Columbia, MO- It was a tale of two games, as Mississippi State came out with a crushing 13-4 win on Friday night, and Missouri returned the favor this afternoon, handing the Bulldogs a 19-8 loss.
On Friday, Mississippi State's offense got off to a dominant start, putting up 20 hits and 13 runs, including seven runs in four innings off Missouri starter Tony Neubuck.
RJ Yeager hit a home run in the first at-bat of the game, the third time this season he's led off the first inning with a homer and followed with an RBI double, a 2-run homer, and an RBI groundout giving the Mercer transfer five RBI's on the night.
Kamren James, who had been 0 for his last 11 at-bats entering the game, was moved down to the seven-spot after previously hitting second, and the move seemed to work out for him. The junior third baseman went 4-5 at the plate, including a solo homer in the eighth inning.
State also got three-hit games out of catcher Logan Tanner, Hunter Hines, and Kellum Clark, including a solo homer from the sophomore right fielder.
Senior righty Brandon Smith continues to be a force on Friday nights with another great outing. In 7.1 innings, the Richland, MS native struck out eight Missouri hitters and allowed just three earned runs. Smith has been the ace the Bulldogs have needed in his last four appearances, with a 2.59 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and 21 strikeouts in 24.1 innings pitched.
However, the Tigers flipped the script this afternoon, and their offense dominated right from the jump.
Preston Johnson got off to a shaky start with a walk and two hit batters within the first four plate appearances of the game, and a grand slam from Mizzou DH Fox Leum quickly got the Tiger offense rolling.
While Johnson struck out ten batters in just four innings, Missouri kept getting hard hit after hard hit, including home runs from 3rd baseman Luke Mann and left fielder Ross Lovich, putting up nine runs on the Senior from Hinds C.C.
The scoring didn't stop for the Tigers as Cam Tullar walked in a run in the fifth, and a nine-run inning in the sixth gave Mizzou 19 runs on the day. Ross Lovich got things going with his 2nd homer of the day, and they kept pouring it on as they combined for seven hits, two hit batsmen, and two walks off of Cam Tullar, Mikey Tepper, and Cole Cheatham.
Offensively, the Bulldogs did not have a bad day at the plate as RJ Yeager stayed hot with a 2-5 day and his 15th homer of the season. State combined for eight runs on eleven hits, but it just wasn't enough to overcome a poor day on the mound.
Sophomore Cade Smith will take the mound for the Bulldogs in the rubber match for what is seemingly a must-win game for State's postseason hopes. Missouri has yet to announce a starter.
