After sweeping Texas A&M to secure its first conference series win of the season and its first Southeastern Conference victories of 2025, Mizzou baseball came crashing back down to Earth in a 25-7 loss in the series opener against Mississippi State on Thursday at Taylor Stadium.
After a roadtrip against the Aggies that exhibited solid pitching performances from the rotation and out of the bullpen, the Tigers regressed to their early-season form, as they surrendered 23 hits and allowed five walks.
The Bulldogs (32-20, 13-15 SEC) blasted eight home runs in their efforts toward the blowout win, tying an SEC record for most homers in a conference matchup.
“Unfortunately, just kind of the same thing we’ve talked about,” Mizzou coach Kerrick Jackson said. “If you can’t get zeros, it’s tough. Offensively, we had a bunch of letdowns. … We were just in a bad headspace.”
Mississippi State quickly jumped out to a commanding lead early in the game, scoring three runs in the very first inning, one in the second and four more in the fourth inning to pull ahead 8-0.
Sophomore third baseman Ace Reese and senior left fielder Reed Stallman, who was a defensive replacement after the top of the first inning, each hit two home runs for Mississippi State and collected seven total RBI.
Senior southpaw Pico Kohn held the Tigers (16-36, 3-25) to only two hits through 4⅓, striking out seven MU batters on the mound for Mississippi State.
In the bottom of the fourth, senior right fielder Pierre Seals singled to the left side and advanced to second on a throw that attempted to nail lead runner junior shortstop Jackson Lovich at third base.
The throw from left-center field was late, and Mizzou had two runners in scoring position but failed to cash out after a lazy pop fly and a drop third strike ended the inning.
Missouri finally broke its silence with four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Junior second baseman Keegan Knutson notched the Tigers’ first run of the game with an RBI single to left field, and junior shortstop Jackson Lovich followed up with a three-run homer to center field to cut the deficit to 12-4.
Three more runs came across in the next inning for Mizzou. Sophomore first baseman Mateo Serna launched his own three-run home run to right field to make it 12-7.
After what appeared to be a comeback bid for the Tigers, Mississippi State quickly put those hopes to pasture with three more runs in the top of the eight thanks to small ball. Back-to-back RBI singles and a fielder’s choice quickly pushed the lead to 15-7.
A 10-run top of the ninth that included three home runs put the lead at 25-7.
Despite scoring seven combined runs in the prior two innings, the Tigers went down quietly in the eighth and ninth frames.
“When you’re dealing with a club like ours that has immaturity as a baseball team, you’re going to get those ebbs and flows,” Jackson said. “I was hoping last weekend would put us in a position to where we could have been a little more consistent, but it didn’t.”
Mizzou and Mississippi State play the middle game of the series at 6 p.m. Friday at Taylor Stadium.