Kicking off SEC play in 2025, the Missouri Tigers (8-9, 0-1) headed to Baton Rouge to take on one of the top ranked team in the country, #2 LSU, and dropped the first game, losing 12-5 to their fellow SEC Tigers on Friday.
Mizzou's pitching was a major factor in the loss, particularly due to free passes. The Tigers' three pitchers hit five batters and issued three walks, allowing LSU to put runners on base without much effort.
The second factor was the offense. Coming into the game, Mizzou had averaged over seven runs per game this season. However, they struggled to generate any momentum after the second inning against LSU starter Kade Anderson. Anderson pitched into the middle of the seventh, allowing just two runs on four hits while striking out 11.
Mizzou took the first lead of the game despite a rough performance. The Tigers’ offense started with their first two hits, beginning with a one-out single from Brock Daniels. That set up junior Jackson Lovich, who launched the first pitch he saw over the right-field fence for a two-run homer, giving Mizzou a 2-0 lead.
LSU quickly tied the game in the bottom of the second with a two-run homer before breaking through with a five-run fourth inning, taking a 7-2 lead. Three of those runs came on a bases-loaded, three-run triple, prompting Mizzou starter Ian Lohse to be pulled from the game.
After Lohse was pulled, right-hander Brock Lucas entered and settled down the LSU offense. He allowed two more runs in the seventh, both charged to Lohse, but Lucas finished the inning without further damage.
Lucas was replaced by reliever Ben Smith to start the bottom of the sixth. After hitting the first batter of the inning, Smith quickly recorded two outs, with a single in between. With two outs, Smith was just two pitches away from getting his team back in the dugout, but instead, he gave up a two-RBI double down the left-field line, extending LSU's lead to 9-2.
Mizzou began to turn things around at the plate, trying to crawl back into the game. The rally started in the seventh inning after walks to Jackson Lovich and Trey Lawrence, followed by a single from Keegan Knutson that loaded the bases for Pierre Seals. Seals then lifted an 0-1 curveball into center for an RBI sac fly, marking Mizzou's first run since the second inning.
The next inning brought more excitement for Mizzou. Leading off, Kaden Peer belted a 2-1 pitch over the wall for a home run. Right after, catcher Mateo Serna followed with a 1-0 pitch that he sent over the left-field fence for back-to-back homers, pulling the Tigers within four runs at 9-5.
That was all Mizzou could muster for the rest of the game, as LSU added three more runs in the bottom of the eighth on a three-run homer, sealing a 12-5 loss to the Tigers.
None of Mizzou's hitters recorded more than a single hit, and only one reached base twice—Lovich, who hit a home run and drew a walk. The only other positive from the game was Ben Smith. In his 1.2 innings of work, Smith kept LSU off the scoreboard, allowing just one baserunner.
Lovich’s home run was his third of the season and just the fourth that Anderson has allowed to hitters. This also marks the ninth straight game with a hit for Lovich, who started the season 5-for-28 (.179). Since then, he has gone 15-for-33 (.455).
Lohse (0-3) took the loss for Mizzou, while LSU’s Anderson (4-0) remained undefeated to start the season.
The two Tigers will face off in the second game of the series on Saturday, starting at 6 p.m. in Baton Rouge, though the time may change due to weather.