2 weeks ago
Missouri earned its first SEC Tournament triumph since 2017 connected Tuesday successful Hoover, Alabama. After holding disconnected No. 17 Ole Miss 10-8 successful a crippled that swung many times and yet settled erstwhile Missouri answered a precocious Rebel surge successful nan eighth inning.
The astir important infinitesimal of nan high-octane crippled arrived successful nan apical of nan eighth. Tied up astatine 8 apiece aft a game-tying Ole Miss homer successful nan seventh, freshman Blaize Ward knocked successful a cardinal RBI azygous that skipped past nan Tristan Bisetta successful correct field, allowing Kam Durnin to people from first and necktie nan game.
Margo Jenkins
Mateo Serna stepped successful adjacent and sent a azygous into correct that brought location different tally and gave Missouri a 10-8 security lead. After Eli Skidmore mowed down nan last 3 batters successful nan ninth, Missouri closed retired its first postseason triumph successful 9 years.
“Once we saw really nan shot was flying we knew we had a chance,” Jase Woita said. “A bloop and a blast, that’s each we needed, and keeping nan crippled that adjacent gave america a fighting chance. We were capable to do that and yet travel retired pinch a win.”
Serna was cardinal to astir everything Missouri did offensively and down nan plate. He vanished 3-for-5 pinch 2 runs driven successful and besides became 1 of nan early standouts of nan SEC Tournament’s brand-new ABS situation system. Mizzou coach Kerrick Jackson might’ve called nan strategy “scary” earlier nan tournament, but it was scary bully for nan Tigers passim nan title against nan Rebels.
Serna challenged 8 calls and won 7 of them, extending at-bats and helping Missouri prolong unit passim nan morning.
That 5th inning collapsed unfastened nan crippled for nan first clip for nan Tigers, but not without a consequence from Ole Miss, almost making it look for illustration some teams were hitting pinch a fungo bat.
Tied astatine 2, Durnin walked pinch 1 retired to statesman nan postulation connected nan basepaths. Ward followed pinch different walk, and Serna tied nan crippled pinch a azygous down nan correct section line. Donovan Jordan walked to load nan bases, and Peer flipped a 1-2 transportation and sent it conscionable complete nan wall successful near center. The location tally gave Missouri a 7-2 lead and shifted nan momentum for nan moment, firmly toward nan Tigers. Missouri added different homer to its tally successful nan sixth erstwhile Woita deed a large fly, his 13th of nan season.
Ole Miss refused to spell away, though. The Rebels answered Missouri’s five-run 5th pinch a five-run inning of their own. Bissetta doubled to near halfway to bring location a run, Henry Federico singled to correct halfway to thrust successful 2 more, and Owen Paino followed pinch a ground-rule double that trim Missouri’s lead to 7-6. Federico later tied nan crippled successful nan seventh pinch a two-run homer to left, portion of a four-RBI capacity that kept Ole Miss wrong scope each morning.
Missouri continued to create postulation moreover arsenic Ole Miss chipped away. The Tigers vanished pinch 13 hits and 3 location runs, scoring successful 5 different innings and consistently forcing agelong at-bats against a pitching unit that entered nan time classed among nan champion successful nan SEC successful strikeouts. The 10 runs are nan highest by nan Tigers successful SEC play.
Josh McDevitt made his fifteenth commencement of nan play and struck retired 8 successful 5 and two-thirds innings.
He allowed six runs connected 8 hits, including 2 early solo homers, but he kept Missouri successful position to build its midgame lead. Juan Villarreal recorded 2 outs successful nan seventh earlier Skidmore thoroughly handled nan last group of batters, facing 9 and striking retired 5 of nan Rebels he went up against.
“[Skidmore] yet grew up from a freshman.” Woita said. “Maybe it conscionable took him finishing up classes freshman twelvemonth but that was a immense measurement guardant for him and he has a very agleam early ahead.”
Missouri improved to 24-30 connected nan play and much importantly advances to Wednesday’s 9:30 a.m. elimination crippled against Mississippi State pinch a chance to scope nan double-elimination information of nan bracket.
