Daniels, Garcia Power Baseball to Series Sweep of UT Martin

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Brock Daniels’ tie-breaking three-run home run in the fifth inning helped University of Missouri baseball rally for a 15-9 victory over UT Martin Wednesday afternoon, completing a two-game series sweep for the Tigers at Taylor Stadium.

Daniels, who drove in five runs in Tuesday’s 13-3 series-opening win, plated four more Missouri baserunners in the finale, while becoming the first Tiger in two years to steal three bases in a contest. The sophomore outfielder combined with Matt Garcia for six hits and eight RBIs on the afternoon, as Mizzou pounded out 13 hits and drew 10 free passes (five walks and five hit batsmen) from UT Martin pitching.

The Tigers (12-18) appeared poised to pull away early, scoring four times in the first inning and two more in the second to build a 6-2 advantage. The duo of Garcia and Daniels delivered back-to-back run-scoring singles in the opening frame, before a Juju Stevens ground ball produced another run, and Mateo Serna brought in a fourth tally with his two-out single.

In the second, Mizzou answered the second Skyhawks run of the day with two of its own thanks to a two-out homer by Kaden Peer and Garcia’s RBI triple to right.

UT Martin (11-19) responded with a big third inning, putting six of its first seven hitters aboard in the inning en route to a six-run rally. Run-scoring singles from Will Smith and Blaze Bell fueled the onslaught, before a sacrifice fly off the bat of Hunter McLean tied the game at 6-6. Next, Jackson Cooke laced a two-out, two-run single to left to hand UT Martin an 8-6 edge.

But the Tigers, who scored at least one run in 10 of their 16 turns at-bat in the series, bounced back with the game’s critical rally in the fifth, kicking off a two-inning stretch that would see MU score nine times to seal the outcome. Three of the first four Mizzou batters reached base without the benefit of a walk, before Trevor Austin’s base hit to left chased home a run to slice the deficit to 8-7, and Garcia knotted the score with a sacrifice fly to center.

Daniels untied the game moments later, laying into Brock Arender’s 1-0 pitch and launching a three-run shot down the right-field line for his second round-tripper in as many games against UT Martin.

MU added to its lead in the sixth, using a pair of hit batsmen and a throwing error to spark another threat. Jeric Curtis and Garcia came through with RBI singles, and Austin plated a run with a sac fly that helped stretch the margin to seven runs.

Tigers reliever Brock Mayer (1-4) made the lead stand, limiting the Skyhawks to a single hit while fanning four hitters over 3 1/3 scoreless innings to notch his first win. Ian Lohse followed with 2.0 innings of one-hit relief to help lock down the victory.

Mizzou turned in one of its best two-game performances of the season against UT Martin, compiling a .373 club batting mark while scoring 28 runs in the two-game set. Garcia and Daniels spearheaded the attack, combining for 11 hits and 16 of the team’s 24 RBIs in the series.

TIGER NOTEBOOK

• Missouri now leads the series with UT Martin, 2-0.
• MU is now 90-28 all-time against the Ohio Valley Conference’s current membership, including a 3-1 mark this season.
• The Tigers clinched their first series sweep of the season, as well as their first since taking three straight SEC games from Georgia, May 12-14, 2023.
• Mizzou’s offense recorded three separate four-run rallies for the second time this season (March 10 vs. Purdue Fort Wayne).
• Mayer clinched his first career win as a Tiger with his 3.1 shutout innings.
• For the second straight contest — and the third time this season — five Tigers recorded multiple hits in a game.
• Seven different MU batters drove in runs, including Stevens, who tallied his first RBI of the year.
• Daniels registered a career high with his three hits, finishing the two-game series 5-for-7 (.714) with two homers and nine RBIs, nearly tripling his career RBI total.
• Garcia’s four RBIs marked a Mizzou career high. He also totaled three hits for the second day in a row vs. UT Martin and for the fourth time this season.
• Peer’s second-inning homer marked his first as a Tiger.
• Austin matched a career best with three runs scored for the second consecutive game and tallied his team-leading ninth multi-hit performance of 2024.
• Curtis also recorded his second straight two-hit effort vs. the Skyhawks.

UP NEXT
Missouri will host No. 6 Florida in a three-game Southeastern Conference series this weekend, with the opener set for a 6 p.m. (CDT) first pitch Friday (April 5) at Taylor Stadium.

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