COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Baseball lost its series finale to No. 20 Georgia, 7-1, Saturday afternoon (May 5) at Taylor Stadium. The Tigers fall to 30-18 with the loss and 9-15 in SEC play. Senior utility man Matt Berler had a hit and an RBI Saturday and junior lefty Tyler LaPlante allowed just one earned run over 6.0 relief innings, setting a Division I career-high with eight strikeouts.

Mizzou RS junior RHP Bryce Montes De Oca took the loss, allowing five runs over 2.0+ innings, walking four and scattering four hits. He struck out one and fell to 6-4 with the loss.

TURNING POINT

Georgia manufactured single runs in both the first and second innings, taking advantage of walks in each frame to plate runs. However, the game was put out of reach in the top of the third inning as UGA 1B Adam Sasser hit his fourth homer of the series, a three-run shot to right field, extending Georgia’s lead to 5-0. Mizzou did not tally its first hit until an Alex Samples single in the fourth as the offense struggled to get anything going.

QUOTING MIZZOU

Head Coach Steve Bieser

On Georgia getting to Mizzou starter Bryce Montes De Oca early…

“The biggest thing I saw was that he just didn’t have a put-away pitch. When guys got to two strikes, he couldn’t put them away. He could jump ahead and just couldn’t finish the guys. There just wasn’t much there for him to work with. We were hoping he could go 3.0 innings for us and then go to the bullpen from there and divide the game up that way. You expect after he works out of the first couple innings, which weren’t very good, I was hoping for a better fate in the third inning, and we just got caught too long with him. Big blow there and that took the wind out of our sails.”

TOP TIGERS

• Junior lefty Tyler LaPlante struck out a career-high eight, allowing just one earned run on six hits without a walk over 6.0 relief innings.
• Senior Matt Berler had an RBI single in the sixth inning.
• Senior RHP Andy Toelken pitched a shutout ninth inning.

UP NEXT

Mizzou will be off during the midweek before heading back on the road for the final SEC away series of the season at red-hot South Carolina next weekend.

— Mizzou Athletics —