Box Score NASHVILLE – No. 4 Vanderbilt rode a stellar start from freshman Carter Holton to take a 6-0 victory over the University of Missouri in game two of the SEC-opening series on Saturday at Hawkins Field.
Opportunities were few and far between for the Mizzou (12-4, 0-2 SEC) bats as Holton stymied the Tigers with 10 strikeouts in seven innings of work. Mizzou saw an early chance to touch the left-hander go by the wayside when a pair of singles were undone by a baserunning miscue in the second. In the fifth, sophomore Ross Lovich had a home run taken away by a leaping Spencer Jones above the right field wall.
On the mound, Austin Troesser got the Tigers off to a much stronger start with two scoreless innings but was lifted prior to the third after his velocity dipped in the second. Christian Wall took the loss, allowing a run in one-third of an inning. Freshman Tony Neubeck showed promise with 4.1 innings of relief work. He struck out five in the outing while allowing four runs.
Vanderbilt (16-2, 2-0 SEC) got homers and multi-hit days from Tate Kolwyck and Davis Diaz to power its six-run output.
IMPACT INNING
Leading 2-0 in the bottom of the sixth, Vanderbilt used a three-run frame to pull away and seal the series. Tate Kolwyck singled and scored on a Carter Young single. Davis Diaz then provided the big blow, a two-run homer over the monster in left field to make it 5-0 'Dores.
TOP TIGERS
Juju Stevens: 2-for-3
Ty Wilmsmeyer: 1-for-3
Austin Troesser: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 K, 2 BB
IN THE NOTES
- Neubeck's 4.1 innings of work on the mound were a career long for the freshman.
- Steven's two-hit game was the freshman's second in the past three games.
- Coupled with Friday's loss, the Tigers have dropped back-to-back games for the first time this season.
- Mizzou was shutout for the first time in 2022.
FROM THE SKIP
Coach Bieser on the struggle at the plate on Saturday…
"That's the frustrating thing. I think we're taking big swings in small swing situations and we're trying to hit that four-run homer with nobody on base. That was kind of our talk post game is that we've got to do this as a unit, one through nine. We've got to all lock back into who we are, our identity as a hitter, and work together."
UP NEXT
Mizzou and Vanderbilt conclude the opening weekend of SEC play on Sunday afternoon with a noon first pitch on SEC Network +.
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