Baseball Set to Host Three-Game SEC Series vs. South Carolina

By
Gary Lee
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COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Baseball is back at home Thursday night at 7 p.m. CT for a nationally-televised matchup on ESPNU versus Southeastern Conference foe South Carolina to begin a three-game series with the Gamecocks at Taylor Stadium. Game two of the series is set for Friday night at 6 p.m. CT (SECN+) followed by Saturday’s finale, set for a 2 p.m. CT (SECN+) first pitch.

The Tigers (20-14, 3-9 SEC) followed last weekend’s SEC series win over No. 24 Kentucky up with a 5-2 victory over in-state rival Missouri State (No. 11 RPI) at Taylor Stadium on Tuesday night behind a dominant bullpen performance by RHP Keyler Gonzalez (6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 9 K). Birthday boy Donovan Jordan slugged a three-run shot in the third inning to give the Tigers a three-run lead they would not relinquish.

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Freshman Blaize Ward was named Co-SEC Freshman of the Week on Monday after hitting .615 (8-for-13) for the week with three multi-hit games, including a 3-for-3 effort with a pair of RBI in Sunday’s series-clinching win at 24th-ranked Kentucky.

The Tigers will shift their attention to the Gamecocks (15-19, 2-10 SEC), who have lost three-straight games after dropping an SEC series to No. 2 Texas last weekend and a midweek defeat at the hands of College of Charleston on Tuesday. South Carolina pulled off an upset and took down the second-ranked Longhorns in game one of last weekend’s series, 9-1.

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. South Carolina

  • Thursday, April 9 (7 P.M. CT) – ESPNU – “Thirsty Thursday” $1.99 beer
    • Mizzou – RHP Josh McDevitt (3-2, 3.66 ERA, 52 K, 26 BB)
    • South Carolina – RHP Brandon Stone (3-1, 3.11 ERA, 36 K, 13 BB)
  • Friday, April 10 (6 P.M. CT) – SECN+
    • Mizzou – LHP Brady Kehlenbrink (3-4, 7.78 ERA, 49 K, 16 B)
    • South Carolina – RHP Amp Phillips (2-4, 2.59 ERA, 46 K, 21 BB)
  • Saturday, April 11 (2 P.M. CT) – SECN+
    • Mizzou – TBD
    • South Carolina – TBD

SCHEDULE

  • Mizzou vs. South Carolina, Thursday, April 9 @ 7 P.M. CT
  • Mizzou vs. South Carolina, Friday, April 10 @ 6 P.M. CT
  • Mizzou vs. South Carolina, Saturday, April 11 @ 2 P.M. CT

SCOUTING THE GAMECOCKS

  • Through 34 games, South Carolina is 15-19 overall and 2-10 in SEC play.
  • The Gamecocks are slashing .253/.349/.446 with 44 home runs, five triples and 73 doubles.
  • As a pitching staff, USC holds a 4.51 ERA over 289.2 innings, striking out 314 batters and walking 164.
  • Thursday’s starting pitcher RHP Brandon Stone is now 3-1 on the year with a 3.11 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 37.2 innings pitched.
  • Stone pitched seven innings of relief against Texas on April 3. He allowed just two runs while striking out six Longhorns in a no-decision.
  • Friday’s starter RHP Amp Phillips has two wins on the season to go along with a 2.59 ERA and a .189 opponent’s batting average.
  • Saturday’s starter is to be announced.

SERIES HISTORY vs. SOUTH CAROLINA

  • This weekend’s series will mark the 37th, 38th and 39th all-time meetings between the two programs, with South Carolina leading the series, 22-14.
  • In Columbia, the Tigers hold an 11-7 advantage in the series.
  • The two teams last played in 2024, with the Gamecocks taking two of three games.

RANKED ROAD SERIES WIN

  • After taking down No. 24 Kentucky last weekend, 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 Sunday’s defeat.

BLAIZE-ING FRESHMAN

  • Freshman infielder Blaize Ward has been on a tear as of late, earning SEC Co-Freshman of the Week honors after hitting .615 last week and helping the Tigers win the series at No. 24 Kentucky.
  • He 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.
  • In SEC play, Ward has led the Tigers with a .500 batting average (15-for-30) to go along with seven RBI and four runs scored, collecting five multi-hit games in nine league games.
  • The Maumelle, Arkansas, native has knocked multiple hits in five of his last seven games overall.
  • For the season, Ward leads the squad with a .360 average (27-for-75) with five doubles, a triple, 20 RBI and 16 runs scored, getting on base at a .453 clip.

OFFENSE CONTINUES TO ROAR

  • The Tigers are No. 26 nationally and tied with Kentucky for the SEC lead in triples (10).
  • In addition, MU is No. 21 nationally in HBP (67), No. 47 in runs (255), No. 64 in hits (316) No. 68 in on-base percentage (.404) and No. 87 in batting average (.287).
  • With the Tigers’ 15-1 victory over UAPB on Feb. 24, they became the fastest team in program history to reach 100 runs (8 Games).
  • Mizzou reached the 150-run milestone in game 14, also becoming the fastest team in program history to that mark.
  • The Tigers’ run-rule victory over UAPB on Feb. 24 marked the first time Mizzou has recorded four-straight run-rule wins in the 56-game regular season era (1997).
  • MU earned its fifth run-rule victory of the season on March 8 in a 10-0 win over UIC.

MAKING STRIDES ON THE MOUND

  • Under first-year pitching coach Drew Dickinson, the Tigers have made impressive strides on the mound through the first 34 games of the campaign.
  • As of April 6, the Tigers rank 33rd nationally in hits allowed per nine innings (7.77) and 47th in strikeouts per nine innings (9.8).
  • Over 150.0 innings of work, the starting rotation has combined for a 9-8 record, a 5.04 ERA, 159 strikeouts to 78 walks and opponents are batting just .229 against the unit.
  • The bullpen has worked 137.1 innings while pitching to a 5.57 ERA with 155 strikeouts while opponents are hitting .241 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 Tuesday’s 5-2 win over Mo State, 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.

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.

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 .325 with an OPS of .984 thanks to a team-leading six home runs in 31 games played.
  • He’s driven in 35 runs to lead the squad and rank 12th in the SEC in that department.
  • 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 saw his 12-game hitting streak come to an end vs. No. 6 Auburn but extended his on-base streak to 29 games after reaching safely in the 5-2 win over Mo State.

LIGHTING UP THE SCOREBOARD

  • The Tigers have scored 255 runs through 34 games (7.5 per game) to rank 47th nationally and seventh within the league.

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.

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 is riding a 29-game on-base streak into Thursday’s matchup – the longest by a Tiger this season.
  • Center fielder Kaden Peer has been on base in all 22 games since returning from injury.
  • Freshman Blaize Ward has been on base in 15-straight games and has hit safely in seven straight contests. Overall, he has a hit in 13 of his last 14 games.

ON LIKE DONKEY KONG

  • Mizzou ranks 68th nationally with a .404 on-base percentage.
  • The Tigers rank 64th nationally in hits (316) and 87th in batting average (.287).
  • In addition, MU ranks No. 21 in the country and third in the SEC with 67 HBP.

WEAR IT!

  • The Tigers are averaging 1.97 HBP per game to rank 21st nationally and third in the SEC, being plunked 67 times so far this season.
  • Kentucky leads the nation with 87 HBP.
  • Mizzou has been hit four-plus times on six occasions and has been hit at least twice 16 times.
  • The Tigers were plunked a season-high seven times on Feb. 15 vs. Mount St. Mary’s.

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 off to an 11-7 start 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 all of last season, going 8-20 at Taylor Stadium in 2025.

NON-CON DOMINANCE

  • After concluding the 2025 season with a 13-11 record against non-conference opponents, the Tigers are off to a 17-5 start in 2026.
  • Last year’s Tigers clinched a winning non-con season slate for the 11th time in the last 12 seasons; only MU’s 2021 squad (7-14) failed to reach the .500 mark vs. non-SEC foes over that span.
  • Over the last 13 seasons, the Tigers’ dominance has been equally impressive, with MU winning 116 more non-conference games than it has lost (209-93).

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.

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