Game 1 - Ark: 21, Miz: 3
Facing the No. 2 team in the country on the road is never easy, but no one could have expected something like this. With the loss, the 2025 Missouri Tigers (11-20, 0-12) became the first team in SEC baseball history to start conference play 0-10.
With Mizzou’s regular Day 1 starter, Ian Lohse, injured, it was up to senior Kaden Jacobi to get the start and try to keep the Hogs' offense at bay. Unfortunately, that didn’t go well.
After the Hogs scored two runs in the bottom of the first, the Tigers managed to tie it up in the top of the third with two of their three runs of the day. The first run came after a one-out double from catcher Jedier Hernandez and a walk from Peyton Basler put two on for junior Keegan Knutson, who doubled on a ball to left, driving in the Tigers' first run.
They tied it up at two on the next batter, Kaden Peer, whose groundout to the pitcher scored the second run for the Tigers, evening the game at 2-2.
The tie didn’t last long, though, as the first Hog batter in the bottom of the third sent a ball over the right field fence to give them back the lead. They added another a few batters later after three straight two-out hits, giving Arkansas a 4-2 lead by the end of the third. But this is when things started to go downhill for the Tigers.
The bottom of the fourth marked the first of six innings where the Hogs scored 5 or more runs over the weekend, with two more coming in the fifth and sixth. The first two runs of the fourth came off starter Jacobi before he was pulled in favor of sophomore Ben Smith.
Smith, who came in with two men on and two outs, gave up back-to-back singles that scored two more runs for the Hogs before finally getting out of the fourth. He returned to the mound to start the fifth but didn't last long. After getting the first batter to ground out, Smith loaded the bases, and a double brought in two more runs for Arkansas, putting them up 11-9 and knocking Smith out of the game.
Two-way player Cayden Nicoletto was the next man up out of the pen. After walking two batters and allowing a two-RBI single, he was able to get out of the fifth inning.
The Tigers turned the ball over next to sophomore Jaylen Merchant, who, after starting the inning with two walks and a hit by pitch, allowed two more runs on an RBI single. One more walk from Merchant to load the bases ended his day before he could record an out.
The second pitcher of the inning was junior Kadden Drew, who, similar to Merchant, was only able to get one out before being taken out. Three straight free passes started off Drew's outing before he struck out the fourth batter he faced. However, he then gave up an RBI single, ending his day and turning it over to junior Seth McCartney. McCartney came in and managed to get through the inning as the third pitcher of the inning for the Tigers, striking out two Hogs to end the frame.
The Tigers were able to get one more run for themselves in the midst of all this, an RBI sac fly from Knutson in the top of the fifth. However, it wasn’t enough, as they lost game one of the series 21-3.
This game saw the end of Peer’s 21-game on-base streak, as he failed to reach safely via a hit, walk, or hit by pitch. It also marks the most runs allowed by Mizzou in SEC history, surpassing the 20 runs scored by Ole Miss in 2023.
Arkansas’ Zach Root (5-1) was awarded the win, while Mizzou's Kaden Jacobi (2-4) took the loss.
The remaining two games of the series are scheduled as a seven-inning doubleheader on Sunday, due to weather that canceled the series opener on Friday.
Game 2 - Ark: 14, Miz: 4 (7)
In the first game of the doubleheader, the Tigers tried to come out strong but were no match for the Razorbacks once again, losing 14-4 in seven innings. This marked their fourth-straight series loss to start SEC play.
The Tigers started out hot in game two, jumping ahead early, but they didn't have the pitching to back them up. RBI singles from Nicoletto and Cameron Benson scored Knutson and Peer for the first two runs of the game, giving the Tigers their first lead of the series.
The Razorbacks answered with one of their own in the bottom half of the first before exploding for a three-run shot in the bottom of the second, taking a quick 4-2 lead. The Tigers responded in the top of the third after a leadoff walk from Knutson came around to score on a single from Peer, who advanced to second on an error. Peer then scored on a sac-bunt from Mateo Serna, tying the game at 4.
That was all the offense the Tigers were able to muster in the game, while the Razorbacks kept adding on. After two more runs in the bottom of the third to take a 6-4 lead, Arkansas exploded for a 7-run fourth inning, which included three RBI hits, one of which was a grand slam. The Razorbacks took a commanding 13-4 lead over the Tigers.
Missouri starter Brady Kehlenbrink was only able to go 1.1 innings before getting pulled, but not before giving up four runs on three hits and two walks. He then turned the ball over to junior Brock Lucas, who didn’t have any more success, going two innings and allowing eight runs on nine hits and three walks.
Graduate James Vaughn and freshman Victor Christal were the only two Missouri pitchers who were somewhat successful on the mound in the second game. Each went at least one inning, allowing one run each on two hits.
The last run of the game for the Hogs came off Christal in the sixth after a two-out single brought in the final runner of the game, giving Arkansas a 14-4 win in seven innings.
Lucas (1-3) was charged with the loss in the second game, while Arkansas’ Aiden Jimenez (4-0) remained perfect on the season.
The Tigers had one last chance to come away with a win in the series, trying to avoid their fourth-straight sweep to open SEC play and secure their first conference win. Unfortunately, things didn’t go well for them.
Game 3 - Ark: 16, Miz: 2
Still searching for their first conference win, the Tigers started this game just like they did the first game of the day—by putting an early run on the board.
After Knutson started the game with a walk and advanced to third on a groundout and a steal, he was able to score the first run of the game when a passed ball on a strikeout to Tyler Macon gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead.
This was backing up a much-anticipated start from Mizzou’s junior starting pitcher Tony Neubeck. After an unexpected entrance into his first game back following a year and a half away didn’t go well, Neubeck hoped that making the start would change things. Unfortunately, that’s not how it went.
But, just like in game one, that lead didn’t last long. After a two-RBI double gave the Razorbacks the lead in the bottom of the first, a three-run home run pushed them even further ahead, leading 5-1 after just one inning. This pattern continued throughout the game, with the Hogs continuing to capitalize on poor Missouri pitching while the Tigers couldn’t get anything going at the plate.
Neubeck was unable to make it out of the first inning, getting pulled for new Missouri pitcher P.J. Green.
Another two-run shot in the second added two more for Arkansas, followed by a five-run inning that blew the Tigers' chances at a win. Mizzou did manage to get a run of their own in the top of the third, thanks to an RBI single from Peer, but it didn’t seem to matter.
An RBI sac fly plated the first Razorbacks run of the third, before Green loaded the bases for a grand slam, their second in two games, putting the Hogs up 12-2.
It wasn’t until this point that Missouri pitching, for the first time in the series, was able to shut down the Razorbacks' offense—and it came in the form of reliever Xavier Lovett. Coming in for Green in the bottom of the third, Lovett got out of the inning without allowing a run and proceeded to keep the Razorbacks scoreless over the next two innings.
It wasn’t until the sixth that Lovett started to come apart. After allowing two runs to score off singles, Lovett was eventually pulled after throwing a season-high 79 pitches. That was when Jackson turned once again to Nicoletto to try and get out of the sixth, which he did, but not before the Razorbacks added four more runs to win 16-2.
Over the last three games, with two of them being just seven innings, the Razorbacks managed to score over 50 runs on the Tigers, proving why they are ranked No. 2 in the country.
The only Tiger to have consistent success throughout the weekend was Knutson. From the leadoff spot, he was the only Tiger to record a hit in each of the three games and was also responsible for four of the Tigers' nine total runs over the weekend.
Mizzou’s starter Neubeck (0-1) took his first loss in over two years, while Arkansas’ Christian Foutch (2-0) remained undefeated.
Mizzou will try to bounce back this weekend with a mid-week game against Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) on Tuesday in Edwardsville, Illinois, before heading to Gainesville over the weekend to take on the Gators.