Bats Fall Cold in 4-1 Loss

COLUMBIA, Mo. – South Carolina used a pair of home runs off the bat of Josiah Sightler to power past Missouri baseball 4-1 in Friday night’s series opener at Taylor Stadium.

Mizzou (15-8, 1-6 SEC) mustered just five hits in the game, all off the bats of Josh Day and Torin Montgomery. Day provided the Tigers’ lone run with a solo home run in the sixth inning.

Sightler, who entered the day hitting just .172, exploded with a 3-for-3 game to lead South Carolina (13-12, 3-4 SEC) to the win. Sightler launched two home runs to provide three of the Gamecocks’ four runs. He singled in the eighth to spark the Gamecocks’ final run of the game.

Junior Spencer Miles (2-2) went a season-long 7.2 innings in his start, allowing four runs on six hits. Miles struck out five and walked one in the outing.

South Carolina got a season-best outing from Noah Hall (1-4), who tossed seven innings of one-run ball. He struck out four without issuing a walk.

IMPACT INNING
With two outs in the top of the fifth, Miles issued his lone walk of the evening. The free pass proved costly as Sightler followed his second home run of the day to make it 3-0 South Carolina.

TOP TIGERS
Josh Day: 2-for-4, HR
Torin Montgomery: 3-for-4, 2B
Spencer Miles: 7.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 5 K, 1 BB

IN THE NOTES
•    Montgomery’s 3-for-4 day pushed the junior’s average to .412 on the season. He also added his eighth double of the season.
•    Day’s homer was his team-leading sixth on the year.
•    Sophomore Carter Rustad tossed 1.1 scoreless innings in relief, striking out a pair.

FROM THE SKIP
Coach Bieser on Miles’ performance on the mound…

“That’s the way that we need to pitch every Friday night. If he can go through and keep that team within four runs, we need to be able to do that offensively, be able to score enough runs to not make him the loser in a ballgame like that. But, really liked the way he pitched, he was really using off-speed and using that sinker… He has to continue to build off that. We had one hitter in their lineup we just couldn’t get out and we’ve got to figure out why we couldn’t get him out because everybody else in the league has been.”

UP NEXT
Mizzou looks to even the series with the Gamecocks in a 2 p.m. first pitch on Saturday afternoon. The game will stream on SEC Network +.    

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-MUTigers.com-