HOOVER, Ala. – University of Missouri baseball makes its return to the SEC Baseball Tournament this week as the No. 16 seed and will open play Tuesday against No. 9 Alabama in the opening round at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, in Hoover, Ala.

Mizzou dropped all three contests to the Crimson Tide during the two clubs' regular-season series, April 24-26 in Tuscaloosa, and Alabama enters the matchup with 10-straight wins over the Tigers dating back to 2018. The Tigers are making their eighth SEC Tournament appearance since joining the conference in 2013.

Each SEC Tournament contest will be broadcast live on SEC Network, with Dave Neal and Todd Walker describing the action in Tuesday's opening-round game. All tournament games 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.

PITCHING PROBABLES

• RHP Sam Horn (Mizzou) vs. RHP Tyler Fay (Alabama)

TOURNEY TIME

• Mizzou enters its eighth SEC Baseball Tournament looking to buck a recent dry spell that has seen the Tigers drop its last five contests at the league championship dating back to 2017.
• The Tigers are 2-9 all-time in their seven appearances in Hoover.
• The last postseason victory for MU came in the opening round of the 2017 tourney, with a 12-7 win over Texas A&M.
• Missouri is 52-66 in 40 all-time conference tournament appearances, claiming Big Eight championships in 1976 and 1980, as well as a Big 12 Conference crown in 2012.

SERIES HISTORY

• Missouri and Alabama will meet for the 23rd time overall and the second time at the SEC Tournament.
• Alabama holds a 15-7 edge in the series and has won 10-straight meetings with the Tigers.
• The Crimson Tide claimed the only previous matchup of the two clubs at the SEC Tournament with a 4-3 victory over the Tigers in 2015.
• Alabama swept a three-game series from Mizzou in the two clubs' most-recent matchup in Tuscaloosa, April 24-26.
• Alabama has limited the Tigers to an average of 3.2 runs per game over the course of its seven-game series win streak that dates back to April 7, 2018.

SCOUTING MISSOURI

• Missouri is coming off a 23-32 season last spring in head coach Kerrick Jackson's first season.
• In his second season at the helm, Jackson earned his 100th career coaching victory Feb. 15 vs. UConn.
• Mizzou completed the regular season with a 16-38 overall mark, as well as a 3-27 SEC ledger.
• INF Jackson Lovich has led the Tigers in most offensive categories this spring, bringing a .354 batting average, 12 homers and 51 RBIs - all career highs for the junior - into the postseason.
• Sophomore OF Kaden Peer reached base safely in 21 consecutive games from Feb. 23-April 2; he leads the Tigers with 12 steals, while logging five home runs, 33 RBIs and 34 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 has been a consistent presence in the middle of the MU batting order, hitting .269 with six homers and 24 RBIs on the season.
• Patterson burst onto the scene in April, driving in 17 runs in his last 30 contests since March 29; he brings a team-best eight doubles on the season into the SEC Tournament.
• Seals has been red-hot over the same stretch, batting a team-leading .337 while slugging .511 with four home runs in his last 27 contests.
• Knutson has locked down the starting job at second base, logging eight multi-hit performances in 41 starts.
• Macon has been a threat at the plate and on the basepaths in his first collegiate campaign with seven multi-hit efforts to go along with seven steals.
• C/1B Mateo Serna's totals of eight homers and 35 RBIs rank second on the squad, while the sophomore has thrown out nine would-be basestealers.
• On the mound, senior RHP Kaden Jacobi has recorded 51 punchouts in 46.2 innings.
• Graduate LHP Ian Lohse is enjoying his best season as a Tiger after registering 42 strikeouts in just 33.1 innings of work.
• Redshirt freshman LHP Wil Libbert has logged a 3-3 record, 53 punchouts and a .259 opponent batting average in his 13 appearances.
• RHP Sam Horn returned in midseason and has been fanned 12 hitters in his first 7.2 innings.
• RHP Brock Lucas has made 22 appearances and racked up a team-best 55 K's in his 50.1 IP - also a team high.
• RHP Xavier Lovett has provided stability in the bullpen, logging 45.2 innings and recording two saves.

QUICK HITS

• Mizzou pitching has fanned 450 batters in 440.1 innings this season, marking the 21st time the Tigers have topped the 400-K plateau.
• Missouri has recorded six 15-hit performances to double its 2024 season total of three, as well as 24 double-digit hit totals, in 54 contests this spring.
• Led by Kaden Peer with 12 steals, the Tigers' running game has netted 66 steals in 88 attempts.
• MU ranks sixth in the SEC with a 1.22 steals-per-game average; the Tigers current stolen base total (66) is tied for 14th in program history.
• Peer has been hit by 18 pitches this season, which is tied for seventh in the SEC; he has 26 HBPs for his Mizzou career.
• Mizzou has recorded 30 sacrifice bunts this season, which rates as the second-best total in the SEC and ranks 58th nationally.
• Led by Jackson Lovich's three triples, the Tigers rank third in the SEC and 43rd nationally with their 15 triples.
• The Tigers also rank third in the SEC and 36th nationally in HBPs with 99 on the season; that total currently ranks as the third-best single-season total in program history.
• Lovich has logged team-best totals of 18 multi-hit and 14 multi-RBI performances; the junior batted .337 in SEC play, and has hit a team-best .439 (25-for-57) with runners in scoring position.
• In its last 22 games since April 10, Mizzou has fielded at a .978 clip as a team.
• MU pitching posted back-to-back two-hit victories over Texas A&M (May 10-11), marking the fewest hits allowed by the Tigers over a two-game stretch since they permitted four hits to Tennessee and Kansas, March 19-22, 2023.
• Mizzou's catching combination of Jedier Hernandez and Mateo Serna has teamed up to nail 16 baserunners this season, surpassing their 2024 season total of 15.

SCOUTING ALABAMA

• Under second-year head coach Rob Vaughn, the Crimson Tide recorded a 40-15 regular season and 16-14 SEC slate, which tied for seventh in the league standings.
• Alabama features one of the top offenses in the SEC, hitting .280 as a team and averaging 7.5 runs per contest.
• Leading the charge has been OF Kade Snell, who brings a .374 batting mark into Tuesday's game.
• INF Justin Lebron ranks 35th nationally with his 15 home runs, while his 69 RBIs lead the SEC and rate 15th among all Division I hitters; Lebron also leads the Tide with 16 steals.
• OF Richie Bonomolo Jr. has swiped 15 bases to go along with eight home runs and 48 RBIs.
• On the mound, Alabama utilizes a deep staff that has posted a 5.00 ERA with 506 strikeouts in 471.1 innings to date.
• RHP Carson Ozmer anchors the Alabama relief corps with a league-leading 16 saves, a 4-1 record and 2.97 ERA in 27 appearances - also tops in the SEC.
• RHP Braylon Myers has been solid out of the Tide bullpen as well with a 2.43 ERA and .183 batting average against in his 20 relief appearances.
• The Alabama rotation is led by RHP Riley Quick with his 8-2 record, 64 strikeouts and 3.54 ERA, while LHP Zane Adams has registered a 7-3 mark and 62 K's.

LAST TIME WE MET

• No. 16 Alabama rode an eight-run second inning and a complete-game mound effort from Zane Adams to a 12-1 victory over Mizzou to complete its three-game SEC series sweep on April 26 in Tuscaloosa.
• Will Hodo hit a pair of home runs, including a three-run shot that opened the scoring in the second, and Kade Snell added a 3-for-4 performance to key the Crimson Tide's 15-hit attack.
• Adams held the Tigers in check over a complete-game effort, allowing just a Mateo Serna solo shot in the third, while striking out five and scattering five hits.
• Alabama hit .356 as a team for the three-game set, out-homering the Tigers by a 9-1 margin in the series.
• Crimson Tide pitching did its part as well, combining to hold Mizzou to nine runs and 19 total hits on the weekend, good for a 2.16 ERA.
• Chris Patterson led the Tigers at the plate, going 4-for-11 (.364) for the series.

HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT

• Mizzou enters the postseason with 99 hit-by-pitches as a team, which ranks third in the SEC and 35th nationally.
• The Tigers' current total ranks as the third-best total in program history, nine HBPs behind the 2005 club's school record of 108.
• MU is eight HBPs away from the No. 2 total (107 in 2007) in school history.
• Kaden Peer has been plunked a team-high 18 times this spring, good for the top average (0.40) of HBPs in the SEC and the No. 6 season total in school history.
• Peer has been hit 26 times in 85 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 10 free passes by being struck by a pitch — Peer (18), Mateo Serna (12), Peyton Basler (11), Brock Daniels (10) and Gehrig Goldbeck (10).

LOVICH LEADING THE PACK

• INF Jackson Lovich has been the driving force behind the Tigers' offense throughout the 2025 season, bringing a team-best .354 average into the postseason.
• Lovich, who batted .337 in conference play to rank 13th among all SEC batters.
• The Overland Park, Kan., product leads Mizzou with three triples, good for fourth in the SEC.
• He also leads the club in multi-hit and multi-RBI performances, with 18 and 14, respectively.
• Since Feb. 28, Lovich has been particularly lethal at the plate, hitting .386 (59-for-153) with 11 home runs and 45 RBIs in his last 42 games.
• Lovich powered the Tigers' offense against Texas A&M (May 9-11), going 8-for-15 (.533) with two home runs and six RBIs in the three-game sweep of the Aggies.

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 66 bases during the regular season.
• MU is 66-of-88 in stolen base attempts to date, including a streak of at least one steal in 11 consecutive games (Feb. 15-March 2).
• Mizzou's 66 steals rank sixth in the SEC.
• Kaden Peer (12-for-14) and Jackson Lovich (7-for-7) have led the Tigers' charge on the basepaths, combining to go 19-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.
• MU ranks sixth in the SEC with a 1.22 steals-per-game average; the Tigers current stolen base total (66) is tied for 14th in program history.
• In all, 15 different Tigers have successfully swiped at least one base this season.

WATCH THE LEATHER

• Missouri has engineered a positive turnaround in terms of its defensive efficiency over the last month, logging eight error-free games in its last 22 contests.
• Since committing eight errors in an April 8 road win over SIUE, the Tigers have fielded at a .978 clip as a team, with no player committing more than a total of two errors over the same span.
• MU has committed one error or fewer in 21 of those 22 games, raising its team fielding percentage from .958 to .965.
• The Tigers have turned 17 of their 33 double plays on the season in the same timeframe.

IN THE CLUTCH

• The Tigers have produced an average of 5.8 runs per contest over their first 54 games thanks in large part to a lineup that has received balanced production in the clutch.
• As a team, Missouri is batting .283 (155-for-547) with runners in scoring position, including .319 (22-for-69) with the bases loaded.
• Jackson Lovich has been the Tigers top performer in such situations, hitting .439 (25-for-57) with runners in scoring position and 5-for-9 with the bases full.
• Lovich has also been Mizzou's top two-out hitter, recording a team-best 21 two-out RBIs while hitting .383 in such instances.
• Peyton Basler has logged four hits with the bases loaded, and Cayden Nicoletto has hit .306 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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