Dive into the Heart of Mizzou Athletics

Missouri Tigers baseball is back in full swing.

Missouri opened up their fall campaign with their Fall World Series this past weekend at Taylor Stadium.

The Tigers played the Tigers, respectively named TWT and Los Tigres, and put on quite a show. Rules were interesting, to say the least, as there were four batters per inning – no matter how many outs. However, outs would carry over. For example, if a pitcher retired two but allowed two on base, the next inning would start with runners on, but two outs. Then, if the first batter of the inning recorded an out, everyone on the base path was wiped, and the out count started over. Confused? Exactly.

Matthew Gustafson attended the first game of the series and provided some key takeaways and opinions on the game:

• Jeric Curtis could play a bigger role this year and displayed a power-speed combo, hitting two home runs (one of them to lead off the game) to left field
• Jackson Lovich went 2-2 with an extra base hit and two walks, and to me looks like the clear leader of the offense
• Josh McDevitt was excellent, showing a nasty slider that got him two strikeouts and only allowing one hit and no runs in three innings. He was sitting 88-91 on his fastball and in the high 70s with the breaking ball.
• Jedier Hernandez looked excellent behind the plate, threw out two
• Cameron Benson went 1-4 but had two fly balls to the warning track in right. Wind worked against him
• Victor Christal showed intriguing stuff but couldn’t control command. Fastball in the low 90s, along with a nasty curve. Good piece for the future, but has a lot to work on.
• Charlie Miller looked great in ninth, recording a strikeout and inducing weak contact. Name to watch out of the bullpen this season.

Meanwhile, I attended the second and third games of the series and had thoughts of my own:

• Freshman Trey Lawrence displayed potential but struggled heavily with his command. Took 3 innings to record three outs. Two-way player to watch out for.
• Picarelli was firing off the bat. He had a home run and RBI double.
• Mateo Serna believed he hit a homer to right, but it was short. He admired it a bit too long and was held to a single. However, Coach Jackson ruled his lack of hustle an out.
• Serna also got into a scrap with the first baseman after running out a single. Neither player was removed. The first base coach said, “This is what we’re promoting?”
• PJ Green – two-way player, retired first three he faced.
• Jackson Lovich looks to be the driving offensive force in this lineup. He did not record a single out in game two. He had two walks, a HBP, and an RBI single in Game One. Had a triple in Game Two.
• Flashes of power also came from Cameron Benson, hitting a monster home run.
• On the mound, Nick Smith was the clear winner. Produced a 0.00 era over three innings. Smith showed potential to break into the starting rotation.
• Brock Lucas displayed some nasty work on the mound as he struck out a total of five. Allowed one run over three innings.
• Ian Lohse was efficient, gave up two runs.
• James Vaughn, the Cornell transfer, was a standout reliever. Cool stat: Pitched an immaculate inning on 4/28 at Cornell.
• Jaylen Merchant was HUGE in the bottom half of the inning. Retired final two to prevent a walk off.
• Daniel Wissler was SOLID for two innings before wheels began to fall off in the third.
• Game One overall: Pitching duel for the most part, bats didn’t heat up that much, but saw flashes of potential from various players on the team.
• Game Two overall: Bats were on FIRE in this one. They will need this type of power to have a shot in the SEC. Pitching was questionable but there were a lot of newcomers on the mound.

Overall, lots of flashes of potential were displayed over the weekend and this team does have the talent to win more games than they did last year. Pitchers who had previous experience in the program stood out immensely and the starting rotation could be a force. However, some newcomers and transfers struggled with command, but with time, they should become more comfortable on the mound.

Some relievers that stood out: James Vaughn, Jaylen Merchant, and Charlie Miller.

Jackson Lovich is once again looking like an offensive powerhouse, and it looks like he’ll be in the driver’s seat for the team this year.

Defensively, we don’t have too many notes, as we had no lineups or PA announcers at the game. Due to various substitutions and no names on jerseys, it was hard to decipher who was who.

Missouri will look to improve upon their 30-20 (10-20 Southeastern Conference) record this upcoming season as Kerrick Jackson takes the helm for year two. Matthew will be back with coverage of Mizzou’s next Fall Ball game later in the week.