LEXINGTON, Ky. – Mizzou Baseball dropped its regular season finale at Kentucky, 7-2, on Saturday afternoon at Cliff Hagan Stadium. The loss drops Mizzou to 26-29 on the year and 9-21 in SEC play and Mizzou will be the No. 11 seed in the SEC Tournament, which begins Tuesday for Mizzou at 9:30 a.m. (CT) against an opponent to be determined.
UK starter Kyle Cody earned the win, improving to 6-2 on the season, after going 9.0 innings and scattering just eight hits while allowing two runs (one earned) with a walk and seven strikeouts. Mizzou freshman LHP Michael Plassmeyer (St. Louis, Mo.) took the loss, falling to 4-7 on the year. He went 3.0 innings, scattering six hits (four infield hits) with three runs (two earned). Plassmeyer struck out two and walked none. Mizzou got eight hits on Saturday with seven different players tallying a hit.
The third inning was eventful with each team capitalizing on shaky defense from the opposition. First, Mizzou’s Jake Ring (Ingleside, Ill.) launched a two-out pitch to the track in center field and UK CF Tristan Pompey dropped the ball for an error and Ring found himself on second base. Ryan Howard (St. Charles, Mo.) hit a grounder to short which was misplayed, allowing Ring to score from second to give Mizzou a 1-0 lead.
UK then used three consecutive bunts, two for hits and the last for a sacrifice to move the runners up, to put runners on second and third. Two more infield hits and a rocket into right led to three runs as UK also capitalized on an error in that span to take a 3-1 lead after three.
After Mizzou was retired in the top of the fourth inning, RHP Cole Bartlett (Williamsburg, Ind.) relieved Plassmeyer in the bottom of the fourth. He allowed a double and a walk to leadoff the frame and that led to a sacrifice fly as UK took a 4-1 lead after four innings.
UK added a pair of runs in the sixth inning on an RBI double by Connor Heady and an RBI groundout by Evan White as UK took a 6-1 lead after six. Mizzou got an RBI groundout from Howard in the seventh inning to cut the lead to 6-2.
Senior LHP Austin Tribby (Springfield, Mo.) was outstanding, striking out three of four batters to keep Mizzou in the game moving to the top of the eighth inning. But Mizzou went quietly in the eighth inning and Kentucky added an insurance run in the bottom of the inning. Mizzou then got a two-out single from Ring in the ninth, but that was it for Mizzou.
— Mizzou Athletics —