Baseball Heads to Athens for SEC Series at No. 5 Georgia

By
Gary Lee
-

ATHENS, Ga. – Mizzou Baseball hits the road for a three-game Southeastern Conference weekend series at No. 5 Georgia, scheduled for Friday through Sunday at Foley Field in Athens, Georgia. Friday’s series opener is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT (SECN+), followed by game two at 1 p.m. CT Saturday (SECN+) and Sunday’s finale at 11 a.m. CT (SEC Network).

Mizzou (21-23, 4-17 SEC) will aim to carry the momentum from its 6-1 win over No. 24 Arkansas in last Saturday’s series finale. The Tigers, led by RHP Keyler Gonzalez (5 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 5 K, 0 BB) and lefty Juan Villarreal (2.2 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 3 K, 1 BB), posted 8.2 scoreless frames before the Hogs spoiled what would have been MU’s first conference shutout since April 27, 2019, vs. South Carolina with a two-out run in the ninth.

Advertisement

A three-run first inning followed by Pierre Seals‘ opposite-field two-run shot (425 ft.) in the bottom of the second inning and a solo home run by Eric Maisonet in the fourth provided the offense and propelled Mizzou to the victory.

Georgia (35-11, 15-6 SEC) will enter the matchup coming off a seven-inning, 11-1 run-rule win over Troy on Tuesday afternoon in Athens after winning its SEC series on the road, two games to one over No. 17 Ole Miss last weekend. The fifth-ranked Bulldogs dropped the series opener to the Rebels, 10-8, before winning by scores of 9-7 (14 inn.) and 5-1, respectively.

As of Thursday, Georgia is No. 19 nationally in RPI and leads the SEC with a 15-6 conference record.

All Mizzou baseball games are available via audio stream on The Varsity Network app by Learfield with longtime play-by-play voice Tex Little on the call alongside Matt Michaels providing color.

Expected Pitching Matchups vs. No. 5 Georgia

  • Friday, May 1 (5 P.M. CT) – SEC Network+
    • Mizzou – RHP Josh McDevitt (3-4, 4.10 ERA, 78 K, 33 BB)
    • Georgia – RHP Joey Volchko (6-2, 4.02 ERA, 67 K, 30 BB)
  • Saturday, May 2 (1 P.M. CT) – SEC Network+
    • Mizzou – LHP Brady Kehlenbrink (3-7, 5.52 ERA, 77 K, 19 BB)
    • Georgia – RHP Dylan Vigue (3-1, 2.51 ERA, 53 K, 25 BB)
  • Sunday, May 3 (11 A.M. CT) – SEC Network
    • Mizzou – TBA
    • Georgia – TBA

SCHEDULE

  • Mizzou at No. 5 Georgia, Friday, May 1 @ 5 P.M. CT
  • Mizzou at No. 5 Georgia, Saturday, May 2 @ 1 P.M. CT
  • Mizzou at No. 5 Georgia, Sunday, May 3 @ 11 A.M. CT

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS

  • Georgia enters the weekend 35-11 overall and 15-6 in SEC play, sitting atop the conference standings.
  • The Bulldogs check in at No. 5 in this week’s edition of the D1 Baseball Top 25 Poll and are rated 19th nationally in RPI as of Thursday.
  • Offensively, Georgia is slashing .323/.439/.617 with an NCAA-leading 124 home runs, four triples and 87 doubles.
  • In addition to leading the nation in HR, the Bulldogs rank second nationally in runs (435) and slugging percentage (.617), fifth in hits (511), eighth in OBP (.439) and seventh in batting average (.323).
  • On the mound, Georgia carries a team ERA of 4.97 over 393 innings pitched, striking out 481 and walking 208 to rank 10th nationally in strikeouts per nine innings (11.0).
  • The Bulldogs also boast one of the nation’s most sound defenses, fielding at a .983 clip to rank ninth nationally.

SERIES HISTORY vs. GEORGIA

  • Friday’s game will mark the 37th all-time meeting between the two programs, with the Bulldogs holding a slight 20-16 advantage.
  • Mizzou leads the series 10-8 all-time in Athens.
  • Dating back to 2022, the Bulldogs lead 6-4 over the past 10 matchups.
  • Mizzou earned its last win in the series April 12, 2024, with a 6-5, 10-inning win in Athens.

B.K. HAS IT HIS WAY

  • Lefty Brady Kehlenbrink had a career outing on the mound vs. South Carolina on April 10.
  • He tossed a career-long 7.1 innings and threw over 100 pitches (102) for the second time in his career while allowing no earned runs on just a pair of hits.
  • He allowed just one unearned run while racking up 10 strikeouts and not issuing a single walk.
  • It marked the second start this season for Kehlenbrink striking out 10-plus without issuing a walk or an earned run (March 8 vs. UIC).
  • He followed it up with a six-inning effort at No. 14 Oklahoma on April 18, allowing four runs on eight hits and a pair of walks while striking out 10 for the second-straight start.
  • He was strong again versus No. 24 Arkansas, going 5.1 innings and allowing four runs on five hits, striking out eight and walking just one.
  • It marked the sixth time in 11 starts this season the sophomore southpaw has struck out eight or more.
  • Over his last three starts, Kehlenbrink has been on the wrong end of luck as the Tigers have failed to provide him run support in each of them.
  • Despite an 0-3 record during this stretch, the lefty has posted a 3.86 ERA over 18.2 IP with an impressive 28-3 K/BB ratio.

BLAIZE-ING FRESHMAN

  • Freshman infielder Blaize Ward has been on a tear as of late, earning SEC Co-Freshman of the Week honors on April 6 after hitting .615 for the week and helping the Tigers win the series at No. 24 Kentucky.
  • Ward hit .667 in the series at Kentucky with a pair of multi-hit games, including a 3-for-3 effort in Sunday’s series-clinching win in which he got on base all five times he came to the plate.
  • He’s batting .309 (34-for-110) for the season, seeing an up-tick in playing time as of late.
  • He slugged three home runs in a five-game stretch from April 17-23 – including a leadoff homer vs. SIUE on April 17, the first for the Tigers since Jackson Beaman vs. Illinois on March 26, 2024.
  • In SEC play, Ward has led the Tigers with a .344 batting average (21-for-61) to go along with a pair of home runs, a double, 13 RBI and seven runs scored, collecting seven multi-hit games in 18 league contests.
  • Ward was a key part in the Friday night win at No. 22 Tennessee, going 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI.
  • The Maumelle, Arkansas, native has knocked multiple hits in seven of his last 17 games overall and has hit safely in 18 of his last 24 games.

RANKED ROAD SERIES WIN

  • After taking down No. 24 Kentucky in Lexington, the Tigers earned their first road series win over a ranked opponent since 2021 at No. 3 Mississippi State.
  • The series win also marked the first SEC series win of the season for the Tigers as they matched their conference win total from last season through the first dozen games of this year’s conference slate.
  • The Tigers handed the Wildcats just their second and third home losses of the season, respectively, as Kentucky slipped to an impressive 15-3 at Kentucky Proud Park after the defeat.

MAKING STRIDES ON THE MOUND

  • Under first-year pitching coach Drew Dickinson, the Tigers have made impressive strides on the mound through the first 44 games of the campaign.
  • As of April 29, the Tigers rank 25th nationally in hits allowed per nine innings (7.96) and 30th in strikeouts per nine innings (10.1).
  • Over 196.2 innings of work, the starting rotation has combined for a 4.99 ERA, 219 strikeouts to 93 walks and opponents are batting just .229 against the rotation.
  • The bullpen has worked 177.2 innings and compiled a 12-8 record while pitching to a 5.12 ERA with 200 strikeouts while opponents are hitting .246 off the unit.
  • The Mizzou bullpen was dominant in the series win at No. 24 Kentucky, tossing 13.2 innings and allowing just one earned run (two total), for an ERA of 0.66 for the weekend.
  • RHP Keyler Gonzalez was dominant in the 5-2 win over Mo State on April 7, throwing 6.0 scoreless innings of two-hit relief out of the pen while striking out nine Bears and walking just two. He set DI career highs in innings pitched and strikeouts to earn his second win of the campaign.
  • Gonzalez was electric once again in the 6-1 win over No. 24 Arkansas on Saturday, tossing five scoreless innings of relief (5 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 5 K, 0 BB) to earn his third win of the campaign.
  • Lefty Brady Kehlenbrink was dominant in the 1-0 loss to South Carolina on April 10. He hurled a career-high 7.1 innings and allowed just one unearned run on two hits while racking up 10 strikeouts and not issuing a single walk. He had 10 strikeouts for the second-straight start this weekend at No. 14 Oklahoma in six innings of work.

CONSECUTIVE SHUTOUTS FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2017

  • The Tigers recorded consecutive shutouts for the first time since May 18-19, 2017, after defeating UIC 7-0 and 10-0, respectively, March 7 and 8.
  • Those shutouts accounted for 16 innings within a 22-inning stretch of consecutive scoreless frames by Tiger pitchers.

GOING STREAKING!

  • Mizzou had a 13-game winning streak snapped by No. 6 Auburn on March 13 – its longest since rattling off 20-straight victories in 2017.
  • South Carolina grad transfer Jase Woita put together a 29-game on-base streak from Feb. 15 to April 9 – the longest by a Tiger this season.
  • Shortstop Kam Durnin has put together both an 18-game streak and an eight-game streak this season. Overall, he’s been on base in 28 of 32 games.
  • Center fielder Kaden Peer reached base safely in his first 22 games of the season after returning from injury. The streak came to an end vs. South Carolina on April 9, but he has been on base in 27 of 32 games overall.
  • Outfielder Pierre Seals has a hit in three-straight games.

WAITER, BRING ME WOITA

  • South Carolina transfer Jase Woita has made an immediate impact in the Mizzou lineup this season after hitting .300 with six home runs in 45 games for the Gamecocks in 2025.
  • The physical left-handed slugger is batting .309 with a team-best 10 home runs and 42 RBI to rank 12th in the SEC in RBI and 26th in home runs.
  • In the Friday night game at No. 14 Oklahoma on April 17, Woita slugged a pair of home runs (410 ft., 436 ft.) in a 3-for-4 performance with three RBI and a walk. It marked the second two-homer game of Woita’s career and his first in the Black & Gold.
  • He slugged four home runs in a six-game stretch from April 11-23.
  • He drove in a career-high eight runs in the record-breaking 34-3 win over Mount Saint Mary’s on Feb. 15 – one shy of the program record for RBI (9) in a game.
  • Woita put together a 29-game on-base streak from Feb. 15 to April 9 – the longest streak by any Tiger this season.

PASS THE TORCH

  • The Tigers have hit consecutive home runs on three occasions this season:
  • In the series finale vs. UIC on March 8, the entire starting outfield (Peer, Benson, Seals) went back-to-back-to-back in a matter of five pitches – all solo shots.
  • It marked the second time of Benson’s career being a part of back-to-back-to-back home runs, the first coming April 11, 2023, as a member of the Kerrick Jackson-coached Memphis Tigers in an 11-9 win at Ole Miss.

WEAR IT!

  • The Tigers are averaging 1.84 HBP per game to rank 41st nationally and third in the SEC, being plunked 81 times so far this season.
  • Kentucky and Winthrop are the national leaders with 110 HBP apiece.
  • Mizzou has been hit four-plus times on six occasions and has been hit at least twice in nearly half of its games (20 times). Overall, the Tigers have been hit at least once in 31 of 44 games.
  • The Tigers were plunked a season-high seven times on Feb. 15 vs. Mount St. Mary’s.

TRACK MEET

  • The Tigers rank third in the SEC in triples (11).
  • Tyler Macon, Eric Maisonet and Isaiah Frost have each hit two on the season to share the team lead.
  • Kentucky and Oklahoma lead the SEC with 13 three-baggers apiece.

KEEP STACKING BRICKS

  • The Tigers and head coach Kerrick Jackson have developed a new winning ritual: stacking bricks.
  • After each win, the Tigers add a brick to the wall, each of them resting on three black cinder blocks at the base of the wall that each display one of the team’s three core values: accountability, respect and connection.
  • The bricks themselves have a color code: black are non-conference victories, gold are SEC victories and tiger-striped brick signifies a series-clinching victory.

DEFEND THE TURF

  • Mizzou is in its first season of a brand-new turf surface at Taylor Stadium, and the Tigers are 12-13 on the new digs.
  • With their 10-0 shutout of UIC on March 8, the Tigers clinched having more home wins this season than they had last season, going 8-20 at Taylor Stadium in 2025.

FOLLOW THE TIGERS
For all the latest information on Mizzou baseball, please visit MUTigers.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Tigers on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Share
Tweet
Advertisement

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR