LAWRENCE, Kan. – No. 23 Kansas scored six times in the first four innings and relied on a strong effort from its bullpen in a 9-3 win over University of Missouri baseball in the opening round of the two clubs’ non-conference home-and-home series Tuesday evening at Hoglund Ballpark.
Brady Counsell’s three-run homer in the bottom of the first wiped out an early 1-0 Mizzou lead and fueled the Jayhawks’ early surge, before starter Malakai Vetock (3-0) and six relievers held Mizzou to two earned runs on seven hits.
The home run for Counsell – his 11th of the season – came on the first pitch he saw from Mizzou starter Josh Kirchhoff (2-1) following a Tigers throwing error that gave the home club a pair of baserunners with just one out. Counsell, who added a two-run single to stretch the KU lead to four runs in the fourth, finished 2-for-3 with a career-high five RBIs to power the Jayhawks’ (36-10) offense.
Kaden Peer opened the scoring with a towering home run to right off Vetock with one out in the first, staking Mizzou to the early one-run lead. The Tigers’ center fielder came up with a defensive gem in the second as well, throwing out a Jayhawks baserunner at third to prevent a big inning after Ian Francis’ RBI-single made it a 4-1 game.
The Tigers (13-31) pushed a two-out run home in the third, taking advantage of a wild pitch and the aggressive baserunning of Jackson Lovich and Pierre Seals to draw to within two runs.
After Counsell’s two-out, two-run single made it a 6-2 game, Peer delivered once again for the Tigers in the top of the seventh, raking a run-scoring single through the right side of the KU infield to cut the margin to three runs once again.
But the Jayhawks answered in the home half of the seventh, using a walk and a Sawyer Smith double to plate their seventh run of the night. The home club struck for two more in the eighth on Daniel Osoria’s single and a Mizzou error to take their largest lead of the night into the ninth.
Eric Lin, the seventh KU hurler of the game, finished off the victory – KU’s ninth in a row – with a pair of strikeouts in a scoreless ninth. That capped a string of seven strong innings by Kansas relievers, who combined to allow just one earned run on six hits.
Lovich led the Tigers with two hits, a walk and a hit by pitch in his five plate appearances, while Peer added a 2-for-5 night and two RBIs for Mizzou.
Brock Lucas worked two innings of one-hit, scoreless relief for the Tigers, before Josh McDevitt turned in a scoreless sixth to lead the Mizzou mound corps.
TIGER NOTEBOOK
- Tyler Macon extended his hit streak to a career-best five games with a 1-for-2 night off the Mizzou bench.
- Lovich logged his team-leading 14th multi-hit effort of the season, finishing 2-for-3.
- Peer finished with his ninth multi-hit performance and his seventh multi-RBI game of 2025.
- Trey Lawrence saw his first game action since March 28 vs. Texas, starting at second base.
- In his second career start, Kirchhoff sustained his first loss as a Tiger after allowing three earned runs on four hits in an inning-plus.
- Mizzou dropped to 5-2 in Tuesday contests this season.
- Despite the setback, Mizzou still holds a commanding 220-131-2 all-time series edge over the Jayhawks.
UP NEXT
The Tigers return to Columbia Friday to open a three-game Southeastern Conference series with No. 9 Georgia. First pitch from Taylor Stadium is slated for 6 p.m.
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.
