Missouri Tigers Baseball Takes On Illinois

The Missouri Tigers baseball team hasn’t had it easy.

After playing two top 10 ranked opponents in a row– Arkansas Pinebluff and Texas A&M, the Tigers must now venture up to Illinois for their third consecutive series against a ranked opponent. For this year’s Braggin’ Rights series, No. 23 Missouri takes on the 15th ranked Illinois Fighting Illini in a neutral site game at GCS Park.

Missouri comes off a hard-fought series against A&M, which delivered two losses in a three game set, albeit well-played for two of those three games.

Illinois brings with it a 20-6 record and a series win against the SEC already in 2015.

The Tigers look to continue the season of exceptional hitting and solid pitching, part of one of the nation’s best turnarounds. Led by freshman sensation Ryan Howard and sophomore Trey Harris, the Tigers have managed to average just over 6 runs scored per game this year, good enough for third in the SEC. They’re also third in the conference in pitching, and their star on the mound, Reggie McClain, was just named co-pitcher of the week in the SEC. It’s the third time he’s been recognized for the award this year.

MU is an impressive 14-3 away from Taylor Stadium thus far this season, including a 9-0 record in neutral games.

These two teams have played some mighty close games in recent memory and the Missouri Tigers lead the all time series 13-11. Mizzou looks to bounce back against one of the better defensive teams in the country as it looks to right he ship after falling to a true juggernaut in College Station just this prior season.

Senior RHP John Miles gets the nod for the Tigers to start as the series opener pitcher. He’ll go up against Illinois’ Rob McDonnel on the mound.

First pitch is tonight at 6:35.

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