@MizzouBaseball Falls at No. 1 Florida, 6-2

Saturday, March 19

Gainesville, Fla.

6 p.m. (CST)

University of Missouri

14-8, 0-2

Florida

20-1, 2-0

Mizzou

Florida

3/19/2016 8:38:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Mizzou Baseball dropped game two of its series at No. 1 Florida, 6-2, on Saturday night (March 19) at McKethan Stadium. In a battle between each team's ace – Mizzou's Tanner Houck (Collinsville, Ill.) and Florida's A.J. Puk – the Gators took advantage of an early lead and a quiet Mizzou offense for the win. Houck was tagged with the loss as he falls to 2-2 while Puk moves to 1-1. Mizzou falls to 14-8 (0-2 SEC) while Florida goes to 20-1 (2-0 SEC).

Houck finished the game going 6.0+ innings, allowing seven hits, five runs (all earned) with three walks and two strikeouts. Puk went 7.0 innings and scattered just three hits while matching his career-high with 11 strikeouts against only one walk. Mizzou attempted to rally off the Gator bullpen late with two runs in the eighth but couldn't scratch anything else across.

Both pitchers had to work out of trouble in the first inning and after Puk retired Mizzou in order in the second, Houck ran into trouble. 2B Deacon Liput worked a full count and roped a fastball deep to right field for his first homer of the season, also the first that Houck had surrendered in 2016. Houck then allowed a double to Mike Rivera who moved to third on a grounder to the right side. Zach Lavy (Auxvasse, Mo.) then saved a run with a snare of a line drive at first, but an infield hit by Jonathan India plated another run. That gave Florida a 2-0 lead after two.

The Gators drove in another run in the fourth after back-to-back singles to open the frame led to a sacrifice fly by Jeremy Vazquez. Mizzou threatened in the sixth inning, getting the first two men aboard for the meat of the order, but Puk got Ryan Howard (St. Charles, Mo.) to foul out to first and then got a pair of flyouts from Jake Ring (Ingleside, Ill.) and Trey Haris (Powder Springs, Ga.) to end the threat.

Puk then struck out the side in the seventh inning to give him 11 through seven innings. In the bottom of the seventh, Houck went over the 100-pitch mark and gave up a single and walk to open the frame as head coach Tim Jamieson went to the bullpen in favor of RHP Graham Ruopp (Cape Girardeau, Mo.). Ruopp allowed a single to plate a run, giving Florida a 5-0 lead, but he got the next three batters to limit the damage.

Florida reliever Jackson Kowar then came on in the eighth inning and walked Mizzou's eight and nine hitters to put two men on for the top of the order. He threw just nine pitches and was lifted for Nick Horvath. He retired the next two but Ring roped a two-out double off the wall in right center to plate a pair. Harris then struck out to strand Ring.

The Gators got another homer in the bottom of the eighth inning from Mike Rivera. Mizzou came out in the ninth inning and went down in order to end the game.

For all the latest on the promotion and all things Mizzou Baseball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on twitter @MizzouBaseball and like the team on Facebook and Instagram (Mizzou Baseball).

Postgame Notes

Mizzou now trails the all-time series with Florida, 13-4.
Mizzou falls to 4-5 in games played on Saturday this season.
Mizzou has lost the last three starts by Tanner Houck, averaging just 2.3 runs per game offensively in those three starts.
Mizzou falls to 7-4 in games played in the state of Florida this season.
Sophomore C Brett Bond caught UF CF Buddy Reed attempting to steal second in the third inning. It was the first time in nine attempts that Reed has been caught stealing in 2016.
With his single on Saturday, Connor Brumfield has now hit safely in four consecutive games.
Freshman 2B Ian Nelson singled in the sixth inning, giving him a three-game hitting streak.
Jake Ring tallied a single in the first inning and has now reached base safely in 10 straight games.
Ring hit a two-run double in the eighth to score a pair. It was his fourth double of the year and eighth extra-base hit of the year, the latter of which is second-best on the team.
Ring now has eight multi-hit games on the year (second on the team), and three multi-RBI games.
Freshman Brian Sharp drew a walk in the eighth inning as a pinch hitter, giving him six walks in his last three games and eight in his last six games.