COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Baseball lost to No. 4 Vanderbilt, 17-7, on a wet and cold Sunday afternoon at Taylor Stadium. The Commodores scored six runs in the second inning (only one earned), capitalizing on two errors, a pair of walks and a three-run homer by CF Bryan Reynolds. The six runs were scored off of Mizzou starter Austin Tribby (Springfield, Mo.), who falls to 2-3 on the season. Junior SS Ryan Howard (St. Charles, Mo.) and junior OF Kirby McGuire (Round Rock, Texas) each had RBI singles in the loss, McGuire’s being a two-run single for this first career Division I RBIs. Zach Lavy (Auxvasse, Mo.) also hit his third homer of the season, a three-run shot, in the ninth inning, giving him a team-high 20 RBI.

Vanderbilt took advantage of two Mizzou errors, two walks and two hits – one hit being a three-run homer by Bryan Reynolds – to score six runs in the second inning, knocking Tribby from the game after just 1.2 innings. Only one of the six runs that Tribby allowed was earned as he left the game allowing three hits and two walks while striking out one.

Mizzou got back on the board in the bottom of the second with a two-run single by McGuire, his first Division I RBIs. It was also his first start since opening weekend as he had been out with a hurt hand.

Reynolds then hit his second homer of the game in the top of the fourth inning off of Mizzou reliever Ty Shoaff (Akron, Ohio). And RBI single by Tyler Campbell in the fifth inning extended Vanderbilt’s lead to 9-2. Howard then laced an RBI single in the sixth inning, but Vanderbilt answered with two more in the top of the seventh and led 11-3 after seven.

Vanderbilt then tacked on six more runs in an error-filled eighth inning to extend the lead to 17-3 and Mizzou’s bats were quiet after the sixth inning until the ninth when Mizzou scored four runs, three coming on Lavy’s homer and another coming on an RBI single by Jack Klages (St. Louis, Mo.).

Mizzou will be back in action Tuesday as its host St. Louis at Kauffman Stadium, home of the Kansas City Royals at 6:30 p.m.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Sophomore RHP Tanner Houck (Collinsville, Ill.) was sensational as Mizzou Baseball dropped game two of its series with No. 4 Vanderbilt, 2-0, in 11 innings on Saturday night at Taylor Stadium. Houck worked a masterful 9.0 shutout innings, allowing just two hits while striking out 14 Commodore hitters, the most strikeouts by a Tiger hitter since Kyle Gibson fanned 15 on April 3, 2009, against Oklahoma. Houck had just one fly ball leave the infield as he had 11 groundouts, one flyout and a pop up to second to go along with his 14 strikeouts. The only two hits he gave up were ground balls off the bat of Ro Coleman and one of those two was an infield hit.

Mizzou’s offense certainly had its chances and likely needed just one run to escape with the win, but Mizzou went 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position on Saturday and missed multiple chances to give Houck the win. The loss drops Mizzou to 14-11 on the year and 0-5 in SEC play.

Junior SS Ryan Howard (St. Charles, Mo.) tallied his first multi-hit game since March 6 against UIC to lead Mizzou’s offense, with one of his two hits being a double. Shane Benes (Town & Country, Mo.), Zach Lavy (Auxvasse, Mo.) and Ian Nelson (Lake St. Louis, Mo.) also tallied hits in the loss with Nelson’s lone hit registering as his third career double.

But the story on Saturday was Houck. He retired the first 12 batters he faced until a leadoff walk in the fifth inning. The only time Vanderbilt threatened to score on Houck was after a leadoff error in the sixth inning and a one-out single put runners on the corners with one out. Jeren Kendall then flew out to center field, but Jake Ring (Ingleside, Ill.) gunned the go-ahead run at the dish to preserve the shutout.

Vanderbilt then threatened again in the top of the ninth inning after a leadoff infield single by Coleman. He was moved to second base after a pair of outs and Houck, on his 119th pitch, struck out Will Toffey to strand the go-ahead run at second base.

Mizzou nearly won the game for Houck in the bottom of the ninth. Lavy led off the frame with a single through the right side and went to second base on a wild pitch with no outs. Brian Sharp (Liberty, Mo.) then struck out swinging and after an intentional walk, Benes hit into a double play to end the threat.

Vanderbilt then scored two runs on another two-out rally. Reliever Cole Bartlett (Williamsburg, Ind.) got the first two batters of the frame, but a single, a walk and two more singles plated two runs, handing Mizzou the loss. Bartlett took the loss, falling to 1-2 on the year.

Game three of the series will be Sunday at 12 p.m.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Baseball dropped the first game of a three-game series against No. 4 Vanderbilt, 8-6, on Friday night (March 25) at Taylor Stadium. Mizzou led 6-4 with two outs and no one on in the ninth inning, but three consecutive two-out hits tied the game and Bryan Reynolds capped off the rally with a two-run homer to center to give Vanderbilt the win. Mizzou falls to 14-10 and 0-4 in SEC play while Vanderbilt goes to 18-4 and 2-2 in SEC pla

Despite pitching well, redshirt freshman righty Liam Carter (Highland Park, Ill.) was tagged with his first career loss while Evan Steele earned the win, his first of the year, for Vanderbilt. Ben Bowden got the save. The loss squandered another great start from RHP Reggie McClain (Duluth, Ga.), who scattered eight hits over 6.1 innings while allowing four runs (all earned) with nine strikeouts and just one walk. His nine strikeouts are just two off of his career-high. McClain had a streak of 20.2 innings without a walk snapped on Friday night but still owns a 43-2 strikeout-walk ratio. He struck out six of the first eight batters he faced.

Zach Lavy (Auxvasse, Mo.) and Jake Ring (Ingleside, Ill.) each drove in two runs on Friday and each of their hits were go-ahead hits. Trey Harris (Powder Springs, Ga.) also tallied an RBI on a sacrifice fly in the third inning.

McClain was dealing early as he needed just 24 pitches to get through two innings, striking out four Commodore batters in that span, including getting the side swinging in the top of the first. Mizzou threatened in the second inning, putting two men on with one out, but a strikeout by Brett Bond (St. Louis, Mo.) and a fielder’s choice off the bat of Shane Benes (Town & Country, Mo.) ended the frame.

But Mizzou got to Vanderbilt starter Jordan Sheffield in the third. He loaded the bases on two straight walks and a hit batter, bringing up Ring who blasted a single through the left side to score a pair. Harris then launched a sacrifice fly to put Mizzou in top, 3-0.

Vanderbilt got a run back in the top of the fourth inning on an RBI single through the right side by Reynolds. Vandy then tied the game on a two-out, bases loaded single by the middle by Jeren Kendall in the fifth inning, making it 3-3 after five.

But Mizzou answered in the bottom of the frame as Lavy ripped a two-out, two-run triple to the right field corner to score a pair and put Mizzou back on top, 5-3. Lavy then scored on a wild pitch by Sheffield to extend the lead to 6-3. Vanderbilt added a run on a sacrifice fly in the sixth and threatened in the seventh after back-to-back singles by the eight- and nine-hole hitters. After a failed bunt attempt by Ro Coleman, Tim Jamieson went to the bullpen and he went to Carter who pitched Mizzou out of the jam to strand the tying runs on base.

Carter pitched an easy 1-2-3 eighth inning, picking up a pair of strikeouts and he was cruising along in the ninth inning until a two-out single by SS Tyler Campbell, the nine-hole hitter, set up Vanderbilt’s comeback. Coleman then singled through the left side and the two advanced into scoring position on a wild pitch. Kendall then then singled into right center on a 1-2 pitch to tie the game. Reynolds then homered on the next pitch off of reliever Brian Sharp (Liberty, Mo.) and Ben Bowden shut the door on the Tigers in the ninth.

Game two of the series will be Saturday at 5 p.m.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Football’s annual Black & Gold Spring Game is set to air live on SEC Network, as announced Wednesday by ESPN and the Southeastern Conference. The game will kick at 5 p.m. CT at Memorial Stadium. Tom Hart, Chris Doering and Kayce Smith will be on the call for SEC Network.

Every Southeastern Conference football team playing a spring football game this year will have their game nationally televised, live and in full, on either SEC Network, ESPNU or ESPN.

Every spring game is also available through connected devices on the ESPN and WatchESPN apps.

— Mizzou Athletics —

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Ariel Atkins scored 22 points and No. 2 seed Texas earned its second consecutive trip to the Sweet 16 with a 73-55 win over No. 10 Missouri on Monday night with an impressive display of speed and athleticism that overmatched the bigger Tigers.

Lashann Higgs scored 11 points and was a sparkplug off the bench for the Longhorns (30-4), who head to the Bridgeport, Connecticut, Regional looking to make their deepest run in the postseason since a Final Four appearance in 2003. Texas will play UCLA in the Sweet 16.Missouri’s starting lineup is 6-feet or taller and Texas simply turned any matchup problem on its head with aggressive defense on the perimeter that gave the Tigers no easy looks at the basket up close.

Sophie Cunningham scored 23 points for Missouri (22-10), which had made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2006.

Cunningham looked to have Missouri rolling early when she hit two 3-pointers for the game’s first baskets and pumped her fist as an exclamation point. But the rest of her team couldn’t match her.

The Longhorns shook off a 0 for 7 shooting start with a 17-3 run that pushed the ball in transition and kept the bigger Tigers backpedaling.

Despite their quick start, the Tigers were just 3 of 16 shooting in the first quarter and launched 11 3-point attempts instead of trying to attack Imani Boyette under the basket.

Three consecutive 3-pointers pushed the Texas lead to 14 in the second. Nothing captured Texas’ advantage in speed and athleticism like a play late in the quarter.

Cunningham picked off an errant pass and sprinted to the basket, but missed the layup over two Texas defenders. With one quick outlet pass to halfcourt, Brooke McCarty found Higgs for an easy layup at the other end as Texas took a 36-21 lead into halftime.

Texas had several chances to open a huge edge in the third, pushing the lead as high as 18 as Atkins made her third 3-pointer and Higgs kept doing her work on defense and in transition.

But Cunningham scored nine in the quarter to keep the Tigers in it, even though they couldn’t shave the deficit under 10.

The Tigers’ last push came early in the fourth when Cunningham’s steal and layup cut the Texas lead to 54-43. But Atkins converted a 3-point play and Kelsey Lang’s layup after a nifty pass from Brianna Taylor had the Longhorns off and running again.

TIP-INS

Missouri: Unwilling to challenge Texas inside, the Tigers attempted 28 3-pointers and made eight.

Texas: The Longhorns average 16 turnovers a game, but in the postseason have tightened up what had been a chronic problem. Texas had 13 against Missouri compared to 20 assists on 30 field goals.

UP NEXT

Missouri: Season’s over.

Texas: Against UCLA on Saturday.

— Associated Press —

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Mizzou Baseball dropped its series finale at No. 1 Florida, 7-5, on Sunday afternoon (March 20) at McKethan Stadium. Mizzou rallied from down 6-1 to pull within one run at 6-5 but failed to plate the tying run despite having runners in scoring position with just one out in both the seventh and eighth innings. Florida then added an insurance run in the eighth to pull away for the win. Mizzou falls to 14-9 (0-3 SEC) while Florida goes to 21-1 (3-0 SEC).

Senior Austin Tribby (Springfield, Mo.) was tagged with the loss after allowing five runs on five hits over 3.0 innings. Florida’s Alex Faedo earned the win, despite Mizzou tagging him for a career-worst five earned runs in the win. He had allowed just four earned runs all year prior to Sunday.

Mizzou’s offense was led by RBI doubles from lefties Jake Ring (Ingleside, Ill.) and Zach Lavy (Auxvasse, Mo.) and a two-double performance from sophomore Brett Bond (St. Louis, Mo.). Freshmen Connor Brumfield (Columbia, Mo.) and Brian Sharp (Liberty, Mo.) and sophomore Trey Harris (Powder Springs, Ga.) tallied RBIs in the loss.

Tribby ran into trouble in the first inning as leadoff hitter Dalton Guthrie worked a nine-pitch at-bat and singled through the left side. CF Buddy Reed then launched a two-run homer two pitches later to put Florida on top, 2-0. Tribby then walked the next two batters, but an infield fly and a 6-4-3 double play got him out of the jam.

After Faedo struck out the side in the top of the second, Tribby came back out and looked to settle down, needing just nine pitches for a 1-2-3 inning in the second. Mizzou then tallied its first run of the game as the bottom of the order got things going. Bond ripped a one-out double, his second of the year, and Ian Nelson (St. Louis, Mo.) moved him to third on a ground ball to the right side. Brumfield then singled to plate Bond, cutting the UF lead in half at 2-1.

As quick as Mizzou cut into the lead, Florida extended it in the next half inning, using a pair of RBI doubles to score three runs to extend the lead to 5-1. RHP Cole Bartlett (Williamsburg, Ind.) relived Tribby in the fourth inning and surrendered a leadoff triple to Nelson Maldonado and a sacrifice fly to left to give Florida a 6-1 lead. LF Harris made a tremendous play on the sacrifice fly, diving to make the catch near the line.

Mizzou then exploded for four runs off of Faedo in the sixth inning, using RBI doubles by Ring and Lavy with an RBI single by Sharp and an RBI groundout by Harris to plate the four runs. An incredible play by Florida 2B Deacon Liput likely saved the tying run on Harris’ RBI groundout.

Ring made two tremendous catches in center in the bottom of the sixth after a leadoff single, but then an infield single and a walk loaded the bases. RHP Liam Carter (Highland Park, Ill.) came on and go J.J. Schwarz to fly out to center to end the inning.

Mizzou then threatened in the seventh inning after a leadoff double by Bond and a two-out walk by Brumfield. But Howard struck out looking off of UF reliever Dane Dunning to strand a pair. Mizzou then stranded the tying run in scoring position in the eighth inning as well. Florida then added insurance in the form of a J.J. Schwarz RBI double to right field for a 7-5 advantage.

Mizzou will be off this midweek as it prepares for a three-game home series over Easter weekend against No. 2 Vanderbilt at Taylor Stadium.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Baseball (14-5) won its final game of the series against Southeast Missouri (10-8), 13-6, on Wednesday afternoon thanks to a eight-hit, eight-run fifth inning, the most runs scored in an inning by Mizzou since Feb. 21, 2014, against Radford.

Four Mizzou batters recorded a multi-RBI game including Brian Sharp (Liberty, Mo.), Brett Bond (St. Louis, Mo.),  Connor Brumfield (Columbia, Mo.), and Shane Benes (Town and Country, Mo.), who led the offense with three on the night. Ian Nelson (Lake St. Louis, Mo.) led Mizzou’s offense with two hits for his second multi-hit game of the season. Senior 1B Zach Lavy (Auxvasse, Mo.) also tallied two hits. Mizzou’s 6-through-9 batters had five hits and eight RBI in the win.

Ryan Lee (Grandview, Mo.) got the start for Mizzou in his fourth appearance of the season. Through four innings of work, Lee tallied a season-high five strikeouts with four runs on five hits. Cole Bartlett (Williamsburg, Ind.) earned his first win of the season in relief of Lee.

Garrett Gandolfo opened up the scoring for Southeast Missouri with a line shot up the middle to drive in the first run of the game. A single to right field by Ryan Rippee scored Branden Boggetto, followed by an error on Bond to score Gandolfo giving, Southeast Missouri the 3-0 lead.

Bartlett entered the game in the fifth inning in relief for Lee with bases loaded and no outs. He successfully got out of the inning forcing the Redhawks to ground into a double play and ground out to short, limiting the damage to just one run.

Mizzou answered in the fifth, loading the bases with two walks to both Sharp and Bond and a single to the right side for Nelson, his second of the night. Brumfield came through with a banger through the right side, knocking in Sharp and Bond for his 14th and 15th RBI of the season.

Ryan Howard (St. Charles, Mo.) kept the ball rolling as he brought Nelson home with a sacrifice fly to deep right field, pulling Mizzou to within one. The rally continued as both Benes and Bond recorded two-run singles to left field to extend the lead. Sharp crossed the plate on a wild-pitch, putting the inning total at eight runs.

Southeast Missouri threatened in the seventh with a pair of RBI singles by Trevor Ezell and Boggetto of off Bartlett, who sat for nearly 45 minutes during Mizzou’s eight-run fifth which featured five SEMO pitching changes. Senior LHP Austin Tribby (Springfield, Mo.) entered the game for Mizzou and retired Rippee with a strike out looking.

Mizzou’s offensive effort continued into the bottom of the eighth as Southeast Missouri pitcher Justin Murphy walked in a run. Sharp tallied his first hit of the night with a two-run single through the right side, padding the lead for Mizzou. All 10 Mizzou batters reached base safely during the game.

Mizzou heads to No. 1 Florida to open SEC play this weekend in a three-game set. Game one will be Friday at 6 p.m.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Baseball (13-5) dropped its series opener to Southeast Missouri (10-7), 7-2, Tuesday night despite multi-hit performances from Jake Ring (Ingleside, Ill.), Trey Harris (Powder Springs, Mo.) and Zach Lavy (Auxvasse, Mo.).

Freshman LHP Michael Plassmeyer (St. Louis, Mo.) started on the mound for Mizzou, for his fourth appearance of the season. Plassmeyer took the loss after throwing 4.2 innings and allowing three runs on eight hits and walking just one batter.

Harris led the Mizzou offense with two hits and a RBI, marking this his fourth multi-hit game of the season. Lavy tallied two doubles on the night, bringing his total to eight on the season.

Ryan Rippee opened the scoring for Southeast Missouri in the second inning with a solo-shot over the right center field wall for his second homer of the season. Brian Lees followed up with single up the middle, taking an easy first base. Hunter Leeper stepped up to the plate and drove the ball to right center for a RBI single.

Lavy responded for Mizzou with a blast along the right field line, good for his seventh double of the season. Harris lined to center for a double, allowing Lavy to cross the plate for Harris’ team-leading 16th RBI of the season.

Liam Carter (Highland Park, Ill.) entered the game to pitch for Mizzou in the fifth inning. Through 2.1 innings, Carter struck out three batters, walked two and allowed two earned runs on three hits.

Southeast Missouri continued to pound with two singles in the fifth and three singles in the sixth, knocking in three runs between the two innings. A pair of RBI doubles in the eighth by Leeper and Costello solidified the 7-1 lead for Southeast Missouri.

Lavy kicked off the ninth inning for Mizzou with another double down the right field line. A walk for Harris and a single to right field by Brian Sharp (Liberty, Mo.) loaded up the bases for sophomore Brett Bond (St. Louis, Mo.), who knocked a sacrifice fly into left field, driving a run across the plate for a final score of 7-2.

Mizzou closes out its home stand with game two of the series against Southeast Missouri tomorrow at Taylor Stadium. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. CT. For all the latest on Mizzou Baseball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter @MizzouBaseball and like the team on Facebook and Instagram (Mizzou Baseball).

Mizzou heads to No. 1 Florida to open SEC play this weekend in a three-game set. Fame one will be Friday at 6 p.m.

— Mizzou Athletics —

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Mizzou freshman guard Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) and junior forward Jordan Frericks (Quincy, Ill.) both earned All-Southeastern Conference recognition from The Associated Press, it was announced Tuesday. Cunningham was named AP SEC Freshman of the Year and both players earned honorable mention AP All-SEC.

Cunningham, the first player in SEC history to receive six Freshman of the Week awards and first SEC Freshman of the Year in program history, averages a team-leading 13.5 points per game after starting all 30 contests. She also ranks second on the team in rebounding (5.9) and assists (3.0) per game.

She ranks 10th in the SEC in points and is the only freshman in the league’s top 24 in scoring. Cunningham ranks second in points (405) and made free throws (99), fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (+19) and ranks seventh in rebounds (176) by a freshman in Mizzou Women’s Basketball history. She ranks fourth in the SEC in free throw percentage (81.8) and is tied for 10th in assists (3.0). Cunningham scored in double figures 19 times and finished with 20-plus points on eight occasions.

On Monday, Cunningham was announced as one of eight finalists for the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) National Freshman of the Year.

Frericks leads the team and ranks ninth in the SEC in rebounding (7.8). She is currently 11th in the league in free throw percentage (67.8) and 16th in scoring (12.1). On Feb. 21 at Auburn, she became the 33rd member of Mizzou’s 1,000-Point Club. Frericks ranks second in program history with 24 double-doubles, including seven this season. She is also fourth in career rebounding (8.2) and seventh in field goal percentage (50.5).

The Tigers (21-9, 8-8) were selected to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2006, earning a No. 10 seed in the Bridgeport (Conn.) region. Mizzou will face seventh-seeded BYU (26-6, 16-2) at 5:30 p.m. CT Saturday on ESPN2 at the Frank Erwin Center on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball will participate in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament for the first time since 2006 after the Tigers earned a No. 10 seed in the Bridgeport (Conn.) region, it was announced Monday evening. Mizzou will face seventh-seeded BYU at 5:30 p.m. CT Saturday at the Erwin Center on the campus of the University of Texas.

The Tigers will make the 10th appearance in the NCAA Tournament in program history. It is also the 23rd postseason tournament selection for Mizzou. Overall, the Tigers are 4-9 in the NCAA Tournament, with the last victories coming during a Sweet 16 run in 2001.

— Mizzou Athletics —