Baseball Hosts Mississippi State for Final SEC Home Series

COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri baseball will host Mississippi State for its final Southeastern Conference series of the 2025 season this weekend, beginning with a 6 p.m. (CDT) contest on Thursday (May 15) at Taylor Stadium.

The Tigers and Bulldogs will square off in an SEC series for the seventh time this weekend, with Mizzou taking three of its last four series with MSU dating back to 2018.

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Each of the three contests will be streamed live on SEC Network+ with Max Thoma and former Tiger Dylan Kelly handling broadcast duties. Additionally, all three games will be produced by the Tiger Radio Network for local broadcast on KTGR AM/FM and for streaming via the Varsity Network app (by searching ‘Missouri’), with Tex Little and Matt Michaels on the call.

Mizzou baseball single-game tickets are on sale now through the Mizzou Athletics ticket office at 1-800-CAT-PAWS or by visiting MUTigers.com.

PROMOTIONS

• Thursday, May 15 – White Out (Wear White)
• Friday, May 16 – Summer Kickoff / Beach Towel Giveaway (First 150 fans)
• Saturday, May 17 – Senior Day (On-field ceremony begins at 1:30 p.m.)

PITCHING PROBABLES

• Game 1 – Thursday, May 15 (6 p.m.) – LHP Brady Kehlenbrink (Mizzou) vs. LHP Pico Kohn (Mississippi State)
• Game 2 – Friday, May 16 (6 p.m.) – TBA (Mizzou) vs. RHP Evan Siary (Mississippi State)
• Game 3 – Saturday, May 17 (2 p.m.) – TBA (Mizzou) vs. RHP Karson Ligon (Mississippi State)

SENIOR SENDOFF

• Mizzou will honor 11 student-athletes as part of Senior Day festivities prior to Saturday’s contest.
• The Tigers will recognize Brock Daniels, Kadden Drew, Isaiah Frost, Jedier Hernandez, Kaden Jacobi, Ian Lohse, Seth McCartney, Cayden Nicoletto, Tony Neubeck, Pierre Seals and James Vaughn in an on-field ceremony commencing at 1:30 p.m.

SERIES HISTORY

• Missouri and Mississippi State will square off for the 21st time Thursday to open the series.
• The Tigers claimed a 4-3 win in the most recent meeting of the two clubs last May in Starkville, but the Bulldogs hold a 13-7 all-time edge over Mizzou.
• Mizzou has claimed three of the last four series against Mississippi State (2022, 2021 and 2018), with the lone Bulldogs series win coming last year in Starkville (May 16-18, 2024).
• Two years ago, MU won the final two games of the series in Columbia.
• In 2021, the Tigers took two of three road games from a Bulldogs squad that went on to win the College World Series, marking the second-consecutive series win for Mizzou against a Mississippi State squad that ended the season in Omaha (joining the 2018 team).

SCOUTING MISSOURI

• Missouri is coming off a 23-32 campaign last spring in head coach Kerrick Jackson‘s first season at the helm.
• Jackson, who earned his 100th career coaching victory February 15 vs. UConn, was named the 15th head coach in Mizzou history in June 2023, returning to Columbia to lead a program for which he served as an assistant coach from 2011-15 under Mizzou Hall of Fame head coach (and current pitching coach) Tim Jamieson.
• Mizzou is off to a 16-35 start to the season following its first SEC series win of the year – a three-game road sweep of Texas A&M last weekend in College Station.
• The Tigers return four position starters from last season, led by junior INF Jackson Lovich, who batted .287 with 10 homers and 35 RBIs, while ranking second in the SEC in triples (4); the Overland Park, Kan., native has been red-hot at the plate, hitting .392 (56-for-143) with 10 home runs and 42 RBIs, as well as hits in 31 of his last 39 games since Feb. 28.
• Sophomore OF Kaden Peer reached base safely in 21 consecutive games from Feb. 23-April 2; he leads the Tigers with 12 steals, while logging five home runs, 33 RBIs and 34 runs scored.
• Additionally, newcomers OF Pierre Seals, DH Gehrig Goldbeck, OF Cameron Benson, INF Peyton Basler, INF Keegan Knutson, OF Tyler Macon, INF Chris Patterson, OF Brady Picarelli and 1B/OF Cayden Nicoletto have made an immediate impact on the Tigers’ offensive fortunes.
• Nicoletto, in particular, has been pivotal for MU, hitting .276 with six homers and 22 RBIs through the first 51 games of the season.
• Patterson burst onto the scene in April, driving in 17 runs in his last 27 contests since March 29; he brings a team-best eight doubles on the season into this weekend’s series.
• Seals has been red-hot over the same stretch, batting a team-leading .358 while slugging .543 with four home runs in his last 24 contests.
• C/1B Mateo Serna’s totals of seven homers and 32 RBIs rank second and third on the squad, respectively, while the sophomore has thrown out nine would-be basestealers.
• On the mound, senior RHP Kaden Jacobi has recorded  47 punchouts in 44.2 innings.
• Graduate LHP Ian Lohse is enjoying his best season as a Tiger after registering 42 strikeouts in just 33.1 innings of work.
• LHP Kadden Drew and redshirt freshman LHP Wil Libbert have combined for six mound victories and 78 strikeouts over their 81.2 total innings thus far.

QUICK HITS

• Missouri pitching has fanned 422 batters in 417.1 innings this season, marking the 21st time the Tigers have topped the 400-K plateau.
• Mizzou has recorded six 15-hit performances to double its 2024 season total of three, as well as 24 double-digit hit totals, in 51 contests this spring.
• Led by Kaden Peer with 12 steals, the Tigers’ running game has netted 65 steals in 87 attempts.
• Peer has been hit by 18 pitches this season, which is tied for fifth in the SEC; he has 26 HBPs for his Mizzou career.
• MU ranks sixth in the SEC with a 1.27 steals-per-game average, which projects the Tigers to steal 70 bases over their 55-game slate; that total would represent the No. 9 season total in program history.
• Mizzou has recorded 29 sacrifice bunts this season, which rates as the second-best total in the SEC and ranks 53rd nationally.
• Led by Jackson Lovich’s three triples, the Tigers rank third in the SEC and 37th nationally with their 15 triples.
• The Tigers also rank third in the SEC and 35th nationally in HBPs with 94 on the season; that total currently ranks as the fourth-best single-season total in program history.
• Lovich has logged team-best totals of 17 multi-hit and 13 multi-RBI performances; the junior is hitting .341 in SEC play, as well as a team-best .453 (24-for-53) with runners in scoring position.
• In its last 19 games since April 10, Mizzou has fielded at a .980 clip as a team.
• MU pitching posted back-to-back two-hit victories over Texas A&M (May 10-11), marking the fewest hits allowed by the Tigers over a two-game stretch since they permitted four hits to Tennessee and Kansas, March 19-22, 2023.
• Mizzou’s catching combination of Jedier Hernandez and Mateo Serna has already teamed up to nail 16 baserunners this season, surpassing their 2024 season total of 15.

SCOUTING MISSISSIPPI STATE

• Under the direction of interim head coach Justin Parker, the Bulldogs enter the weekend 31-20 on the season, including a 6-1 mark since Parker assumed the reins.
• Mississippi State enters the series hitting .302 as a team, which ranks fifth in the SEC.
• INF Ace Reese (.351 BA) has been a force for the Bulldogs with with a team-best 17 home runs and 60 RBIs; he ranks third in the SEC in total bases (136) entering the weekend.
• OF Bryce Chance has swiped 10 bases while hitting .333, and INF/OF Hunter Hines brings his 11 home runs on the year into the series; Hines is the SEC’s active leader in career games played (220) and ranks second among the conference’s active players in total home runs (65) and RBIs (207) for his career.
• On the mound, the Bulldogs have struck out 560 hitters to rank fifth in the SEC.
• LHP Pico Kohn leads the club with 100 strikeouts while recording a 5-3 record and 4.38 ERA in 13 starts this spring.
• Relievers LHP Luke Dotson and RHP Chase Hungate have been the Bulldogs’ top weapons out of the bullpen; Dotson is 1-1 with a pair of saves and a 2.79 ERA in 16 relief outings, while Hungate has gone 2-1 with two saves and a 2.82 ERA in 14 appearances.

LAST TIME WE MET

• Jackson Lovich’s two-run home run in the seventh inning and a dominant relief effort by Brock Lucas helped Mizzou to a 4-3 come-from-behind victory over No. 18 Mississippi State in Starkville (May 18, 2024).
• After battling back from an early 2-0 deficit to tie the contest in the fourth, the Tigers negated a sixth-inning Joe Powell solo shot on Lovich’s 10th home run of the season — a two-out blast to center — moments after Trevor Austin kept the inning alive with a base hit.
• Lucas calmly slammed the door on the Bulldogs after inheriting a two-on, one-out situation in the home half of the eighth; The right-hander needed just one pitch to induce a fly ball from David Mershon for the second out of the inning, then blew a third strike past Dakota Jordan, to end the threat.
• In the ninth, Lucas was even better, striking out the side in a 1-2-3 inning to wrap up the victory for Mizzou and his second save of the season; In all, the sophomore struck out four of the five hitters he faced in a perfect 1 2/3 inning stint.
• Mississippi State claimed the series, two games to one, thanks to a 4-3 win in the opener and an 8-2 decision over the Tigers in game two.

HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT

• Mizzou enters the weekend with 94 hit-by-pitches as a team, which ranks third in the SEC and 35th nationally.
• The Tigers’ current total ranks as the fourth-best total in program history, 14 HBPs behind the 2005 club’s school record of 108.
• MU is three HBPs shy of moving to the third spot on the program’s single-season list (97 in 2008) and 13 away from the No. 2 total (107 in 2007).
• Kaden Peer has been plunked a team-high 18 times this spring, good for the top average (0.40) of HBPs in the SEC and the No. 6 season total in school history.
• Peer has been hit 26 times in 84 career contests, which leads all active Mizzou players.
• A total of 13 Mizzou players have been hit by a pitch this season, including five who have drawn at least 10 free passes by being struck by a pitch — Peer (18), Mateo Serna (12), Peyton Basler (10), Brock Daniels (10) and Gehrig Goldbeck (10).

X HONORED FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE

• Senior RHP Xavier Lovett was one of 16 SEC baseball players named to the conference’s 2025 Community Service Team Wednesday.
• In order to recognize the accomplishments of student-athletes beyond the field of competition, the SEC names a Community Service Team for each of its 22 league-sponsored sports, looking to highlight an athlete from each school who gives back to his community through superior service efforts.
• Lovett has been a leader in the Tigers’ community service efforts since his arrival on campus as a graduate transfer nearly two years ago.
• A native of Houston, Texas, Lovett has logged extensive volunteer service with Special Olympics, Mobility WorldWide, and Columbia Public Schools Alpha Hart Elementary, in addition to taking part in numerous on-campus service opportunities.
• Most notably, he has played an active role in Mizzou baseball’s involvement with Team IMPACT, a program that connects children facing serious illnesses or disabilities with college athletic programs.
• Lovett earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Memphis in 2023, before completing his master’s degree in positive coaching from Mizzou this spring.

ROAD REBOUND

• Missouri logged its first SEC road series win in nearly three years last weekend with its three-game sweep of Texas A&M.
• Mizzou, which started the season just 1-15 on the road, out-scored the Aggies by a 23-8 margin and out-hit A&M by a whopping 38-11 count.
• Furthermore, the Tigers swept a conference foe for the first time since May 18-20, 2017 at Tennessee – a span of 34 three-game conference series.
• The sweep also handed Mizzou its first three-game win streak of 2025.
• Mizzou got a huge lift from its bullpen, which combined to work 17.0 innings without allowing an eared run in the series.

WATCH THE LEATHER

• Mizzou has engineered a positive turnaround in terms of its defensive efficiency over the last month, logging eight error-free games in its last 19 contests.
• Since committing eight errors in an April 8 road win over SIUE, the Tigers have fielded at a .980 clip as a team, with no player committing more than a total of two errors over the same span.
• MU has committed one error or fewer in 18 of those 19 games, raising its team fielding percentage from .958 to .965.
• The Tigers have turned 15 of their 31 double plays on the season in the same timeframe.
• Additionally, Mizzou pitching has not given up a double-digit hit total in six straight games (dating back to May 2 vs. Georgia).

LOVICH LEADINGTHE PACK

• INF Jackson Lovich has been the driving force behind the Tigers’ offense throughout the 2025 season, bringing a team-best .357 average into the weekend.
• Lovich, who is hitting .341 in conference play to rank eighth among all SEC batters.
• The Overland Park, Kan., product leads Mizzou with three triples, good for fourth in the SEC.
• He also leads the club in multi-hit and multi-RBI performances, with 17 and 13, respectively.
• Since Feb. 28, Lovich has been particularly lethal at the plate, hitting .392 (56-for-143) with 10 home runs and 42 RBIs in his last 39 games.
• This past weekend, Lovich powered the Tigers’ offense against Texas A&M, going 8-for-15 (.533) with two home runs and six RBIs in the three-game sweep of the Aggies.

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 X, Instagram and Facebook.

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