The Missouri Tigers are now 19-14 after winning two of three games against No. 24 Kentucky over the weekend. (Photo courtesy: Mizzou Athletics)
LEXINGTON, KY — The University of Missouri baseball team earned its first Southeastern Conference series win of the season this past weekend, when the Tigers won two of three games on the road against No. 24-ranked Kentucky.
Missouri, which had lost previous series against Auburn, Tennessee, and Texas A&M, won Game 1 against Kentucky on Friday, 5-4, lost Game 2 on Saturday, 9-2, but took the finale on Sunday, 5-2.
It was the Tigers’ first road series win over a ranked opponent since 2021.
“It was a good weekend for us,” Mizzou head coach Kerrick Jackson said. “That’s a good team over there and we played three good games, and we were able to take two of the three. So we’re happy about that.
“The challenge now is to build on it. We didn’t do anything heroic out here today. We just played better and won a game we needed to. We’ve got some things we need to improve on a little bit. But if we can just build on this and continue to get better, we’ll be in a pretty good spot down the road.”
Mizzou freshman Blaize Ward had six hits in the Tigers’ three games at Kentucky this past weekend. (Photo: Terrance Williams)
Game 1 – Mizzou 5, Kentucky 4
| NCAA Baseball | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mizzou (18-13) | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 11 | 3 |
| #24 Kentucky (22-7) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 3 |
WP: Trey Lawrence – MIZZ (2-0) LP: Jack Soucie – KEN (0-1)
Missouri overcame an early deficit in Friday night’s game and held on for a 5-4 victory.
The Tiger offense came alive in the third with a three-run rally sparked by Kam Durnin’s two-out single, an RBI single from Jase Woita, and additional hits by Pierre Seals and Blaize Ward. Durnin then drove in a run in the fourth to increase Mizzou’s lead to 4-1.
Kentucky tied the score with two runs in the bottom of the fourth and another in the sixth. That set up Mizzou’s game-winning rally in the top of the ninth.
Senior Keegan Knutsen doubled with one out, then scored on an RBI hit by freshman Donovan Jordan. Sophomore Trey Lawrence, who had come in in relief in the seventh, got the final three outs in the ninth to preserve the win.
Durnin had three hits, an RBI, and a run scored. Ward had two hits and an RBI.
Game 2 – Kentucky 9, Mizzou 2
| NCAA Baseball | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mizzou (18-14) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 2 |
| #24 Kentucky (23-7) | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | x | 9 | 9 | 0 |
WP: Nate Harris (4-2) – KEN LP: Brady Kehlenbrink – MIZZ (3-4)
Kentucky had five extra-base hits, including two home runs, to earn a Saturday afternoon win over Missouri.
Tiger starter Brady Kehlenbrink gave up eight runs, seven earned, on six hits and five walks. Kentucky had four players who had at least two hits in the game.
Missouri’s lone hitting stars were Kaden Peer and Mateo Serno, who both had two hits.
Game 3 – Mizzou 5, Kentucky 2
| NCAA Baseball | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mizzou (19-14) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 2 |
| #24 Kentucky (23-8) | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | x | 9 | 9 | 0 |
WP: Juan Villarreal (1-0) – MIZZ LP: Ben Cleaver – KEN (1-2) SV: Eli Skidmore (2)
Ward went three-for-three and reached base five times, with two walks, and had two RBIs to power the Mizzou offense.
The Tigers scored first on a hit by Ward in the second inning. Kentucky answered with runs in its half of the second and another in the third. But Missouri took control with four runs in the fifth, sparked by a leadoff walk to Eric Maisonet and a fielding error on a sacrifice bunt attempt by Knutsen.
The runners moved to second and third. Durnin hit a sac fly to score Maisonet and tie the game. Knutsen then scored on a double steal attempt, where Peer was thrown out at second. Still, Mizzou had the lead 3-2.
Ward drove in a run with two outs and Julio Campos walked with the bases loaded to put Mizzou up 5-2.
From that point on, the Mizzou pitching staff controlled the rest of the game. Sophomore Juan Villarreal pitched three electric innings for the Tigers, with no runs and no hits allowed to get the win. It was his longest outing of the season and earned him his first win as a Tiger.
Freshman Eli Skidmore, an O’Fallon native who attended Francis Howell High School, pitched the final two innings to get the save.
Mizzou is now 19-14 on the season and will be back in action on Tuesday, when it hosts Missouri State in a non-conference game at the Mizzou Baseball Stadium. First pitch that evening is set for 6 p.m., and the game will be streamed live on SEC Network+.