Tigers Drop Series Opener to Mississippi State

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mississippi State scored 13 times on 20 hits to take a 13-4 win over Missouri baseball in Friday’s series opener at Taylor Stadium.

Mizzou (22-17, 5-14 SEC) dug an early hole as Mississippi State (25-18, 9-10 SEC) scored in each of the first two innings. The Bulldogs plated seven more in the fourth and fifth to pull away. RJ Yeager led Mississippi State with a 3-for-5 day, including a pair of home runs and five RBI.

The Tigers were paced offensively by a 3-for-4 night from Josh Day. Ross Lovich, Luke Mann and Justin Colon each homered for Mizzou in the loss.

On the mound, freshman Tony Neubeck suffered the loss. The left-hander allowed seven runs on 10 hits over four-plus innings. It was the first time this season Neubeck allowed more than three earned runs in a start.

IMPACT INNING

Mississippi State struck for three runs in the fourth inning to break the game open. A leadoff double from Kamren James started the trouble before he scored on a Lane Forsythe single. Yeager capped the frame with his second home run of the night, a two-run shot into the left field bullpen.

TOP TIGERS

Justin Colon: 1-for-1, pinch-hit HR

Ross Lovich: 1-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, R

Josh Day: 3-for-4, R

IN THE NOTES

• Mann hit his team leading 11th home run of the season. The 11 homers are the most by a Tiger since Trey Harris hit 11 in 2018.
• Colon’s homer in the ninth was the first of his collegiate career.
• Torin Montgomery finished 2-for-5, his 12th multi-hit performance.
• Day’s three-hit game was his team-leading 17th multi-hit performance of the season.

FROM THE SKIP

Coach Bieser on the series opener…

“That was very obviously just a poor performance all around. We didn’t come out with a lot of fire and they kind of socked it to us early and then we just never could get in the groove there.”

UP NEXT

Mizzou and Mississippi State continue the series with a 2 p.m. first pitch on Saturday afternoon. The game will stream on SEC Network +.

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-MUTigers.com-