Baseball Hosts No. 9 Georgia for SEC Weekend Series

Friday, May 2

Columbia, Mo.

6 p.m.

University of Missouri

Georgia

Tickets

5/1/2025 4:49:00 PM | Baseball

Missouri (13-31, 0-21 SEC) vs. No. 9 Georgia (36-11, 12-9 SEC)
Series Details	Columbia, Mo. • Taylor Stadium at Simmons Field (3,031)
Game 1	Friday, May 2 • 6 p.m.
Game 2	Saturday, May 3 • 7 p.m.
Game 3	Sunday, May 4 • 1 p.m.
Watch	SEC Network+ (Friday/Sunday) \| SEC Network (Saturday)
Listen	Tiger Radio Network • KTGR AM/FM (105.1/100.5 FM \| 1580 AM) \| Varsity App
Game Notes	Missouri \| Georgia \| SEC
Tickets \| Promotions	Single-Game Tickets \| Friday - First Responders Day, SEC Poster Giveaway, Autographs from Mizzou Football (5-6 p.m.) \| Saturday - Alumni Day, Replica Jersey Giveaway (First 300 fans) \| Sunday - Star Wars Day, Camper Reunion, Faith and Family Day, Light Saber Giveaway (First 200 fans)
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| X: @MizzouBaseball \| Instagram: @Missouri_Baseball

COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri baseball returns to Columbia to open a three-game Southeastern Conference series against No. 9 Georgia Friday evening at Taylor Stadium.

The Bulldogs, who took two of three games from MU last spring in Athens, enter the series with a narrow 17-16 all-time edge against Missouri, including a 9-6 mark against the Tigers in Columbia. Mizzou will be facing a top 25 club for the eighth time in its last nine games Friday and is currently on track to square off against a ranked foe in 14 of its 15 scheduled contests from April 17-May 11.

The first and third contests of this weekend's series will be streamed live on SEC Network+ with Max Thoma and former Tiger Dylan Kelly handling broadcast duties. The middle game will be televised live on SEC Network (Victor Rojas and Lance Cormier). Each of this weekend's three contests will be produced by the Tiger Radio Network for local broadcast on KTGR AM/FM and for streaming via the Varsity Network app (by searching 'Missouri'), with Tex Little and Matt Michaels on the call.

Mizzou baseball single-game tickets are on sale now through the Mizzou Athletics ticket office at 1-800-CAT-PAWS or by visiting MUTigers.com.

PROMOTIONS

Friday, May 2 – First Responders Day / SEC Poster Giveaway / Autographs from Mizzou Football (5-6 p.m.)
Saturday, May 3 - Alumni Day / Replica Jersey Giveaway (First 300 fans)
Sunday, May 4 - Star Wars Day / Camper Reunion / Faith and Family Day / Light Saber Giveaway (First 200 fans)

PITCHING PROBABLES

Game 1 – Friday, May 2 (6 p.m.) - TBD (Mizzou) vs. RHP Brian Curley (Georgia)
Game 2 – Saturday, May 3 (7 p.m.) – RHP Sam Horn (Mizzou) vs. TBD (Georgia)
Game 3 – Sunday, May 4 (1 p.m.) – LHP Wil Libbert (Mizzou) vs. RHP Leighton Finley (Georgia)

SERIES HISTORY

The Tigers and Bulldogs will meet for the 34th time when they open their three-game series Friday.
Georgia holds a slim 17-16 edge in a series that dates back to 2013.
The Bulldogs took two of three games last April in Athens, stopping a string of three-straight Mizzou victories in the series.
Mizzou swept the 2023 series from Georgia in Columbia after putting up 32 runs in three games at Taylor Stadium.
Overall, MU is 6-9 vs. Georgia in Columbia, with SEC series wins in each of the Bulldogs last two visits (2021 and 2023).

SCOUTING MISSOURI

Missouri is coming off a 23-32 campaign last spring in head coach Kerrick Jackson's first season at the helm.
Jackson, who earned his 100th career coaching victory February 15 vs. UConn, 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 is off to a 13-31 start to the season after dropping its midweek contest at Kansas on Tuesday.
The Tigers return four 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); the Overland Park, Kan., native has been red-hot at the plate, hitting .395 (45-for-114) with seven home runs and 34 RBIs, as well as hits in 25 of his last 32 games since Feb. 28.
Sophomore OF Kaden Peer reached base safely in 21 consecutive games from Feb. 23-April 2; he leads the Tigers with 11 steals, while logging five home runs, 28 RBIs and 30 runs scored.
Additionally, newcomers OF Pierre Seals, DH Gehrig Goldbeck, OF Cameron Benson, INF Peyton Basler, INF Keegan Knutson, OF Tyler Macon, INF Chris Patterson, OF Brady Picarelli and 1B/OF Cayden Nicoletto have made an immediate impact on the Tigers' offensive fortunes.
Nicoletto, in particular, has been pivotal for MU, hitting .286 with five homers and 20 RBIs through the first 44 games of the season.
Patterson has burst onto the scene in the last four weeks, driving in 15 runs in his last 20 contests since March 29.
Seals has been red-hot over the same stretch, batting a team-leading .370 while slugging .556 with three home runs in his last 18 contests.
Knutson has made 31 starts on the Tigers' infield, logging a team-best seven doubles to date.
On the mound, senior RHP Kaden Jacobi has recorded a team-best 42 punchouts in 40.1 innings while filling a number of roles on the Tigers' pitching staff.
Graduate LHP Ian Lohse is enjoying his best season as a Tiger after registering 40 strikeouts in just 30.2 innings of work; this past weekend, he returned to action following a four-week layoff due to injury.
LHP Kadden Drew and redshirt freshman LHP Wil Libbert have combined for five mound victories and 66 strikeouts over their 71.2 total innings thus far.
RHP Ben Smith has logged 11 scoreless outings in a team-high 20 appearances, while RHPs Xavier Lovett and PJ Green have combined for all three of the Tigers' saves this spring.

QUICK HITS

Missouri pitching has fanned 351 batters in 354.1 innings this season, marking the 29th time in the last 30 years the Tigers have topped the 300-K plateau.
Mizzou has recorded five 15-hit performances to surpass its 2024 season total of three, as well as 20 double-digit hit totals, in 44 contests this spring.
Led by Kaden Peer with 11 steals, the Tigers' running game has netted 60 steals in 80 attempts.
Peer has been hit by 17 pitches this season, which is tied for fourth in the SEC; he has 25 HBPs for his Mizzou career.
MU ranks sixth in the SEC with a 1.36 steals-per-game average, which projects the Tigers to steal 75 bases over their 55-game slate; that total would represent the No. 8 season total in program history.
Mizzou has recorded 24 sacrifice bunts this season, which rates as the second-best total in the SEC and ranks 64th nationally.
Led by Jackson Lovich and Brock Daniels' two triples, the Tigers rank second in the SEC with their 13 triples.
Daniels led the Tigers at the plate in last year's series with Georgia, hitting .385 with four RBIs.
The Tigers also rank third in the SEC and 29th nationally in HBPs with 83 on the season.
Lovich has logged team-best totals of 14 multi-hit and 11 multi-RBI performances; the junior is hitting a team-best .444 (20-for-45) with runners in scoring position, including 4-of-7 with the bases loaded.
Ben Smith's 20 mound appearances are tied for fourth in the SEC.
Mizzou's catching combination of Jedier Hernandez and Mateo Serna has already teamed up to nail 15 baserunners this season, matching their 2024 season total.

SCOUTING GEORGIA

Under second-year head coach Wes Johnson, the Bulldogs are off to a 36-11 start to the season, reaching as high as No. 7 (USA Today Coaches) in this week's national polling.
The Bulldogs are batting .292 with a .569 slugging percentage and an NCAA-leading 113 home runs through their first 47 games.
Georgia also boasts of a .421 on-base percentage, 102 hit by pitches and 56 stolen bases in 63 attempts.
Leading the way has been INF/OF Ryland Zaborowsi (.327 BA, .822 SLG), a Golden Spikes Award candidate, who has 16 home runs and a team-best 58 RBIs to his credit.
INF Slate Alford has been an integral part of Georgia's offense as well, batting .335 with 13 round-trippers and 51 RBIs, while INF/OF Robbie Burnett's 19 homers lead the SEC.
On the mound, the Bulldogs have posted a 4.92 ERA as a team, logging 490 strikeouts in just 406.0 innings.
RHP Brian Curley (2-2, 3.43 ERA) anchors the Georgia rotation and shares the team lead for strikeouts (55) with RHP Leighton Finley.
The Georgia bullpen features a deep bench that includes seven different pitchers who have recorded at least one save this spring.
RHP Jordan Stephens has paced the group, registering a 4-0 record and three saves spanning a team-high 17 relief appearances.

LAST TIME WE MET

Georgia scored four times in the fourth inning to seize control of a see-saw contest, then relied on the relief work of Kolten Smith to secure a 10-7 victory over Mizzou to secure a SEC series win over the Tigers (April 11-13, 2024).
For the third straight game in the series, Mizzou rallied from an early deficit against the Bulldogs, this time erasing a 5-0 deficit with a four-run third, followed by Tucker Moore's game-tying home run in the fourth.
But the Bulldogs responded with the afternoon's biggest rally, capitalizing on three walks and two hit batsmen to plate four runs.
Slate Alford, who drove in three runs on the day, provided the go-ahead hit with a two-run single off Bryce Mayer that handed Georgia a 7-5 lead.
A Logan Jordan sacrifice fly and a bases loaded walk to Fernando Gonzalez added two more runs, giving Smith and the Bulldogs all the offense they would need.
The finale followed a 6-5 victory for the Tigers in game two that was highlighted by a four-run seventh inning and the shutdown relief work of Ryan Magdic.
Jedier Hernandez's 10th inning chopper found its way through the right side of the Georgia infield to bring in Kaden Peer with the go-ahead run, and Magdic struck out the side in the home half to put an exclamation point on a — dominant 3 1/3 inning stint over which the left-hander fanned a career-high eight batters.

HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT

Mizzou enters the week with 83 hit-by-pitches as a team, a total that ranks third in the SEC and 29th nationally.
Kaden Peer has been plunked a team-high 17 times this spring, good for No. 2 average (0.44) of HBPs in the SEC and the 39th-best figure in the nation.
Peer has been hit 25 times in 78 career contests, which leads all active Mizzou players.
A total of 13 Mizzou players have been hit by a pitch this season, including five who have drawn at least eight free passes by being struck by a pitch — Peer (17), Peyton Basler (10), Mateo Serna (10), Gehrig Goldbeck (9) and Brock Daniels (8).

THROWING SMOKE

Mizzou's pitching staff has been proficient in racking up strikeouts this spring, logging 351 punchouts in 354.1 total innings.
The Tigers' 8.92 strikeouts per game average projects to 491 K's for the regular season, which would be their top season total since 2019, when MU registered a program-record 559 strikeouts.
Individually, James Vaughn leads the Tigers with his 12.83 K/9.0 IP rate, while five additional MU hurlers - Victor Christal, Brady Kehlenbrink, Ian Lohse, Seth McCartney and Ben Smith - bring rates of 10.0 K's per game or better into Friday's game.
Ian Lohse leads the Tigers with a 3.3 K/BB ratio, to go along with his season average of 11.74 K/9.0 IP.

HOME COOKIN'

The Tigers have found the conditions at Taylor Stadium much to their liking over their first 21 home games of the 2025 season.
MU has hit .304 with 211 hits, 23 homers and 163 runs scored (7.8 rpg.) over its first 21 home games.
Jackson Lovich leads the way with a .440 batting mark at Taylor this season, including at least one hit in 18 of the Tigers' 21 home games.
Lovich turned in a game to remember April 1 vs. UAPB, driving in eight runs - the most by a Tiger in seven years and just one shy of the program record of nine, shared by Jacob Priday and Brian Sharp.
Cayden Nicoletto has been hot at home as well, boasting a .339 average in his 18 games at Taylor, including a pair of four-hit games and a grand slam.
Nicoletto was one of six Tigers to hit better than .400 for the week of Feb. 24-March 2, three of whom posted four-hit performances or better (Cameron Benson and Brady Picarelli).

OFF AND RUNNING

Missouri bolted from the starting gate offensively, thanks at least in part to a consistent running game that has resulted in the Tigers swiping 60 bases in its first 44 games.
Mizzou is 60-of-80 in stolen base attempts to date, including a streak of at least one steal in 11 consecutive games (Feb. 15-March 2).
Mizzou's 60 steals rank sixth in the SEC.
Kaden Peer (11-for-12) and Brock Daniels (7-for-9) have led the Tigers' charge on the basepaths, combining to go 18-of-21 in steal attempts this season.
In their Feb. 25 victory over Lindenwood, the Tigers went 6-for-6 in steal attempts, logging their first six-steal performance since Feb. 19, 2022 vs. Nicholls.
In the Tigers' 23 wins last season, MU baserunners were successful on 33-of-41 steal attempts.
With their average of 1.36 steals-per-game, the Tigers are projected to steal 75 bases this spring, which would rank as the No. 8 total in program history.
In all, 15 different Tigers have successfully swiped at least one base this season.

IN THE CLUTCH

The Tigers have produced an average of 6.1 runs per contest over their first 44 games thanks in large part to a lineup that has received balanced production in the clutch.
As a team, Missouri is batting .286 (128-for-447) with runners in scoring position, including .333 (20-for-60) with the bases loaded.
Jackson Lovich has been the Tigers top performer in such situations, hitting .444 (20-for-45) this spring with runners in scoring position and 4-for-7 with the bases full.
Lovich has also been Mizzou's top two-out hitter, recording a team-best 15 two-out RBIs while hitting .342 in such instances.
Peyton Basler has logged four hits with the bases loaded, and Cayden Nicoletto has hit .351 with runners in scoring position.
Brady Picarelli has been the Tigers' top hitter with runners aboard, batting .423 in such situations.

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