COLUMBIA, Mo. – Devan Bade's two-out, RBI-single in the top of the 13th inning and eight strong innings from its bullpen handed Binghamton an 8-7 victory over University of Missouri baseball Friday evening in the two clubs' series-opener at Taylor Stadium.

Binghamton (4-6) battled back from a four-run deficit to force extra innings and rode 8 1/3 strong innings from its bullpen to victory. Ben Griffith (1-0) worked the final 3.0 frames to earn the win, limiting the Tigers (6-7) to a pair of hits.

Mizzou received a lift from its relief corps as well, led by Xavier Lovett's career-long 5.0-inning effort, over which the graduate allowed just one run on two hits while striking out five Bearcats. The Tigers touched up four BU hurlers for 14 hits, marking their ninth double-digit hit performance of the season. Keegan Knutson (3-for-5) and Peyton Basler (3-for-4) delivered Mizzou career-best three-hit nights to pace the offense.

The back-and-forth contest started with a pair of scoreless innings from Mizzou starting pitcher Ian Lohse and his BU counterpart, Ryan Packard, before both offenses found their respective rhythms. Both teams capitalized on two-out scoring opportunities to put their first runs on the board. The Tigers used Cayden Nicoletto's first Mizzou triple to set up their initial scoring rally of the night in the home half of the third. Packard then unleashed a wild pitch on full-count offering to Brock Daniels, allowing Nicoletto to trot home with the game's first tally.

After BU responded with two runs on back-to-back, two-out singles in the fourth, the Tigers went back to work in the bottom of the fifth. Kaden Peer opened the inning with a bunt single and moved to second when Packard's throw was wide of first base. Next, Mateo Serna lined his second hit of the night to right-center to bring in Peer with the tying run. With two out, Basler lined a two-run single to right, before a balk brought in another run to make it a 5-2 game. Pierre Seals capped the rally with an RBI double to right, extending the MU cushion to four runs.

Lohse, who struck out six and permitted just three BU hits through the first five frames, ran into trouble in the sixth, as run-producing hits by Freddy Forgione and Zach Rogacki sliced the Tigers' lead in half. After James Vaughn assumed mound duties, a fielder's choice grounder brought home the fifth Bearcats run, before Sam Miller's two-out, infield chopper chased home the equalizing tally.

The score would stay knotted at 6-6 until the eighth inning, when BU scored on a Logan Haskell grounder in the top half, before Serna's sacrifice fly to center evened the score in the bottom half.

Lovett (0-1), who entered the contest in the top of the eighth, retired 10 of the first 11 BU hitters he faced. The right-hander wouldn't allow a hit until the 13th, when Matt Bolton singled with two out to set up Bade's game-winning hit up the middle, scoring Haskell with the decisive run.

Binghamton received a boost from its defense on two separate occasions to extend the game. First, with a runner on base and two out in the bottom of the 10^th, Serna's liner to deep center appeared to be destined for extra bases that would have certainly chased home the winning run. But Bolton chased the ball down and made an over-the-shoulder catch near the wall to extinguish Mizzou's threat. Then, with two on and one out in the 12^th, Miller gunned down a Mizzou baserunner at the plate following Knutson's base hit to right.

TIGER NOTEBOOK

• Friday's meeting was Mizzou's first against Binghamton.
• Lovett's five innings and five strikeouts both represent career bests for the graduate right-hander.
• Serna collected two singles, extending his career-best hitting streak to eight games and his on-base streak to 12, which is just one game off his career long. 
• Serna notched two RBIs in the Missouri effort, recording his 14th RBI overall and his fourth multi-RBI game of the season; his two-hit performance marked his sixth multi-hit game of the season. 
• Basler's three-hit performance not only marked a career high, but also his third multi-hit game of the season.
• Basler reached base four times, including a double and two singles to go along with two RBIs.
• Nicoletto extended his hitting streak to four games and his on-base streak to seven with his third-inning triple. 
• Knutson's three hits were the first of his Mizzou career, as the junior transfer finished with a double and a walk.
• Lohse logged a career-long 5.1 innings, striking out six batters in the effort; Lohse is up to 26 strikeouts in four starts this season, just five shy of his career best (31 on three occasions).
• Mizzou's 13 strikeouts tied a season high for its pitching staff (Feb. 21 vs. Florida A&M). 
• Mizzou played its first extra-inning game since April 12, 2024, at Georgia; 13 innings is the longest game for MU since March 30, 2019 at Texas A&M (15 innings).
• Friday marked the ninth time Mizzou has registered at least 11 hits this season and the fourth game in a row the Tigers have done so.
• The Tigers went 0-for-2 in stolen base attempts, stopping their streak of 11 consecutive games with at least one steal.

UP NEXT
The Tigers and Bearcats continue their series with a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday at Taylor Stadium.

University of Missouri baseball single-game tickets for the 2025 season are on sale now. Fans can purchase tickets by calling the ticket office at 1-800-CAT-PAWS or by visiting MUTigers.com.

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.