In its first home series since Feb. 28, Mizzou was faced with the challenge of taking on the number one team in the nation, the Vanderbilt Commodores. The Tigers looked to to rebound from their series loss at Kentucky last week, but the opposition didn’t make that easy.
Kumar Rocker (6-0, 0.73 ERA), an undisputed first round pick in the upcoming MLB Draft, was the first star pitcher Mizzou had to face. Rocker wasn’t able to overpower Mizzou in terms of strikeouts like he usually does, but he still went six innings allowing one earned run and five hits. Despite not getting runs, Mizzou put together some good at-bats against the future pro.
“I thought we had a really good game plan going in,” Mizzou manager Steve Bieser said. “We really knew Rocker’s tendencies and had some pretty good at bats against him. He found a way out of some trouble at times and we couldn’t come up with a big hit, but it felt like we did a pretty decent job against him.”
Mizzou starter Spencer Miles (1-4, 6.47 ERA) lived up to Rocker’s level at first, retiring Vanderbilt’s first seven batters. The Commodores, who came into the series hitting .308 as a team, eventually got going offensively the second time through the order. Miles gave up 11 hits, 6 runs, and 2 walks in 5.1 innings, but got out of a lot of trouble early on in the game to keep it close. Trae Robertson’s struggles continued out of the bullpen as he gave up 5 hits, 5 runs, and 4 runs in 2.2 innings. Vanderbilt’s CJ Rodriguez blew the game open with a three-run homer off of Robertson to make it 8-1 in the sixth.
Chad McDaniel scored the first run of the game for Mizzou off of an error, but the lead was short-lived. Luke Mann’s RBI double in the sixth was the only other offense of the day in the 10-2 loss.
Unfortunately for Missouri, it had to face another star the following day.
Jack Leiter (6-0, 0.25 ERA), the Commodores’ other sure-fire first round pick, put together a brilliant performance in game two. Leiter allowed just two baserunners the entire game on two walks, but was pulled after seven innings since he threw 101 pitches. Reliever Chris McElvain kept the no-hit bid alive with a scoreless eighth inning, but Mizzou was finally able to break the bid in the ninth against Nelson Berkwich on a Tre Morris pinch-hit single. Chad McDaniel then reached on an error and Torin Montgomery put Mizzou on the board with a three-run homer. That ninth inning surge was far too little far too late in an 11-3 loss, but it was good for morale as the no-hitter was eating at the Tigers throughout.
“To see our guys not give in, not wanting to be part of a no-hitter,” Bieser said. “Tre Morris coming through with that big hit and then seeing Torin jump on a pitch there after we got a break on a ground ball. I’m proud that we finished that last inning and that’s what we talk about: playing nine full innings.”
They looked to have that momentum into the series finale on Saturday against a slightly more manageable starter.
Saturday’s game was a frustrating one for the Tigers since they were in control for most of the game. Freshman Zach Hise gave Mizzou all it could’ve hoped for with four scoreless innings, finding ways to get key outs to avoid trouble. Konnor Ash came in and pitched a clean fifth inning to preserve the lead, but his error was costly the next inning. Cooper Davis’ sac bunt forced a rushed throw that got by first baseman Torin Montgomery to tie the game. Ash allowed an earned run later on in the inning off of a Dominic Keegan groundout with the bases loaded.
The bottom line was that the pitching wasn’t the problem for Missouri in Sunday’s 3-1 loss.
Tre Morris gave Mizzou a 1-0 lead with a single to center in the bottom of the second off Commodores’ starter Thomas Schultz, but it was the only run of the game for Mizzou. The lack of offense came despite a more favorable matchup against Schultz, who came into the game with a 6.19 ERA in four starts. The bottom of the lineup was very productive for Mizzou, as the bottom three hitters got four of the team’s six hits. Everyone else struggled, however.
“Early on I felt their starter was very gettable but we just didn’t put consistent at-bats together,” Steve Bieser added. “There was no production at the top of our lineup and you hope when you get hitters 7, 8, and 9 going that those guys at the top can get some RBIs.”
These struggles have been a theme on offense, as Missouri is hitting just .239 as a team on the year. Only walking three times also hurt the Tigers as they were below their average of five walks per game.
Vanderbilt (19-3, 5-1 SEC) got an insurance run in the top of the ninth on a Parker Noland single, and Luke Murphy picked up his fourth save of the season to preserve the win. Nick Maldonado was great in relief as well, pitching three innings with four strikeouts and one hit allowed. Thomas Schultz improves to 2-2 on the season with the win and Konnor Ash (1-1) was given the loss.
Ian Lohse remains a bright spot for Mizzou as he replaced Ash and pitched 3 innings, allowing two hits, one run, and four strikeouts. He has solidified himself as the team’s best reliever with a 3.60 ERA through seven appearances.
Overall, the lack of offense was extremely disappointing given how great the pitching staff performed after two rough games.
“I’m not very happy with the way that we performed this weekend,” Bieser stated. “ It’s not our goal to keep the game close. Game three was very frustrating since we felt really good about our matchup with their number three guy.”
Missouri (8-15, 1-5 SEC) has a road game at Kansas on Tuesday before returning home for their next conference series at home against Texas A&M on Thursday.
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