With the season officially underway, the Mizzou Tigers have gotten off to a rocky start, finishing the 2025 Puerto Rico Challenge with a 1-2 record. They dropped their first game to Penn State and their third to Stetson, but managed to secure a win against UConn in between.
Game 1 - Penn State
Kicking off the season, the Tigers were handed a brutal 10-0 loss to the Penn State Nittany Lions on Friday. The two teams were on different levels offensively, with the Nittany Lions finishing with 11 hits compared to the Tigers' two. Be sure to check out my recap of the game at the link below.
Game 2 - UConn
Bouncing back from a tough 10-0 loss the day before, the Tigers came out with a vengeance and secured their first win of the season, beating the UConn Huskies 11-7 on Saturday. The game remained tight for a while before the Tigers erupted for a 6-run inning in the sixth, breaking the game open.
With the Tigers leading 4-2 heading into the sixth after a two-run shot from junior Jackson Lovich the inning before, they wasted no time applying pressure. An error and walk put runners on the corners with no outs, and a single to center from junior Peyton Basler brought in a run, keeping runners at the corners. The rally continued with a single from junior Gehrig Goldbeck and a double from junior Brock Daniels, pushing the Tigers' lead to 7-2.
With runners on second and third and still no outs, sophomore Mateo Serna stepped up to the plate and delivered his second hit of the day—a huge three-run shot to center. The blast put the Tigers up 10-2 and knocked the Huskie pitcher out of the game.
The Huskies weren’t backing down without a fight, putting up four runs of their own in the top of the seventh. However, one more insurance run for the Tigers in the bottom of the eighth was all they needed to seal the win. Graduate Xavier Lovett came in to finish off the top of the ninth, and after giving up a single, he closed it out, giving the Tigers an 11-7 victory.
This was just the fourth appearance for Lovett as a Tiger, having made three appearances last season in his first year at Mizzou. Despite giving up seven walks in less than two innings, head coach Kerrick Jackson still believed in him, putting him out there when it mattered—and Lovett got the job done.
It was a great day for Daniels, who picked up three hits and four runs in his season debut. After bursting onto the scene last season, batting .296 with 10 extra-base hits and 28 RBIs, Daniels is looking to set the tone for the Tigers this season and continue his strong performance.
Kaden Jacobi (1-0) earned the win, while UConn's Ian Cooke (0-1) took the loss.
Game 3 - Stetson
Their final game of the challenge was against the Stetson Hatters, and despite maintaining a high-paced offense, Mizzou lost 9-7 on Sunday. The Tigers started off strong, getting the scoring underway right away.
Right away, the Tigers put runners on the corners with one out for Lovich, who singled to the left side to put Mizzou on the board. After another single loaded the bases, transfer Blake Simpson quickly made it 2-0, scoring on a passed ball.
Stetson answered right back with a two-run blast to tie the game in the bottom half of the inning, and the back-and-forth began. Mizzou regained the lead, scoring two more runs off the bats of sophomores Kaden Peer and Mateo Serna. However, the Hatters tied it up once again with another two-run shot, making the score 4-4.
Back-to-back homers from Memphis transfers Cameron Benson and Pierre Seals in the fourth, followed by another bomb from Simpson in the fifth, gave the Tigers their largest lead of the game, up 7-4.
After this, the Tigers pulled their starting pitcher, Kaden Drew, and the game quickly took a turn.
After the leadoff batter in the bottom of the sixth reached on an error and another reached on a double, a one-out single brought in both runs, putting the Hatters just one down. They tied the game two batters later after back-to-back hits, before Mizzou brought in Ben Smith to try and finish the inning, which he did.
Tied at seven, Coach Jackson turned to freshman Brady Kehlenbrink for help, but it didn’t go as planned. A hit by pitch to start the inning allowed the Hatters to take their first lead of the game with a double, and they extended that lead a few batters later with an RBI single, putting them up 9-7.
The Tigers were able to threaten in the ninth, getting two runners on with one out, but they couldn’t capitalize. They lost to the Hatters 9-7, dropping to 1-2.
Some positive signs came from Mateo Serna, who, as a DH, hit .364 on the weekend, and Ben Smith, who pitched twice and didn’t allow a single hit.
Kehlenbrink (0-1) was charged with the loss, while Stetson's Cooper Smith (1-0) earned the win and Ethan Salak (1) got the save.
Looking forward - UCF
Coming into the week, the UCF Knights are fresh off an incredible opening weekend, going 3-0 and averaging over 13 runs per game. Though their opponents, the Siena Saints, were considered "lower-tier schools," the Knights were still able to produce at a high level and show they're ready for this season.
Leading their offense is returning infielder Braden Calise, who hit .312 last year for the Knights but had a bit of a shaky glove with a 0.961 fielding percentage. He’ll be joined at the plate by Matt Prevesk, Chase Krewson, and Lex Boedicker. As for pitching, it’s unclear who they’ll turn to. Potential starters include Camden Wicker, freshman Anthony Lariz, or transfer Carsten Finnvold—none of whom have made appearances yet.