreless relief outings in nine total appearances this spring.
• LHP Javyn Pimental has been outstanding in SEC play, limiting four top 25 clubs to a combined batting mark of .156.
• Pimental held No. 1 Arkansas hitless through four frames as part of 5.0 shutout innings on March 17. He also notched his first win of the season against No. 21 Kentucky (March 23), allowing just one run on four hits over 6.0 innings.
• INF Brock Daniels went a combined 5-for-7 (.714) with two homers and nine RBIs, nearly tripling his career RBI total, in the Tigers’ two-game sweep of UT Martin last week.
• Daniels, who homered in each contest vs. UT Martin, became the first Tiger in two years to steal three bases in a contest April 3 in MU’s 15-9 victory.
• Daniels led the Tigers with a .474 average in five games last week, driving in 10 runs and swiping five bases to lead all SEC basestealers.
• As a team, Mizzou stole five bases in back-to-back games vs. UT Martin, achieving the feat for the first time since April 11, 2023 vs. Missouri State.
• INF Justin Colon has been a driving force for the Mizzou offense in the Tigers’ 12 wins, hitting .438 (7-for-16) with eight RBIs and a .571 OBP.
• Colon is hitting a team-best .583 (7-for-12) with runners in scoring position and is a perfect 3-for-3 with the bases loaded this season.
• OF Kaden Peer enjoyed a big week in helping the Tigers go 5-0 (April 2-7), hitting .353 with five RBIs and seven runs scored.
• Peer went 3-for-3 with two walks and three RBIs Sunday to help Mizzou to its first-ever series sweep of Florida.
• INF Trevor Austin leads the club with eight home runs, matching his personal season high (2023) and upping his career total to 24 round-trippers.
• Austin hit .438 (7-for-16) in helping the Tigers go 5-0 last week. The senior from Jefferson City scored three runs in three different contests last week.
• LHP Ryan Magdic has proven to be a valuable weapon out of the bullpen, logging four scoreless two-inning outings to date. The graduate transfer picked up his first save as a Tiger in Saturday’s 4-3 win over No. 6 Florida.
• C Jedier Hernandez played a pivotal role in MU’s series sweep of No. 6 Florida over the weekend, hitting a club-best .417 with key RBIs in each of the three games.
• Hernandez drove in the game-winning run in the 11th inning of game one vs. UF, then brought home the tying run in the sixth inning of MU’s 4-3 win in game two. The junior capped his week with a pair of RBIs on a first-inning double in the finale.
• The Tigers rank fourth in the conference in stolen bases (45), led by 11 steals from OF Jeric Curtis.
• As a team, Mizzou ranks fifth in the SEC in fielding double plays (20).
• The Tigers’ pitching staff ranks 34th nationally in walks allowed per nine innings (3.71).

SCOUTING SIUE

• Under eighth-year head coach Sean Lyons, the Cougars enter Tuesday’s matchup 11-21 overall and 5-4 in the OVC.
• The Cougars are hitting .276 as a team entering the week, led by OF Lucas Spence’s .403 average and 50 hits, the latter of which ranks 21st nationally.
• INF Ryan Niedzwiedz leads the club with 27 RBIs and four home runs, while INF Ethan Willoughby paces the Cougars running attack with nine steals.
• On the mound, SIUE relies on the duo of relief duo of RHP Liam McKillop and RHP Duncan McLaughlin, who have combined for five of the Cougars six saves to date.

HOW SWEEP IT IS

• Mizzou completed its second SEC series sweep of a top 10 conference foe in as many seasons on Sunday, securing its first-ever sweep of No. 6 Florida.
• The Tigers, who also swept No. 4 Tennessee at Taylor Stadium last March, logged three consecutive one-run victories over the Gators.
• Mizzou pitching limited a potent UF lineup to a .196 batting mark for the series.
• RHP Logan Lunceford turned in 6.0 shutout innings in the opener, holding the Gators to a single hit, while combining with RHP Carter Rustad on a two-hit, 2-1 victory in 11 innings.
• The Tigers fanned a season-high 14 hitters in Sunday’s finale and averaged 12.0 strikeouts per game for the series.
• At the plate, C Jedier Hernandez turned in a series to remember, hitting a club-best .417 while driving in key runs in each victory. He plated the game-winning run on an 11th inning single in Friday’s opener, plated the tying run in the sixth inning of game two, then drove home two more runs in the finale.

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 77 two-out RBIs in just 33 games, while hitting .292 (113-for-387) after the second out has been recorded in an inning this season.
• This past weekend vs. No. 6 Florida, Mizzou produced eight two-out RBIs, including all four of its runs in Saturday’s game two victory.
• The Tigers also rallied for three runs with two out in the bottom of the ninth in the finale, overcoming a 10-8 deficit to complete their first-ever sweep of the Gators.
• Jackson Lovich and Kaden Peer have been MU’s most consistent two-out threats, hitting .317 (13-for-41) and .375 (12-for-32) in such situations, respectively.
• Mizzou pitchers have been equally dominant, holding the opposition to a collective .204 (72-for-353) two-out batting average.
• Brock Lucas has yet to allow a two-out hit, holding the opposition hitless in 25 official at-bats. Jacob Peaden has been nearly flawless as well, limiting MU’s opponents to just two hits in 26 two-out at-bats (.077).

RANK AND FILE

• With their three wins over the sixth-ranked Gators, the Tigers can now boast of four total SEC wins over ranked opponents this season.
• Mizzou notched its first win over a top 25 foe March 23 with a 2-1 victory over No. 21 Kentucky.
• The victory also marked head coach Kerrick Jackson’s first conference win — as well as the first SEC win for a Black head coach in the circuit’s history.
• Mizzou recorded seven wins over ranked opponents last season, but suffered 18 of its 24 overall losses against ranked clubs.
• This year, the Tigers could face as many as 10 ranked SEC foes in weekend series, as each of their scheduled league opponents have spent time in at least one top 25 poll this spring.

CAN’T SLOW OUR ROLL

• In the Tigers’ 15 wins this season, MU baserunners have been successful on 29-of-30 steal attempts.
• Mizzou posted five stolen bases each of its two wins over UT Martin (April 2-3), going 10-for-10 in steal attempts against the Skyhawks.
• The Tigers’ last five-steal performance came on April 11, 2023 at Missouri State.
• INF Brock Daniels was a perfect 5-of-5 in steal attempts last week, including the first three-steal effort by a Tiger since 2022.
• For the season, Mizzou ranks fourth in the SEC with 45 steals (in 52 attempts) this season.
• OF Jeric Curtis leads the Tigers with 11 steals, which is good for seventh overall in the SEC.

TAYLOR TOMFOOLERY

• Mizzou has found the friendly confines of Taylor Stadium to its liking over a recent surge spanning the last seven home games of 2023 and its first 17 home contests of the new season.
• Over the 24-game stretch, Mizzou has scored in double-digits 12 times and registered at least 10 hits 14 times in going 16-8 at Taylor.
• The Tigers’ three-game sweep of No. 6 Florida marked the most recent chapter in the Taylor Stadium lore. Mizzou also knocked off No. 21 Kentucky on March 23, which still represents UK’s lone SEC loss of 2024.
• Additionally, MU swept Georgia (May 12-14, 2023) and took two of three conference games from Ole Miss (May 6-8, 2023), giving the Tigers a 9-3 SEC home record in their last four league series at Taylor.
• INF Trevor Austin has been the key linchpin in the Tigers’ power surge at Taylor, clubbing eight of MU’s 48 home runs over the 24-game span.

GOING STREAKING

• Mizzou ran its win streak to five straight games with its third consecutive win over Florida on Sunday.
• In going 5-0 last week, the Tigers have put together their longest win streak since claiming six in a row, March 12-22, 2023.
• INF Brock Daniels has been MU’s top offensive threat during the five-game stretch, batting .474 with 10 RBIs and five steals.
• INF Trevor Austin has been a thorn in the opposition’s side as well, scoring 10 times after posting a .600 on-base percentage and recording at least one hit in each game last week.
• The Tigers were lethal on the basepaths, going 14-for-14 in steal attempts.
• On the mound, MU fanned 59 batters in five games, reaching double-figure strikeout totals in four of those, including a season-best 14 K’s Sunday vs. Florida.
• Like Austin, OF Jeric Curtis logged a hit in all five games last week, including three consecutive two-hit performances (April 2-5). The sophomore went 4-for-9 with two steals and four runs scored in MU’s two-game sweep of UT Martin (April 2-3).

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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