COLUMBIA, Mo. – Slate Alford's two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning powered No. 9 Georgia to a 4-2 victory over University of Missouri baseball and a Southeastern Conference series sweep of the Tigers Sunday afternoon at Taylor Stadium.
With a runner aboard following a leadoff walk in the ninth, Alford lifted the first pitch he saw from PJ Green (1-3) over the wall in left-center field, snapping a 2-2 deadlock and capping a 3-for-5 day at the plate for the Bulldogs' third baseman.
The decisive rally came moments after Mizzou erased a 2-1 deficit in the bottom of the eighth on Pierre Seals' sacrifice fly. Peyton Basler drew a leadoff walk to open the inning, before Gehrig Goldbeck laid down a sacrifice bunt, and Jackson Lovich's infield single put runners on the corners to set up Seals' liner to right on a full-count offering that snapped a six-inning scoring drought for the Tigers (13-34, 0-24 SEC).
Mizzou benefited from another impressive pitching performance, getting five strong innings from starter Wil Libbert, who matched a career high with seven strikeouts. The redshirt freshman worked out of jams in each of the first four innings, including three instances in which the Bulldogs put their leadoff hitter on base.
But Georgia (39-11, 15-9 SEC) broke through in the fifth, using a Mizzou fielding error and the second of Alford's three extra-base hits on the day to fuel a two-run rally. With two on and one out, Robbie Burnett laced a single up the middle, bringing in both Nolan McCarthy and Alford to flip a one-run Mizzou lead to a 2-1 Bulldogs' advantage.
Bulldogs starting pitcher Leighton Finley made the lead stand with 7 1/3 strong innings. The right-hander yielded only a second-inning unearned run before blanking the Tigers on two hits over a five-inning stretch, finishing with eight strikeouts and just three hits allowed.
The Tigers' bullpen delivered another shutdown performance after a 3 1/3 shutout inning effort from Brock Lucas in Saturday's game. This time, Mizzou relievers Xavier Lovett and Ian Lohse combined to shut out the Bulldogs on two hits over a three-inning stretch from the sixth through the eighth frames. In all, Mizzou pitching fanned 12 Bulldog hitters, marking the third-straight double-digit strikeout total for the Tigers in the series.
Georgia used a strong effort from its three relievers to put the game on ice, however. After Brian Zeldin and Alton Davis II (5-0) joined forces to close out the eighth and strand the potential go-ahead run at third base, Zach Harris secured his second save in as many days against the Tigers with a scoreless ninth.
TIGER NOTEBOOK
- Georgia extended its series edge over the Tigers to 20-16 with the victory, its fourth-straight over Mizzou.
- Lovich extended his reached base streak to 17 straight games by going 1-for-3 with a walk.
- Libbert matched two previous seven-strikeout efforts for his career best total: March 1 vs. Evansville and April 15 vs. Missouri State.
- The five Missouri pitchers totaled 12 strikeouts in the contest, giving the Tigers 35 in the three-game series – just one strikeout shy of their season-best total (36) in an SEC series (March 21-23 vs. Ole Miss).
- The Tigers current 11-game losing streak (dating back to April 17) surpassed a 10-game skid from April 24 to May 13, 2021 as the longest in program history.
UP NEXT
Mizzou will conclude its annual home-and-home series with Kansas Tuesday evening at Taylor Stadium. Tickets to Tuesday's 6 p.m. game, or any remaining 2025 Mizzou baseball home contest, are available by calling 1-800-CAT-PAWS or by visiting MUTigers.com.
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