Baseball Rallies to Complete Sweep of No. 6 Florida

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Jeric Curtis’ two-out, RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning handed University of Missouri baseball an 11-10 victory over No. 6 Florida Sunday afternoon at Taylor Stadium. The Tigers overcame a two-run deficit, scoring three times in the ninth to notch their third-straight one-run win over the Gators.

Mizzou (15-18, 4-8 SEC) overcame a comeback bid by the Gators (17-14, 6-6 SEC), who scored six unanswered runs over a three-inning stretch to erase a four-run MU lead. Florida took a 10-8 lead into the final inning, only to see the Tigers take advantage of back-to-back walks and a pair of wild pitches to generate the game-clinching rally.

Brock Daniels capped a 3-for-5 day with a two-out, RBI double to tie the game, before Curtis lined a 2-2 pitch from Luke McNeillie (3-5) into center field, just out of the reach of a diving Michael Robertson, allowing Daniels to race home with the winning run and Mizzou’s second walk-off victory of the weekend.

With their fifth win in as many games this week, the Tigers completed their first-ever series sweep of Florida. In addition to Daniels’ three-hit performance, freshman Kaden Peer reached safely in each of his five trips to the plate, driving in three runs while finishing 3-for-3 with two walks and two runs scored to lead the Mizzou offense.

The Tigers appeared poised to ride the momentum from back-to-back victories over UF to a big victory after scoring four times in the first inning against Gators All-American Jac Caglianone. A trio of walks and a wild pitch brought home the first run of the game, before Jedier Hernandez delivered yet another critical hit with a two-out, two-run double. Matt Garcia added to the early scoring bonanza with an RBI single, handing MU a 4-0 lead.

The second frame followed a similar pattern, as the Tigers recorded four consecutive hits, capped by Peer’s two-run single to left-center. Jackson Lovich added a run-scoring base hit, helping Mizzou to an early six-run cushion.

But Florida dialed long distance to chip away at the Tigers’ lead, using three home runs to close the gap. Luke Heyman delivered his second home run of the series to put UF on the board in the second inning, before Colby Shelton went deep for a three-run shot that reduced the margin to 7-4 in the third. Caglianone joined the home run parade in the sixth, clubbing a line-drive, two-run blast in the sixth that pulled the Gators to within 8-6.

After UF plated two runs in the seventh to pull even with the Tigers, Shelton delivered again in the eighth, snapping the 8-8 tie with a two-run homer to left-center—the fourth round-tripper of the game for the Gators.

The Gators threatened to add to their lead in the ninth, putting their first three hitters on base. But Tigers reliever Jacob Peaden (2-1) extinguished the threat with three consecutive strikeouts to keep Mizzou within striking distance. Peaden would earn the victory after fanning four over his 2.2 innings, combining with Bryce Mayer and Ian Lohse to strike out 14 batters—a season high for Mizzou pitchers.

Mizzou’s ninth-inning rally started with walks to Peer and Hernandez, before Garcia’s sacrifice moved the runners to second and third. After McNeillie brought the Gators within one out of victory with a strikeout, a wild pitch chased home Peer to pull the Tigers to within a single run. Next, Daniels turned a line-drive to right-center into a hustle double, scoring pinch runner Tucker Moore with the equalizing run and setting the stage for Curtis’ game-winner moments later.

TIGER NOTEBOOK

• Missouri notched its eighth win in 39 all-time meetings with Florida.
• MU recorded its first-ever sweep of Florida and its first series win against the Gators since 2015
• The Tigers stretched their win streak to a season-high five straight games, dating back to April 2.
• The SEC series sweep over the sixth-ranked Gators represents the first for the Tigers against a top 10 club since sweeping No. 4 Tennessee (March 17-19, 2023).
• Lovich and Austin both extended their respective on-base streaks to six games apiece.
• Curtis stretched his hitting streak to five games.
• Hernandez led Mizzou with a .417 (5-for-12) batting mark and four RBIs in the series.
• All nine Tigers in the starting lineup notched at least one hit in the contest.
• Trevor Austin reached safely in four of five plate appearances finishing 2-for-3 with a walk and a HBP, while also matching a career best with three runs scored.
• Peer matched career highs with three hits and three runs scored.
• Austin and Peer each went 4-for-10 in the three-game series.

UP NEXT
Mizzou concludes its six-game home stand with a Tuesday (April 9) nonconference matchup against SIU Edwardsville. First pitch from Taylor Stadium is slated for 6 p.m. (CDT).

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