Thursday, February 20
Orlando, Fla.
5 p.m.
University of Missouri
at
UCF
Baseball Set for Non-Conference Clash With UCF Thursday
2/19/2025 12:42:00 PM | Baseball
ORLANDO, Fla. – University of Missouri baseball continues its season-opening road trip Thursday with a 5 p.m. (CST) non-conference matchup against UCF at John Euliano Park in Orlando, Fla.
Mizzou enters the contest 1-2 after knocking off UConn for its first victory of 2025 in the Puerto Rico Challenge this past weekend. The Tigers also bring a 2-1 series advantage against UCF into Thursday's game, as well as a 6-2 edge over Big 12 foes since the start of the 2022 season.
Thursday's contest will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Austin Lyon and Stephen Branca calling the action. Additionally, each of this weekend's games will be produced by the Tiger Radio Network for streaming via the Varsity Network app (by searching 'Missouri'), with Matt Michaels handling broadcast duties.
PITCHING PROBABLES
- TBD (Mizzou) vs. RHP Matt Sauser (UCF)
SERIES HISTORY
- Missouri brings a 2-1 all-time mark vs. UCF into Thursday's contest.
- All three previous meetings in the series were contested in Orlando, including the most recent matchup on Feb. 25, 2008, a 10-9 UCF victory.
- Thursday's game will be the first of three matchups against Big 12 opponents for the Tigers in 2025; Mizzou has gone 6-2 vs. its former conference since the start of the 2022 season.
- Overall, the Tigers are 598-492-5 against the current makeup of the Big 12 Conference, including a 9-8 mark since joining the SEC in 2013.
SCOUTING MISSOURI
- Missouri is coming off a 23-32 campaign a year ago in head coach Kerrick Jackson's first season at the helm.
- Jackson was named the 15th head coach in Mizzou history in June 2023, returning to Columbia to lead a program for which he served as an assistant coach from 2011-15 under Mizzou Hall of Fame head coach (and current pitching coach) Tim Jamieson
- Mizzou went 1-2 with a victory over 2024 NCAA Super Regional qualifier UConn over the weekend in its season-opening stay at the Puerto Rico Challenge.
- The Tigers return five position starters from last season, led by junior INF Jackson Lovich, who batted .287 with 10 homers and 35 RBIs, while ranking second in the SEC in triples (4).
- Senior C Jedier Hernandez is back as well, following a solid debut season with the Tigers last spring, providing clutch hitting and lock-down defense behind the plate.
- Junior INF/OF Brock Daniels turned in a breakthrough year in 2024, registering a .296 batting mark — best among all returning players — four home runs and 11 stolen bases.
- Junior OF Jeric Curtis swiped a team-best 14 bases last spring to tie for 12th among all SEC base-stealers.
- Sophomore C/1B Mateo Serna delivered a strong weekend performance in Puerto Rico to kick off the season, hitting .364 with a home run and four RBIs to lead the offense.
- Sophomore OF Kaden Peer, who started 36 games in the Mizzou outfield as a freshman last spring, will be looking for a breakout season as well; he drove in 20 runs in 2024 and kicked off the new year with three RBIs over the weekend in Puerto Rico.
- Additionally, newcomers OF Pierre Seals, OF Cameron Benson and INF Blake Simpson have already made an impact on the Tigers' offensive fortunes in week one of the season; all three went deep for their first home runs in Black and Gold in Sunday's finale in Caguas.
- On the mound, junior RHP Brock Lucas returns after going 4-0 with a 3.63 ERA in 18 relief appearances last spring; he should factor prominently in the Tigers' mound plans, as could junior LHP Daniel Wissler (3-1, 4.38 ERA), graduate LHP Ian Lohse (31 K's in 29.1 IP) and LHP Kadden Drew (DNP in 2024 due to injury).
- RHP Ben Smith turned in a pair of scoreless relief outings in Puerto Rico, striking out three batters in 2.0 innings.
- As a staff, the Tigers recorded 459 strikeouts as a staff last spring, good for 10th on the program's all-time single-season chart.
MIZZOU BY THE NUMBERS
- MU pitching has logged a 10.08 K/9.0 IP rate, while fashioning a 5.6 K/BB ratio so far in 2025.
- Missouri has outscored the opposition by a 17-16 margin over the first six innings of its first three contests but has been outscored by a combined 10-1 count over the final three innings.
- OF Cameron Benson and OF Kaden Peer has reached base safely in all three contests, with Peer recording hits in each of his last two games.
- Mizzou's catching combination of Jedier Hernandez and Mateo Serna combined to throw out 15 would-be base-stealers last spring.
- Serna turned in a stretch to remember during SEC play, reaching base safely via a hit, walk or hit-by-pitch in 13 consecutive starts (March 26-May 10).
- Led by 3B Jackson Lovich's four triples, the Tigers tied for third in the SEC in three-base hits with 11, marking the third-straight season MU has finished with a double-digit total for triples.
- The Tigers batted .285 and averaged 7.8 runs per game in 29 contests at Taylor Stadium last spring.
- Three Mizzou pitchers were selected as part of the 2024 MLB Draft: LHP Ryan Magdic was taken by Oakland in the 14th round, before RHP Carter Rustad went to Baltimore in the 15th and Bryce Mayer was chosen by Houston in the 17th round; additionally, INF Trevor Austin signed a free agent deal with Houston.
- LHP Ian Lohse recorded nine scoreless outings last season, including four-straight shutout appearances (April 9-26); he recorded his 100th career strikeout in his final start of 2024 vs. Auburn (May 11).
- RHP Brock Lucas turned in a 4-0 ledger last spring to hike his career mound record to 7-1.
- The Tigers went 11-8 in one-run contests last spring, including an 8-4 mark in SEC play; MU also excelled in extra frames, going 4-2 in such affairs.
- Mizzou batted .294 (188-for-640) as a team with two outs in 2024, logging 127 of its 284 RBIs on the year after the second out in an inning had been recorded.
SCOUTING UCF
- Under second-year head coach Rich Wallace, UCF is off to a 3-0 start to the 2025 season following its three-game sweep of Siena this past weekend.
- Wallace led the Knights to a 37-21 record and the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance in seven years last spring, culminating with a trip to the 2024 NCAA Tallahassee Regional.
- The Knights knocked off both Alabama and Stetson to reach the regional final, but had their run come to a close against host and eighth-ranked Florida State.
- UCF welcomes back 13 returning letterwinners from last year's squad, including five returning starters and two starting pitchers.
- A total of six Knights earned all-conference accolades a season ago; OF Matt Prevesk was one of the team's top hitters, batting .342 with five homers and 35 RBIs.
- Senior INF Lex Boedicker also returns for UCF after hitting .266 with six homers, 10 steals and 43 RBIs.
- On the mound, the Knights welcome back returning starter and 2024 All-Big 12 Conference Second-Team pick RHP Dom Stagliano (3-4, 4.10 ERA, 66 K's), as well as top bullpen arm and 2024 ABCA/Rawlings Second-Team All-Region selection LHP Dominic Castellano, who went 7-0 with a 2.83 ERA three saves and 68 strikeouts a year ago.
OFF AND RUNNING
- Mizzou finished its stay at the Puerto Rico Challenge (Feb. 14-16) a perfect 7-for-7 in stolen base attempts.
- INF Brock Daniels led the Tigers' charge on the basepaths, swiping two bags in Saturday's 11-7 win over UConn, then taking another in Sunday's contest vs. Stetson; Daniels was 11-of-14 in stolen base tries last season.
- OF Jeric Curtis, INF Trey Lawrence and OF Cameron Benson also logged steals in the victory over UConn, giving Mizzou its first five-steal game since April 3 of last season vs. UT Martin.
- Mizzou posted five stolen bases in each of its two wins over UT Martin (April 2-3), going 10-for-10 in steal attempts against the Skyhawks.
- In the Tigers' 23 wins last season, MU baserunners were successful on 33-of-41 steal attempts.
- For the season, Mizzou ranked seventh in the SEC with 60 steals (in 79 attempts) last spring.
- Curtis led the Tigers with 14 steals on the season, which was good for 12th overall in the SEC.
NON-CON DOMINANCE
- Mizzou concluded the 2024 season with a 14-11 record against non-conference opponents.
- The Tigers clinched a winning non-conference season slate for the 10th time in the last 11 seasons; only MU's 2021 squad (7-14) failed to reach the .500 mark vs. non-SEC foes over that span.
- MU logged a 20-3 mark against non-SEC foes in 2023, after going 18-3 in non-league games in 2022.
- MU has an overall mark of 53-19 in non-SEC competition since the start of the 2022 season.
- Over the last decade, the Tigers' dominance has been equally impressive, with MU winning 101 more non-conference games than it has lost (180-79).
HONORING COACH MAC
- Mizzou baseball will remember the legacy of one of the pillars of its championship tradition throughout the 2025 season, after University of Missouri Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame head coach Gene McArtor passed away this past July at the age of 83.
- One of just four Tigers to have his uniform number (33) retired, McArtor was a fixture on the University of Missouri campus as a player, coach and administrator. He remains Mizzou's winningest head baseball coach with 733 career victories to his credit, and the Tigers' indoor training and clubhouse complex at Taylor Stadium was christened the McArtor Baseball Facility in his honor in 2010.
- A product of Webster Groves High School, McArtor won all-conference and all-district honors as Mizzou's first baseman from 1961-63. He played on two Big Eight Conference championship teams and two squads which advanced to the College World Series (1962 and 1963), serving as team captain as a senior. He returned to MU as assistant baseball coach in 1969 after coaching and teaching at the high school level in his hometown of St. Louis. McArtor served in that role until 1974 when he succeeded MU's legendary head coach John "Hi" Simmons as the Tigers' bench boss.
- During his 21 years at the helm, McArtor compiled a 733-430-3 record and won Big Eight championships in 1976 and 1980. He guided six teams to the NCAA Tournament, coached 13 All-Americans and 41 all-conference players.
- McArtor served on the NCAA Baseball Committee from 1987-92, including two years as chairman, during a period of unprecedented growth for the CWS. A former president of the American Baseball Coaches Association, McArtor is a member of the ABCA Hall of Fame and was inducted into the MU Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999.
KJ JOINS CENTURY CLUB
- Mizzou head coach Kerrick Jackson reached a career milestone Saturday (Feb. 15) with the Tigers' win over UConn, picking up his 100th coaching victory.
- In just his sixth season as a Division I head coach, Jackson became the fifth Mizzou head coach to reach the career 100-win milestone.
- Jackson joined Gene McArtor (733), Tim Jamieson (698), John "Hi" Simmons (481) and Steve Bieser (347) on the distinguished list of Mizzou baseball coaches to record 100 career victories.
FOLLOW THE TIGERS
For all the latest information on Mizzou baseball, please visit MUTigers.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Tigers on X, Instagram and Facebook.
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