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LAWRENCE, Kan. – A two-run rally in the 10th and a clutch effort by its pitching staff propelled University of Missouri baseball to a 5-4 victory over arch-rival Kansas in a back-and-forth battle Tuesday evening at Hoglund Ballpark.
Brock Daniels’ one-out, RBI double chased home Jackson Beaman to snap a 3-3 tie, opening the door to the Tigers’ game-clinching rally. A wild pitch moments later allowed Justin Colon to trot home from third with a critical insurance run, handing Mizzou a 5-3 advantage.
Ben Pedersen worked around a Kodey Shojinaga leadoff single and a one-out double by Jake English with a pair of strikeouts, including a called third strike to Ben Hartl to end the contest with the potential tying and go-ahead runners on base. Pedersen locked up his first save as a Tiger, while starter Daniel Wissler and three additional relievers kept the Jayhawks off balance all evening.
The duo of Daniels and Beaman tormented KU as well. Beaman starred at the plate and in the field for the Tigers, gunning down a pair of KU baserunners from right field, while adding a game-tying, RBI single as part of Mizzou’s three-run third after the home team took an early lead. Daniels finished 2-for-5 to log his first multi-hit performance for Mizzou.
The victory for the Tigers extended their win streak against the Jayhawks to four straight games.
While the Tigers (9-8) pulled out the late rally for their second extra-innings victory of the season, it was the home club that got off to a strong start. Kansas (9-6) jumped on top courtesy of a two-run homer by Collier Cranford, after English drew a walk to start the home half of the second inning.
The Tigers responded immediately in the third, using back-to-back singles by Jeric Curtis and Matt Garcia to ignite their offense. A walk to Trevor Austin loaded the bases with nobody out, before Jackson Lovich’s double-play grounder brought in Curtis with the first MU run. After Beaman’s chopper found its way into left field to plate Garcia with the equalizing run, Tucker Moore added an infield hit, and a throwing error by KU starter Evan Shaw allowed Beaman to cross the plate for a 3-2 Mizzou advantage.
Wissler made the lead stand through his four frames, striking out a pair and facing just one hitter over the minimum after surrendering the home run to Cranford in the second. Charlie Miller followed his lead, working 2.0 hitless innings in which he fanned a pair of KU hitters, before Ian Lohse turned in a scoreless inning in the seventh.
But the Jayhawks broke through with the tying run in the eighth, knotting the score at 3-3 on Shojinaga’s RBI double. Brock Lucas (2-0) avoided further damage in the inning, striking out Michael Brooks for the third out with the potential go-ahead run at third base.
Beaman haunted the Jayhawks one more time in the deciding rally, leading off the 10th with a walk against Tegan Cain (0-1) . Following a strikeout and another walk—this one to Colon—Daniels lofted a long drive to deep left that bounced off the warning track and over the wall for a run-scoring double.
Cranford led KU with a 3-for-4 night, while John Nett added a pair of doubles as part of his three-hit performance for the Jayhawks.
Four Kansas hurlers combined to strike out 18 Mizzou hitters on the evening, including six by Cain in his 2.0 innings.
TIGER NOTEBOOK
- With their victory, the Tigers notched win No. 220 in the series, improving to 220-129-2 all-time vs. Kansas.
- Lovich extended his career-best hit streak to 12 games with his seventh-inning single.
- Lovich is now hitting .383 (18-for-47) over the course of his hit streak which dates back to February 24.
- Austin saw his hit streak end at seven games with his 0-for-3 night.
- Pedersen matched a career high with two strikeouts in his first collegiate save.
- Miller turned in his fifth scoreless appearance in seven outings as a Tiger.
- Daniels’ double in the 10th marked the first of his Mizzou career.
- Beaman scored two runs in the contest, his fourth consecutive multi-run effort (since March 9).
- Mizzou improved to 174-74 in nonconference play since 2014.
- The Tigers’ 18 strikeouts represented a season high and their most in a game since Feb. 25, 2022 when they struck out 19 times against ULM.
UP NEXT
Mizzou continues its five-game road swing with a Southeastern Conference opening weekend series against No. 1 Arkansas in Fayetteville. Game one of the series is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Friday (March 15) at Baum-Walker Stadium.
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