@MizzouBaseball Bested by No. 20 Georgia in Game Two of Weekend Set

Friday, May 4

Columbia, Mo.

6:30 p.m.

University of Missouri

30-17, 9-14

Georgia

32-14, 14-9

Georgia

Mizzou

@MizzouBaseball Bested by No. 20 Georgia in Game Two of Weekend Set

5/4/2018 8:53:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Michael Curry’s eighth-inning, two-out homer sinks Tigers in game two of series

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Baseball dropped game two of its weekend series with No. 20 Georgia, 5-3, Friday night (May 4) at Taylor Stadium. Mizzou battled back from down 3-0 to tie the game at 3-3 but missed a chance to take the lead in the sixth inning, failing to score after putting runners on the corners with no outs. That proved costly as Georgia DH Michael Curry hit a go-ahead, two-out solo homer in the top of the eighth inning to seal the win for Georgia.

Mizzou junior RHP Nile Ball took the loss, surrendering the two-out blast to Curry on the first pitch of the at-bat. He falls to 1-1 on the season. Georgia's Emerson Hancock earned the win after going 7.0 innings and allowing just three runs (two earned) on three hits with seven strikeouts.

Mizzou falls to 30-17 and 9-14 in SEC play while Georgia improves to 33-14 and 15-9 in league play.

TURNING POINT

Mizzou had a chance to break the tie in a 3-3 game during the top of the sixth inning, putting runners on the corners with no one out. After a sacrifice bunt, senior C Brett Bond struck out looking and RF Tony Ortiz flew out to center to strand a pair. That proved huge as Georgia took the lead in the top of the eighth inning, getting a two-out solo homer from Michael Curry off Mizzou reliever Nile Ball.

After Mizzou had a chance to tie the game in the eighth, stranding a pair, Georgia added an unearned run for some insurance in the top of the ninth inning. That put the game away as Georgia added an insurance run in the ninth.

QUOTING MIZZOU

Head Coach Steve Bieser
Opening Statement…
"I think a lot of people feel the pressure of where we're at right now. There's a lot riding on this series, there's a lot in front of us and there is still a lot in front of us. What we can't do is panic at this time. We understand that we're playing with a short deck right now. There's very little moves with the guys that are injured right now. Cade going down, we basically only have two outfielders on our roster right now. We've got to find a way to put a lineup out there and the good thing is we have some versatile guys, but we don't have a lot of guys who are experienced playing in the outfield or hitting in the middle of the lineup. When you hit in the middle of the lineup, it's a tough go. You're going to get pitched different by hitting in the middle of the lineup and we've got guys who are just being thrown into the fire right now at a crucial time of the year."

TOP TIGERS

Sophomore SS Chris Cornelius hit his first homer of the year in the third inning, a two-run shot to center field that cut the lead to 3-2. It was his first since May 23, 2017, against Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament.
Junior LHP Michael Plassmeyer was good in a no-decision, going 6.0 innings and allowing just three runs (two earned) on six hits with one walk and six strikeouts.
Junior 1B Brian Sharp extended his hitting streak to eight games, matching his longest this season. He added a double in the eighth inning, giving him 14 multi-hit games this season, tied for the second-most on the team this season. Over his last seven games, Sharp is hitting 17-for-31 with 13 runs, nine RBI and three homers.

UP NEXT

Mizzou and Georgia will play the series finale Saturday at 2 p.m. on SEC Network+. For all the latest on Mizzou Baseball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter (@MizzouBaseball) and like the team on Facebook (Mizzou Baseball) and Instagram (missouri_baseball).