COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou baseball took the series finale over Vanderbilt by a final score of 4-1 to secure a Southeastern Conference series victory at Taylor Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The Tigers (23-27, 6-21 SEC) used a big first inning and an impressive performance by the pitching staff to come away with the deciding third game of the series over the Commodores (29-24, 11-16 SEC).
Juniors Kam Durnin and Mateo Serna were the driving forces behind the offensive output on Senior Day at Taylor Stadium. Durnin finished a perfect 3-for-3 including his first triple of the season and touched home twice while Serna drove in what wound up being the game-winning run with his two-run single in the opening frame.
Vanderbilt struck first, using a leadoff hit batsman to manufacture a run, but Mizzou was able to respond with three of its own in the bottom half of the inning. Serna started the scoring for the Tigers with a bases loaded single that brought Jase Woita and Durnin home. Donovan Jordan followed it up with an RBI ground out that brought Blaize Ward in to score, giving Mizzou a 3-1 lead.
Righty Keyler Gonzalez started on the mound for the Tigers and tossed 3.1 innings, giving up just one run on three hits and punching out three Vandy batters. Gonzalez departed in the fourth with one away, as Isaiah Salas inherited a bases-loaded jam but promptly induced a ground ball to spark a 5-4-3 double play to end the threat.
MU’s bullpen continued its strong day as Salas passed things onto Juan Villarreal after 1.2 innings. Villarreal opened the sixth with a pair of outs in his second stint of the weekend before Eli Skidmore finished the frame and got the opening two outs of the seventh inning.
Graduate lefty Ian Lohse entered with just one out to get in the top of the seventh and retired all four batters he faced in order, including a pair of punchouts entering the bottom of the eighth where the Tigers would push across an insurance tally. Durnin’s leadoff triple led to a productive sac flyout off the bat of freshman Blaize Ward – his 31st RBI of the season.
Freshman right-hander Sam Rosand came in and sealed the 4-1 victory for Mizzou in the ninth to give the Tigers their first home SEC series win since sweeping sixth-ranked Florida, April 5-7, 2024.
NOTEBOOK
- Durnin led the Tigers offense going 3-for-3 with a triple – his first of the year, a pair of singles and a walk. It marked Durnin’s 14th multi-hit game and fifth with at least three knocks.
- Ward finished the day 1-for-2 at the plate with a single, an RBI and a run scored.
- Serna went 1-for-4 with a single and a pair of RBI, his third multi-RBI game this season.
- Mizzou pitching gave up just one run on four hits, punching out seven Vandy batters. The bullpen allowed just one hit all day.
- Mizzou struck out zero times at the plate, the first time in an SEC game under Kerrick Jackson and the first time since at least 2015.
- The home SEC series win marked Mizzou’s first since April 5-7, 2024.
- The series win marked the first for Mizzou over Vandy since 2018 and just the second series win over the Commodores in program history.
Next up, the Tigers will head to Austin, Texas, for a three-game series with the No. 4 Longhorns to conclude the regular season. The series opener is set for Thursday evening at 6:30 p.m. CT, followed by game two on Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT and the series finale on Saturday at 2 p.m. CT. The entire series can be streamed live on SEC Network+. All games can also be streamed on the Varsity Network by Learfield, with longtime Mizzou play-by-play announcer Tex Little on the call and Matt Michaels providing color.
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