Senior second baseman Trevor Austin homered twice in Missouri’s win over Cal State-Bakersfield, Thursday night in San Diego. (Photo courtesy: Mizzou Athletics)
| NCAA Baseball | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri (3-1) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 2 |
| CSU Bakersfield (0-5) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 0 |
WP: Brock Lucas – MU (1-0) LP: Ryan Verdugo – CSUB (0-1) SV: Jacob Peaden – MU (2)
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
SAN DIEGO, CA — The University of Missouri baseball team put on a big time power display, Thursday night at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
The Tigers blasted four home runs and rode the pitching brilliance of Brock Lucas to a 6-3 win over Cal State-Bakersfield.
It was actually the host Roadrunners that got the scoring going, thanks to a solo homer in the bottom of the first inning by catcher Matt Kurata, who went five-for-five in the game.
But that lead didn’t last long, as Missouri came storming back with three solo homers in the top of the second.
Left fielder Isaiah Frost launched his first homer of the season to tie the score at one. Then, with two outs, shortstop Drew Culbertson blasted one over the left-field wall to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead.
Second baseman Trevor Austin followed with another blast to make it 3-1 Tigers. The Roadrunners got single runs in their half of the second and in the fourth to tie the score at 3.
But that’s when Mizzou turned up the power again. Austin went deep for his second homer of the night — a mammoth blast over the left-centerfield wall — in the top of the fifth to put the Tigers up 4-3.
In the seventh, Jedier Hernandez and Jeric Curtis gave Mizzou a bit of breathing room by delivering a pair of RBI doubles. Those scores proved to more than enough, as the Mizzou bullpen held CSUB scoreless over the final 5 1/3 innings to close out the game.
Lucas (1-0), who came in in relief, pitched 4 1/3 innings of scoreless ball, and allowed just three hits, while striking out four. The sophomore from St. Elizabeth, Mo., did walk one batter and hit two others. But he also pitched himself out of any danger he faced to get his first win of the season.
Grad student Jacob Peaden, a transfer from Davidson, pitched a scoreless ninth to get the save.
The Tigers are now 3-1 on the season and will continue play in southern California on Friday, when they’ll take on San Diego State.
TIGER NOTEBOOK
- Missouri claimed its third straight road victory, marking its first three-game win streak on the road since Feb. 24-26, 2023.
- The Tigers improved to 168-67 in non-conference action since 2014, including a 41-7 mark since the start of the 2022 campaign.
- The trio of Austin, Culbertson and Frost became the fourth, fifth and sixth Tigers to homer in the first four games of the season.
- Austin’s two-homer night marked his first in 121 career games as a Tiger.
- The Tigers improved to 3-0 on the season when hitting at least one home run.
- Mizzou has out-homered the opposition by a 7-1 count on the season.
- Lucas matched a career high for innings pitched (4.1) and earned his first victory of the season, improving to 4-1 for his career.
- Peaden locked up his second save in as many appearances this season and the third of his collegiate career.
- Mizzou improved to 25-33 overall against schools from the state of California.
MISSOURI TIGERS 2024 BASEBALL SCHEDULE
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 23, 2024 (Friday) | 8:00 p.m. | Away | San Diego State | San Diego, Calif. | |
| February 24, 2024 (Saturday) | 4:00 p.m. | Away | UC San Diego | La Jolla, Calif. | |
| February 27, 2024 (Tuesday) | 3:00 p.m. | Home | Southeast Missouri | Taylor Stadium |  |
| March 1, 2024 (Friday) | 6:00 p.m. | Home | Northern Kentucky | Taylor Stadium | |
| March 2, 2024 (Saturday) | 2:00 p.m. | Home | Northern Kentucky | Taylor Stadium | |
| March 3, 2024 (Sunday) | 1:00 p.m. | Home | Northern Kentucky | Taylor Stadium | |
| March 5, 2024 (Tuesday) | 3:00 p.m. | Home | Lindenwood | Taylor Stadium | |
| March 8, 2024 (Friday) | 3:00 p.m. | Home | Purdue Fort Wayne | Taylor Stadium | |
| March 9, 2024 (Saturday) | 12:00 p.m. | Home | Purdue Fort Wayne | Taylor Stadium | |
| March 10, 2024 (Sunday) | 1:00 p.m. | Home | Purdue Fort Wayne | Taylor Stadium | |
| March 12, 2024 (Tuesday) | 6:00 p.m. | Away | Kansas | Lawrence, Kan. | |
| March 15, 2024 (Friday) | 6:30 p.m. | Away | Arkansas | Fayetteville, Ark. | |
| March 16, 2024 (Saturday) | 2:00 p.m. | Away | Arkansas | Fayetteville, Ark. | |
| March 17, 2024 (Sunday) | 2:00 p.m. | Away | Arkansas | Fayetteville, Ark. | |
| March 19, 2024 (Tuesday) | 6:00 p.m. | Neutral | Kansas | Kansas City, Mo. / Kauffman Stadium | |
| March 22, 2024 (Friday) | 6:00 p.m. | Home | Kentucky | Taylor Stadium | |
| March 23, 2024 (Saturday) | 3:00 p.m. | Home | Kentucky | Taylor Stadium | |
| March 24, 2024 (Sunday) | 11:00 a.m. | Home | Kentucky | Taylor Stadium |  |
| March 26, 2024 (Tuesday) | 6:00 p.m. | Neutral | Illinois | Sauget, Ill. / Grizzlies Ballpark | |
| March 28, 2024 (Thursday) | 6:00 p.m. | Away | Vanderbilt | Nashville, Tenn. | |
| March 29, 2024 (Friday) | 6:00 p.m. | Away | Vanderbilt | Nashville, Tenn. | |
| March 30, 2024 (Saturday) | 1:00 p.m. | Away | Vanderbilt | Nashville, Tenn. | |
| April 2, 2024 (Tuesday) | 6:00 p.m. | Home | Tennessee-Martin | Taylor Stadium | |
| April 3, 2024 (Wednesday) | 3:00 p.m. | Home | Tennessee-Martin | Taylor Stadium | |
| April 5, 2024 (Friday) | 6:00 p.m. | Home | Florida | Taylor Stadium | |
| April 6, 2024 (Saturday) | 3:00 p.m. | Home | Florida | Taylor Stadium | |
| April 7, 2024 (Sunday) | 1:00 p.m. | Home | Florida | Taylor Stadium | |
| April 9, 2024 (Tuesday) | 6:00 p.m. | Home | SIU-Edwardsville | Taylor Stadium | |
| April 11, 2024 (Thursday) | 6:00 p.m. | Away | Georgia | Athens, Ga. | |
| April 12, 2024 (Friday) | 5:00 p.m. | Away | Georgia | Athens, Ga. | |
| April 13, 2024 (Saturday) | 1:00 p.m. | Away | Georgia | Athens, Ga. | |
| April 16, 2024 (Tuesday) | 6:30 p.m. | Away | Missouri State | Springfield, Mo. | |
| April 19, 2024 (Friday) | 7:00 p.m. | Home | LSU | Taylor Stadium | |
| April 20, 2024 (Saturday) | 4:00 p.m. | Home | LSU | Taylor Stadium | |
| April 21, 2024 (Sunday) | 2:00 p.m. | Home | LSU | Taylor Stadium | |
| April 23, 2024 (Tuesday) | 6:00 p.m. | Home | Missouri State | Taylor Stadium | |
| April 25, 2024 (Thursday) | 6:00 p.m. | Away | Tennessee | Knoxville, Tenn. | |
| April 26, 2024 (Friday) | 5:30 p.m. | Away | Tennessee | Knoxville, Tenn. | |
| April 27, 2024 (Saturday) | 11:00 a.m. | Away | Tennessee | Knoxville, Tenn. | |
| April 30, 2024 (Tuesday) | 6:00 p.m. | Home | Lindenwood | Taylor Stadium | |
| May 3, 2024 (Friday) | 6:00 p.m. | Home | South Carolina | Taylor Stadium | |
| May 4, 2024 (Saturday) | 3:00 p.m. | Home | South Carolina | Taylor Stadium | |
| May 5, 2024 (Sunday) | 1:00 p.m. | Home | South Carolina | Taylor Stadium | |
| May 10, 2024 (Friday) | 6:00 p.m. | Home | Auburn | Taylor Stadium | |
| May 11, 2024 (Saturday) | 3:00 p.m. | Home | Auburn | Taylor Stadium | |
| May 12, 2024 (Sunday) | 1:00 p.m. | Home | Auburn | Taylor Stadium | |
| May 16, 2024 (Thursday) | TBA | Away | Mississippi State | Starkville, Miss. | |
| May 17, 2024 (Friday) | TBA | Away | Mississippi State | Starkville, Miss, | |
| May 18, 2024 (Saturday) | TBA | Away | Mississippi State | Starkville, Miss. | |
| May 21, 2024 (Tuesday) | TBA | Neutral | SEC Tournament | Hoover, Ala. |