Mizzou Baseball Stumped by Vanderbilt Pitching Once Again in 4-0 Loss
The Missouri baseball team fell to No. 7 Vanderbilt 4-0 on Friday night. This was the Tigers' second loss of the series as they'll face the Commodores for a third and final time tomorrow at 1 p.m. CT.
In Thursday's series opener, Mizzou struggled mightily on the offensive side but was able to end with just a 3-1 loss due to its commendable defense. However, in addition to the bats being cold once again on Friday, the other side of the ball could've been a little bit better as Vanderbilt got off to a relatively solid start while in the batter's box.
In game one, Vanderbilt pitcher Greyson Carter notched career-highs with 8.1 innings played and 11 strikeouts. He also allowed zero runs and three hits on 113 pitches (71 strikes). The Commodores' pitching was the headliner yet again on Friday as in 7.0 innings, starter Bryce Cunningham threw 12 strikeouts on 92 pitches.
Missouri left fielder Jeric Curtis was responsible for the team's first hit of the night by way of a single in the third inning. However, two more walks throughout Cunningham's time on the mound were the only other times the Tigers reached first base.
Defensively, the Tigers weren't able to limit the Commodores as easily as they did in game one. In five innings, starting Mizzou pitcher Logan Lunceford was able to strike out a season-high five batters, but he allowed eight hits, including a two-run home run by third baseman Davis Diaz in the second inning. That said, two more runs were unearned due to back-to-back poor plays by the rest of the Tiger defense in the fourth inning.
Nevertheless, the Commodores were held to zero runs from that point on after a solid job by the Tigers bullpen. But just like Thursday, Missouri couldn't take advantage on the offensive side of the ball.
As previously stated, Missouri will attempt to avoid the series sweep on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
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