How to Watch: Missouri Baseball vs No. 3 Tennessee
The Tigers will look to take the momentum from their mid-week win into their series against the Volunteers.
The last time that Missouri Tigers faced off against a top 10 team, they earned a series sweep at home. This time they hit the road for Knoxville to face off against the No. 3 team in the country.
In their last two SEC series, the Tigers took just one game in each. In both, they took game two after rebounding from a high-scoring loss. They also dropped the deciding game three against both teams.
In their series against Tennessee last year, Missouri put up an unexpected sweep to start conferense play. This year, they will try to have a repeat performance on the road.
Through all three games last year, the Tigers held the then No. 4 Volunteers to just six runs, four of them coming in one game. Missouri didn't just accept the low runs of their opponents for the wins, they put up an offensive show of their own. They scored 23 runs through the sweep.
The offensive star of the series was Trevor Austin. The current Missouri senior and third baseman went 5-9 in the series with four RBIs. Austin has continued to be an offensive rock for the team throughout the 2024 series as well. He has played in every game this season and leads the team in runs, hits, doubles, home runs, RBIs, walks and hit-by-pitches.
To start the series off for the Tigers, graduate Ryan Magdic will make his first start. Magdic has logged 19 innings on the mound this season and holds 26 strikeouts to his name. He has not gone more than 3 1/3 inning for the Tigers and gave up one run on three hits, that outing coming against Georgia.
Next up will be the Tigers two usual staters, junior Javyn Pimental and sophomore Logan Lunceford. They both made starts in the weekend series against LSU, Pimental fairing better in their outings. Lunceford only made it 2 2/3 innings and gave up eight runs for one of his worst outings of the year.
The two teams will kick off play at 6 p.m. CT on Thursday in Knoxville.
How to Watch: Missouri vs No. 3 Tennessee
What: Missouri Tigers (17-21, 5-10 SEC) vs Tennessee Volunteers (34-7, 12-6 SEC)
Where: Leslie Nelson Stadium, Knoxville, Tenn.
When:
- Thursday, April 25 at 6 p.m. CT
- Friday, April 26 at 5:30 p.m. CT
- Saturday, April 27 at 11 a.m. CT
TV: ESPN+
Series: Missouri holds the edge in the series, 17-13. The Tigers swept the Vols last year to break a six-game losing streak to UT.
Last time out, Missouri: The Tigers earned a mid-week win over an in-state foe, the Missouri State Bears. A grand slam from Mateo Serna pushed Missouri to a large lead, but Missouri State cut it down to just four runs.
Last time out, Tennessee: The Volunteers earned their mid-week win against Western Carolina. Tennessee put up a six-run fifth for their 12-4 win.
Pitching Matchups:
- Thursday, April 25 at 6 p.m. – LHP Ryan Magdic vs. LHP Chris Stamos
- Friday, April 26 at 5:30 p.m. – RHP Logan Lunceford vs. RHP Drew Beam
- Saturday, April 27 at 11 a.m.– LHP Javyn Pimental vs. TBD