In their season opener, Mizzou baseball suffered a tough 10-0 loss to Penn State in the first game of the Puerto Rico Series. The Tigers struggled offensively, managing just two hits compared to the Nittany Lions' 11.
The game started slowly, with both teams recording two strikeouts in the first inning before Penn State broke through in the second. A two-out homer gave the Nittany Lions a 1-0 lead—one of the few blemishes on starter Ian Lohse’s night. Lohse set a new career high with eight strikeouts, surpassing his previous best of seven from his freshman season.
The Nittany Lions added another unearned run off Lohse before he was pulled in the fifth inning and replaced by junior Brock Lucas.
That’s when things unraveled for Mizzou.
After the Tigers went down in order in the top half of the inning, Penn State opened the bottom half with a single, followed by a two-run homer to extend their lead to 5-0. Later in the inning, another home run pushed the lead to 7-0 heading into the sixth.
Penn State added four runs off Lucas before he was replaced by sophomore Ben Smith, who made two appearances as a freshman in 2024. Smith closed out the game, retiring the final batter in the seventh and striking out two in the eighth.
The 10-run defeat marked Mizzou’s largest loss since falling 12-2 to Auburn last May.
The Tigers will look to bounce back as they take on the UConn Huskies at 3 p.m. on Saturday in Caguas, Puerto Rico. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.