Freshman Brady Picarelli had five hits and six RBI’s in Missouri’s baseball win over Lindenwood on Tuesday. (Photo: Terrance Williams)
| NCAA Baseball | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lindenwood (4-5) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 12 | 0 |
| Missouri (4-4) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 2 | X | 14 | 17 | 1 |
WP: James Vaughn – MIZ (1-0) LP: Tanner Paschke – LU (0-2)
Terrance Williams
Staff Writer
COLUMBIA, MO — Freshman Brady Picarelli’s five-hit, six-RBI performance powered University of Missouri baseball to a come-from-behind 14-10 home-opening victory over Lindenwood Tuesday evening at Taylor Stadium.
The Tigers (4-4) overcame an early four-run deficit, thanks to Picarelli, who homered in his first two at-bats of the contest, and a four-hit effort by Cameron Benson. Mizzou, which registered a season-high 17 hits, scored in each of its final five turns at bat, seizing the lead for good on a Mateo Serna sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth.
Picarelli, who hit his first collegiate home run in just his second at-bat as a Tiger in Sunday’s victory over Southern, clubbed a two-run shot in the second inning Tuesday to put Mizzou on the board, then went deep again with a fourth-inning solo shot to make it a 4-3 game.
Benson, who finished with a career-best 4-for-5 night, sparked the Tigers’ three-run, fifth-inning rally that handed them their first lead. The junior transfer tripled to lead off the inning before scoring on a wild pitch to tie the game.
Picarelli then put Mizzou in front with a two-out, two-run single. The freshman wasn’t quite done, as he doubled as part of MU’s five-run outburst in the seventh that handed them a 12-6 cushion.
He capped his night with an RBI single in the eighth, becoming the first Tiger to record five hits in a game since Brett Bond accomplished the feat on May 1, 2018.
Supplementing their 17 hits, the Tigers swiped six bases in a game for the first time since 2022.
On the mound, Mizzou received a boost from Kaden Jacobi, who struck out a career-high eight Lions over 5 1/3 innings of relief work – also a career best for the senior. James Vaughn (1-0) earned his first win as a Tiger, following Jacobi’s effort with 1.1 shoutout innings of relief.
In addition to big nights from Picarelli and Benson, the Tigers got a lift from Tyler Macon, who went 2-for-2 with his first collegiate home run off the MU bench.
The Lions opened the contest with a big inning, taking advantage of four walks and a Mizzou defensive miscue to put four runs on the board in the first frame. With the bases loaded and one out, Brodie Short and Tanner Simpson drew back-to-back free passes to bring in the first two runs of the night. Sam Grunberg followed with a two-run single to stretch the LU advantage to 4-0.
Picarelli’s second-inning homer to left-center sparked a string of six unanswered runs for the Tigers, who would go on to tally 12 of the next 14 runs to gain control of the contest.
Grunberg led the Lions with a 3-for-5 night, while Thompson drove in three runs for LU.
Lindenwood loaded the bases in the top of the ninth and brought the tying run to the plate, but Mizzou was able to get final out to secure the win.
The Lions will host their own home opener as part of a three-game set this weekend against Illinois State.
Mizzou will continue its 10-game homestand with a four-game set beginning on Friday against Evansville.