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COLUMBIA, Mo. – Riding the combination of a dominant opening game performance and a tie-breaking three-run homer in the nightcap, the University of Missouri baseball team swept its series-opening doubleheader with Texas Southern Saturday afternoon at Taylor Stadium.
The Tigers (8-2) stretched their win streak to six games with an 8-7 game two victory, powered by Juju Stevens’ two-out, three-run homer in the home half of the sixth.
That performance followed an 8-0 rout of TSU (7-5) in game one, in which Mizzou capitalized on the pitching of Chandler Murphy and the hitting of Dalton Bargo to claim the first-ever meeting of the two programs.
Bargo led the way for Missouri going 4-for-7 on the day, including a career-best three-hit effort in the opening contest of the series. His RBI triple set the tone for the game in the bottom of the first, igniting a two-run rally. Luke Mann, who added three hits and scored three runs in the doubleheader, singled to start the game for Mizzou, then came all the way around from first on Bargo’s liner into the right-field corner.
Hank Zeisler capped the scoring in the first with a sacrifice fly to center, handing the Tigers an early 2-0 lead.
Ross Lovich came through in the third with a run-scoring hit to extend the Missouri lead to three runs after Bargo singled to start the inning.
A two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth inning by Zeisler broke the game open for the Tigers, extending their lead to five runs.
TSU never seriously threatened Murphy (1-1), who picked up his first win as a Tiger by tossing 6.0 scoreless innings. The right-hander recorded five strikeouts and held Texas Southern to two hits. Murphy’s outing marked the first time this season a Mizzou pitcher completed six innings in a contest.
Mizzou was forced to come from behind to post its sixth straight victory in the second game of the day. TSU scored two times in the first, getting an RBI double from CJ Castillo and a sac fly to grab a 2-0 lead.
Mann answered immediately for the Tigers in the bottom half of the first, belting a solo shot—his fourth of the season—to center to cut the deficit in half.
The Tigers evened the score in the second on Stevens’ one-out double, then cashed in for three runs in the third to seize a 5-2 advantage when Lovich went deep to right for a two-run homer.
But Texas Southern responded the following inning, leveling the score on Jeffry Mercado’s three-run blast to left-center.
A pair of walks sparked Mizzou’s decisive scoring opportunity in the sixth, before Stevens laid into a 1-1 offering from Carlos Marquez (0-1) and lifted the ball over the wall in left-center for an 8-5 Tiger lead.
TSU scratched out a pair of runs in the top of the seventh against Zach Franklin (2-0), but the sixth-year senior reliever snuffed out the rally with his seventh strikeout to close out the victory.
TIGER NOTEBOOK
- Missouri improves to 2-0 all-time vs. Texas Southern
- Mizzou remains unbeaten (3-0) at home in 2023 and improves to 385-225 all-time at Taylor Stadium
- The Tigers’ six-game win streak represents their longest since claiming seven straight wins, Feb. 21-March 6, 2022
- Trevor Austin reached base safely via a hit, walk or hit by pitch in each of his first five plate appearances of the day
- Zach Franklin notched the 18th victory of his collegiate career, which leads all active SEC pitchers
- Ty Wilmsmeyer extended his career-best hit streak to 12 games with a fifth-inning bunt single in game one, before going hitless in three at-bats in the second contest
- Hank Zeisler hit his fifth home run in six games in the opener (dating back to Feb. 23), running his career total to 36 homers spanning his career at Chapman, UNLV and Mizzou
- Dalton Bargo stretched his hit streak to five games with three hits in the opener and one more in the nightcap
- Chandler Murphy’s 6.0-inning outing represents the longest for any Tiger hurler this season
- Luke Mann led off the nightcap with a home run, marking the second time this season he’s hit a leadoff homer (Feb. 26 at FIU)
- Juju Stevens matched a career high with four RBIs in game two
- Every Tiger that recorded a hit in the second game also registered an RBI
- Saturday’s announced attendance of 1,130 gives Mizzou back-to-back gates of over 1,100 to start the home portion of its 2023 schedule
UP NEXT
Mizzou and Texas Southern conclude their three-game series Sunday (March 5) with a 1 p.m. contest at Taylor Stadium. Single-game tickets for the 2023 season are on sale now and can be purchased by calling 1-800-CAT-PAWS, or by visiting MUTigers.com/feature/BSBTix.
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