After a crushing midweek loss to their in-state rivals, the Missouri Tigers (13-30, 0-21) traveled to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to face the Crimson Tide. The result was all too familiar, as they were swept in all three games, extending their streak to 21 consecutive SEC losses.
Game 1: 7-5 Alamaba
The Tigers came out strong in the first game of the series, scoring five runs in the first inning — their highest opening-inning total of the season. After the first two batters reached base, the Tigers struck first when Keegan Knutson, the No. 3 hitter, reached on a pitcher’s error, bringing in the first run with no outs and two runners still on.
A sacrifice fly by Cayden Nicoletto and a single by Gehrig Goldbeck plated two more runs before freshman Brady Picarelli, making his first conference start since the Arkansas series, roped a bases-loaded, two-run single through the right side to give the Tigers a 5-0 lead in the top of the first.
That was it for the Tigers offensively, as they managed just three more hits and failed to score the rest of the game.
The Tide began their comeback in the second inning after freshman starter Brady Kehlenbrink issued a one-out walk, followed by a two-run blast over the right-field wall that cut Missouri’s lead to 5-2.
Those were the only runs Kehlenbrink allowed in his outing, as he threw two more scoreless innings before exiting with just two runs on the board.
Brady Kehlenbrink’s final line: 3 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 57 TP
Alabama didn’t score again until the sixth inning, this time off right-hander Xavier Lovett. After two clean innings to start his outing, Lovett opened his third inning with a strikeout before allowing back-to-back singles, setting up a game-tying three-run blast that evened the score at 5-5.
Freshman PJ Green took over on the mound for the Tigers in the next inning and, like Lovett, opened his outing with a clean frame out of the bullpen. Trouble came in his second inning, when two leadoff walks and a double play left a runner on third. The next batter launched a two-run homer, giving Alabama its first lead of the day.
The Tigers had a chance to rally in the top of the ninth, but a lone hit and three strikeouts sealed a 7-5 loss.
Green (1-2) took the loss, while Alabama’s Carson Ozmer (4-0) earned the win.
Game 2: 7-3 Alabama
The Tigers' offense continued to struggle after their strong first inning in Game 1. With usual midweek starter Wil Libbert making his first SEC appearance, he opened with two scoreless innings before a leadoff walk in the third set up a two-run homer, giving the Tide an early 2-0 lead.
Wil Libbert’s final line: 3 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 4 K, 84 TP
The Tide added four more runs in the fifth inning, this time off Mizzou’s Kaden Jacobi. A bases-loaded hit-by-pitch brought in the first run, followed by a two-RBI double and an RBI groundout that pushed Alabama’s lead to 6-0. At that point, the Tigers had managed just three hits as a team.
Alabama added one more run when Mizzou reliever Ben Smith surrendered a leadoff homer in the seventh, pushing the Tide’s total to seven runs.
Aside from the home run, Smith had a solid outing, pitching two innings and allowing just three hits and one run.
The Tigers showed some life starting in the sixth, when three straight two-out hits — including a Chris Patterson triple — scored two runs. They added another in the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Kaden Peer, but that was all they could muster, as Alabama secured a 7-3 win.
As a team in Game 2, the Tigers totaled seven hits, with Patterson leading the way with a double and a triple. However, they struck out 13 times, with Peer accounting for three of them during an 0-for-4 day at the plate.
Game 3: 12-1 (7 inn.) Alabama
The final game of the weekend had the potential to be the most exciting for Tiger fans, with Sam Horn making his second start of the season and his first against an SEC opponent. However, things didn’t go as hoped.
After a clean first inning, Horn returned for the second but couldn’t record an out. Following back-to-back hits to open the inning, Alabama jumped ahead 3-0 with a three-run homer, prompting a mound visit. It didn’t help much, as the next batter launched another home run off Horn. After hitting the following batter, Horn was pulled after just one inning of work.
Sam Horn’s final line: 1 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 34 TP
After Horn exited, Mizzou turned to Tony Neubeck for just his third relief appearance of the season, but the Tide’s momentum continued. The first batter Neubeck faced launched a two-run homer over the right-field wall to make it 6-0. Three straight hits followed before Neubeck finally escaped the inning, with the Tigers trailing 8-0 heading to the third.
The Crimson Tide recorded more hits in the second inning than the Tigers managed in any of the three games over the weekend, with eight of their 15 hits coming during that frame.
Mizzou’s Mateo Serna opened the third inning with a home run to get the Tigers on the board, but it was the only run they managed all game and one of just five total hits.
The Tide kept rolling, adding two more runs in the third inning and another in the fourth to take an 11-1 lead, putting them in run-rule territory by the end of the fourth.
Alabama pushed their lead past the 10-run mark with an RBI single in the fifth, making it 12-1. The run was one of two charged to Mizzou reliever Brock Lucas, who, despite allowing two runs, turned in a decent outing by striking out four and issuing no walks over two innings.
The final bit of excitement came from the Missouri side, as head coach Kerrick Jackson handed the ball to Ian Lohse for the sixth inning. Lohse responded with a three-up, three-down frame.
After beginning the season as a regular in the starting rotation, Lohse had been sidelined since the Texas series and was making his first appearance on the mound in nearly a month.
Despite Lohse’s strong inning, the Tigers couldn’t generate any offense in the top of the seventh, falling 12-1 in seven innings.
Slowly but surely, more pitchers are starting to return for Missouri. After a season plagued by injuries across the pitching staff, pieces are gradually coming back to help out. Despite the team’s struggles, having arms like Ian Lohse and Sam Horn available again gives head coach Kerrick Jackson more options, rather than relying on the same limited group each game.
The Tigers will stay on the road for their next game, traveling to Lawrence, Kansas, to face the Jayhawks in the first of two meetings this season. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. Tuesday, and the game will be available to stream on ESPN+.