Mizzou Baseball lifted by bats, run rules UAPB

The Tigers let their frustrations loose on the Golden Lions

Mizzou Baseball heated its bats back up after a low-scoring weekend, scoring a combined 19 runs in the fourth and fifth innings Tuesday night in a 25-10 run rule victory against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

After an 0-9 conference start and putting only nine runs on the board in three games against a top-tier Texas pitching staff this past weekend, there was surely some pent-up frustration in the clubhouse.

Kerrick Jackson’s squad found some catharsis against the Golden Lions, scoring over 20 runs for the first time this season and getting a reprieve from SEC pitching.

“Any success that you can have is going to be good success, specifically if it’s rooted in the idea of doing things that we’re asking them to do: playing the game right, having good approaches at the plate,” head coach Kerrick Jackson said. “So if we can just continue to build on that, the opponent becomes irrelevant at that point if you’re doing things the right way.”

The offensive explosion began in the fourth with three consecutive singles, including a perfect bunt down the third base line by Brock Daniels. Pine Bluff’s pitching woes then truly began as reliever Nate Monceaux allowed two walks, a hit by pitch and two singles to surrender five runs.

Emerson Lott then entered the game for the visitors with the bases loaded and Jackson Lovich up at the plate.

Lovich emptied the bases quickly with a no-doubt grand slam to left field, giving Mizzou a double-digit lead. Daniels came through again three at-bats later, singling up the middle to bring around Kaden Peer and make it 15-4.

The game’s outcome was not in doubt following the double-digit outburst in the fourth. But the visitors made Jackson’s squad sweat a little bit before pulling away.

The Tigers took an early 5-1 advantage in the game, scoring a run in the opening inning and plating four more in the second.

The team took advantage of a large Golden Lions blunder in that frame during a two-out rally when Peyton Basler popped up to third. An out would have ended the inning with no runs scored, but Pine Bluff third baseman Brant Voth couldn’t track the ball in the wind and two runs came home.

Lovich knocked home two more runs soon after, scoring Basler and Gehrig Goldbeck.

But Mizzou starter Wil Libbert struggled in his outing, allowing one run in the second inning and two more in the third. That inning was particularly costly as catcher Yadi Hernandez had to come out after being injured on a play at the plate.

Pierre Seals made a diving grab on a line drive to right field and fired a laser to home plate, giving Hernandez a chance to nab Vinny Saumell at home. But Saumell dove in safe and made contact with Hernandez’s head on the play, and the training staff pulled Yadi from the game as a precaution.

Libbert’s command deteriorated in the fourth inning as he loaded the bases, and the redshirt freshman’s night ended after a groundout by Ben VanMaanen scored Carlos Rodriguez to make it a one run contest.

But Josh Kirchhoff entered in relief and induced a popout to end the frame and preserve the lead, 5-4.

Libbert allowed seven hits and four earned runs alongside three walks and seven strikeouts in his 3.2 innings of work.

Pine Bluff worked hard to bring the game back within a run, but Mizzou’s 15 batters and 10 runs in the bottom of the fourth immediately put the game out of reach.

And if the visitors had any belief in their ability to come back left, the Tigers batted around again in the fifth and scored nine more runs, which brought the team’s total to 24 runs scored.

The Golden Lions’ pitchers greatly contributed to the offensive effort, walking six batters and hitting five batters with a pitch. Mizzou had only one hit in the inning, a bases-clearing triple to right-center by Serna.

Jackson began to ease off the gas during this half, subbing in Brady Picarelli and Isaiah Frost as pinch hitters.

Both stayed in the field the next inning, while freshmen Aden Malpass, Tyler Macon and Trey Callaway also entered as defensive replacements.

“When you get up by that many runs it creates an opportunity for those guys to get in there, and there is some margin for error on that side,” Jackson said. “So that’s basically what it comes down to, is how can we continue to let guys get at-bats regardless of what the situation is, because that’s going to build that catalog of experience.”

Kirchhoff lost command in the sixth, allowing six runs, and Jackson’s squad added one more run in the inning’s bottom half. All seven runs were entirely irrelevant, and Kadden Drew clinched Mizzou’s largest victory since last March with three outs in the top of the seventh.

Lovich led the offensive charge all night, going 3-4 with three extra base hits – including the monster grand slam in the fourth inning. He ended the game with eight runs batted in, continuing his hitting surge of the past month.

“I think he put himself in a situation where he became coachable and he was listening to the things that we were asking him to do,” Jackson said. “He made the adjustments, trusted the approach that we said, ‘Hey, this is who you are. This is how you need to go about it.’ And then you saw him do a complete 180.”

Brock Daniels, Mateo Serna and Peyton Basler also recorded multiple hits, but the other notable name on the night was Chris Patterson. The freshman went 2-4 with three runs and four RBI, and he’s played in each of the team’s last four games after previously seeing action in three games all season long.

“He got a pinch hit opportunity, and that pinch hit opportunity turned into two quality at-bats, getting in there and playing good defense,” Jackson said, “and it’s like, ‘Alright, let’s roll with it again.’”

This game does not fundamentally change the outlook for the season, nor the team itself. A 15-run drubbing of Arkansas-Pine Bluff is unlikely to serve as a catalyst for the rest of the year.

But in a season where the Tigers have often faced heavy doubts and questioning, the team provided a stark reminder tonight that it is, in fact, an SEC baseball team.

Jackson also provided a welcome update that starter Daniel Wissler, expected to be a key member of the squad before getting sidetracked by injuries, will make his return to the mound tomorrow.

Mizzou is riding high tonight, but inconsistency has plagued the team all year. The key to fixing the problem?

“Sh*t, if I knew that we wouldn’t be chasing .500,” Jackson said. “My job this year is more of a psychologist than it is anything else, getting our guys in the right mindset and then keeping them in that mindset.”

Nevertheless, the Tigers will try to find that answer tomorrow at Taylor Stadium. The first pitch will be at 7 p.m., and the matchup will be broadcast on SEC Network.