Mizzou Baseball drops series opener to Oklahoma

Five Sooners runs in the sixth decided the game’s outcome

Mizzou Baseball dropped its series opener Friday night against longtime foe Oklahoma, losing 17-4 in the rivalry’s first matchup since 2021.

The loss moves the team to 0-16 in SEC play, further extending the longest drought in program history to begin conference play.

“It’s hard to win when you can’t keep them from scoring,” head coach Kerrick Jackson said to start his postgame press conference. “We’ve had some good pitching performances and tonight was not one of them.”

The Sooners took the first lead of the game with two runs in the second inning, scoring runners on hits by Drew Dickerson and Dawson Willis. Willis’ double nearly resulted in another run, but Dickerson was thrown out at the plate on a relay throw by Peyton Basler.

Oklahoma added another run when Trey Gambill led off the top of the third with a solo home run to right field, making it 3-0.

The Tigers’ offense roared to life in the bottom of the inning after Yadi Hernandez drew a walk in a 15 pitch at-bat. He was forced out on a groundball two at-bats later, but singles by Basler and Jackson Lovich plated the team’s first run.

“When [Hernandez] gets two strikes, he’s going to foul and battle, and battle, and battle and battle,” Jackson said. “That’s who he is as a player, and he earned a quality at-bat there for being able to do that.”

Mizzou’s momentum continued in the fourth. Hernandez hit a flyball down the right field line that popped out of Sam Christiansen’s glove, scoring Cayden Nicoletto and Pierre Seals to tie the contest at 3.

Starting pitcher Brady Kehlenbrink allowed the Tigers to maintain their upswing with a 1-2-3 top of the fourth, completing one of his best outings of the year. He allowed three hits and three earned runs with a walk and three strikeouts in his four innings of work.

The true freshman has often flashed the potential to become an SEC-caliber weekend starter but failed to put it together for a full appearance.

“It was promising for him, specifically, because this is the first time I didn’t have to pull him,” Jackson said. “He went out there, pitched well enough to keep us in the game, got us 12 outs.”

But the team’s new lease on life was short-lived. Brock Lucas entered in relief and allowed the Sooners to retake the lead on an Easton Carmichael single to left field in the top of the fifth, 4-3.

And Oklahoma put the game out of reach with five more runs in the sixth to take a six-run lead.

Dayton Tockey’s single put the first run of the inning on the board, then Dickerson brought home two more runs the next at-bat with a double to left-center.

Gambill’s second homer of the game, this time a moonshot to right field, made it 9-3.

Lucas ended his outing with seven hits and six earned runs allowed in 1.1 innings pitched. The junior thrived out of the bullpen last year with a 3.63 ERA but has regressed sharply this spring, now sporting a 10.49 ERA in 2025.

He entered this season with much promise, earning a spot in the rotation to begin the year, but wasn’t able to make the successful jump to starting.

“I think that his confidence took a little bit of a hit, and so we’re kind of still recovering from that, unfortunately,” Jackson said, “because it wasn’t the ideal start for him to the start of the year.”

Jaxon Willits brought home two more runs in the top of the seventh with a double to center field after Seth McCartney allowed two walks and a single earlier in the frame, extending OU’s advantage to 11-3.

Mizzou responded with a run in the bottom of the seventh. Keegan Knutson tripled off the wall to deep center field and scored the next at-bat on a sacrifice fly by Lovich for an 11-4 deficit.

Oklahoma added salt to the wounds with six runs in the eighth, though, including a three-run double by Gambill to push the game into run-rule territory.

Michael Catalano brought it home for the Sooners in the eighth, clinching the 17-4 victory to give the visitors a 1-0 series lead.

Bullpen struggles were once again the nail in Mizzou’s coffin. The team built up energy behind a larger than usual crowd in the third and fourth innings, but that momentum quickly faltered once Kehlenbrink was replaced by Lucas.

The Tigers will try their luck again tomorrow in a doubleheader starting at noon. Both games will stream on SEC Network+.