Baseball Opens Key SEC Series With No. 4 Florida Friday Evening - University of Missouri Athletics (2024)

COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri baseball looks to continue its offensive resurgence this weekend when the Tigers host No. 4 Florida for a three-game Southeastern Conference series at Taylor Stadium.

The Tigers (12-18, 1-8 SEC) and Gators (17-11, 6-3 SEC) square off in a 6 p.m. (CDT) contest Friday (April 5) to open the series, before meeting again Saturday (3 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.) to conclude the weekend. Mizzouis coming off a midweek nonconference series sweep of UT Martin, in which the Tigers hit .373 as a team.

• Single-Game Tickets – bit.ly/3T94lmt

PROMOTIONS

• Gold Rush/KC Day/National Student-Athlete Day (Saturday) – Royals tickets drawing; Wear GOLD!
• Family Day and Golf Towel Giveaway (Sunday) – Kids run the bases, postgame autographs and golf towel giveaway

PITCHING PROBABLES

• Game 1 (Friday, April 5 – 6 p.m.) – RHP Logan Lunceford (Mizzou) vs. RHP Brandon Neely (Florida)
• Game 2 (Saturday, April 6 – 3 p.m.) – LHP Javyn Pimental (Mizzou) vs. RHP Liam Peterson (Florida)
• Game 3 (Sunday, April 7 – 1p.m.) – TBD (Mizzou) vs. LHP Jac Caglianone (Florida)

SERIES HISTORY

• Florida brings a commanding 31-5 advantage over Mizzou into this weekend's series.
• The Gators have won 19 of the previous 20 meetings in the series, with the Tigers' lone victory since 2015 coming two years ago in Columbia (May 14, 2022).
• UF claimed all three games last April in Gainesville, outscoring the Tigers by a 30-8 margin in the series.
• Mizzou has posted four of their five all-time wins over the Gators at Taylor Stadium.

SCOUTING MISSOURI

• Missouri posted a 30-24 regular-season finish last spring, including a 10-20 SEC mark.
• Kerrick Jackson was named the 15th head coach in Mizzou history in June, 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.
• The Tigers return three regular starters from last season, led by senior INF/OF Trevor Austin, who batted .311 with eight homers and 10 steals to help bolster the MU offense.
• Senior INF Matt Garcia turned in a solid debut season with the Tigers, providing clutch hitting and lock-down defense on the MU infield.
• MU should also receive a lift from sophom*ore INF Jackson Lovich and junior OF Juju Stevens, who each made key contributions in limited duty in 2023.
• Several newcomers could also make early contributions, including junior INF Danny Corona, who helped Wake Forest to a 2023 College World Series berth, C Jedier Hernandez, a standout behind the plate for Seton Hall the last two seasons, and sophom*ore OF Jeric Curtis, a Texas Tech transfer who brings significant speed to the Tiger outfield and batting order.
• On the mound, sophom*ore RHP Logan Lunceford is back to help anchor Mizzou's weekend rotation after posting 68 strikeouts to lead all SEC freshman hurlers last spring.
• Junior LHP Javyn Pimental also contributed mightily to the Tigers' mound efforts in 2023, making eight starts for the Tigers.
• Mizzou should also benefit from the potential return of a pair of veterans who missed significant time last spring; left-hander Ian Lohse and RHP Carter Rustad missed significant portions of 2023 due to injury following promising starts to the campaign.
• New arms like RHP Xavier Lovett and RHP Bryce Mayer could compete for starting rotation spots, while RHP Jacob Peaden may give the back end of the Tigers' bullpen a strong presence.

MIZZOU BY THE NUMBERS

• Missouri is coming off a 30-win campaign last spring, which marked the 20th time the Tigers reached the 30-win plateau in the last 30 seasons, as well as the 35th time overall.
• Despite being sidelined for much of the last two weeks due to injury, 1B Jackson Lovich leads the Tigers with a .322 batting mark, while his season totals of six home runs and 20 RBIs are second on the squad.
• The sophom*ore recorded a career-best 13-game hit streak, February 24-March 15, batting .388 (19-for-49).
• Lovich leads the SEC and ranks 21st nationally with three triples.
• Lovich has reached base safely via a hit or walk in 21 of his 23 games, including the Tigers' first 18 contests.
• RHP Brock Lucas brings a streak of 11 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings (spanning four appearances) into the weekend.
• Lucas has not allowed a run since March 12 and has posted six scoreless relief outings in eight total appearances this spring.
• LHP Javyn Pimental has been outstanding in SEC play, limiting three top 25 clubs to a combined batting mark of .143.
• Pimental held No. 1 Arkansas hitless through four frames as part of 5.0 shutout innings on March 17. He also notched his first win of the season against No. 21 Kentucky (March 23), allowing just one run on four hits over 6.0 innings.
• OF Brock Daniels registered a career high with three hits vs. UT Martin on Wednesday, finishing the two-game series with the Skyhawks 5-for-7 (.714) with two homers and nine RBIs, nearly tripling his career RBI total.
• Daniels, who homered in each contest vs. UT Martin, became the first Tiger in two years to steal three bases in a contest Wednesday in MU's 15-9 victory.
• As a team, Mizzou swiped five bases in back-to-back games vs. UT Martin, achieving the feat for the first time since April 11, 2023 vs. Missouri State.
• INF Matt Garcia drove in seven runs in the Tigers' series sweep of UT Martin, finishing 6-for-8. The senior logged his third three-hit performance of the season, while topping his previous career best for RBIs (4) in Wednesday's victory.
• INF Justin Colon has been a driving force for the Mizzou offense in the Tigers' 12 wins, hitting .438 (7-for-16) with eight RBIs and a .571 OBP.
• Colon registered his first four-hit game as a Tiger vs. Northern Kentucky (March 3). The junior also posted career bests for runs scored (4) and RBIs in the win.
• OF Kaden Peer also enjoyed a strong series vs. UT Martin, logging his fifth multi-hit game of the season Wednesday, including his first collegiate home run.
• INF Trevor Austin leads the club with eight home runs, matching his personal season high (2023) and upping his career total to 24 round-trippers.
• OF Jackson Beaman homered and recorded his first two steals as a Tiger in Tuesday's win over UT Martin. In his last four games, Beaman has hit .400 (6-for-15) with a pair of homers and five runs scored.
• LHP Ryan Magdic has proven to be a valuable weapon out of the bullpen, logging three scoreless two-inning outings to date. The graduate transfer has fanned 16 hitters in just 13.0 innings.
• RHP Charlie Miller has been an effective relief option from the right side, recording six scoreless appearances and four hitless outings in 10 total games.
• C Jedier Hernandez hit a club-best .360 (18-for-50) with 12 RBIs in March, logging five multi-hit performances in 13 games.
• RHP Carter Rustad notched career victory No. 15 March 9 with 6.0 strong innings in MU's win over PFW. Rustad has posted a 4.67 strikeout-to-walk ratio and ranks fourth in the SEC (and 45th nationally) in walks allowed per nine innings (1.57).
• RHP Jacob Peaden ranks eighth in the SEC in saves (3) and fourth in games finished (7).
• The Tigers rank fourth in the conference in stolen bases (41), led by 10 steals from OF Jeric Curtis.
• As a team, Mizzou ranks sixth in the SEC in fielding double plays (17).
• The Tigers' pitching staff ranks 46th nationally in walks allowed per nine innings (3.77).
• Mizzou has drawn 49 free bases via hit by pitches.

SCOUTING FLORIDA

• Under 17th-year head coach Kevin O'Sullivan, the Gators are 17-11 overall, including a 6-3 start to SEC play.
• Florida is ranked as high as No. 4 (Baseball America) in this week's national polls.
• The Gators have yet to drop a weekend series in 2024 after posting SEC series wins over a pair of top 5 clubs (No. 4 Texas A&M and No. 5 LSU), as well as No. 21 Mississippi State.
• Florida brings a .275 team batting mark into the weekend, led by USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award candidate 1B/LHP Jac Caglianone, who is hitting .397 with 14 home runs and 30 RBIs.
• OF Ty Evans has also stood out at the plate for UF, hitting .361 with 24 RBIs for the Gators, while INF Colby Shelton has clubbed 13 homers and scored a club-best 24 runs to date.
• On the hill, Caglianone has been the Gator's top standout, posting a 3-0 mound mark and 2.18 ERA.
• LHP Cade Fisher rates among the SEC's strikeout leaders with 52 punchouts.
• Florida's defense (.984) ranks second in the SEC.

LIGHTS-OUT LUCAS

• Sophom*ore RHP Brock Lucas brings a string of 11 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings into Friday's contest.
• Lucas has turned in four straight scoreless relief outings, dating back to March 17.
• The St. Elizabeth, Mo., product most recently logged a pair of 4.0-plus inning efforts out of the MU bullpen, including a 4 1/3 inning hitless stint vs. Kansas (March 19), and four additional scoreless frames, allowing just one hit, against Kentucky (March 24).
• For the season, Lucas has compiled a club-best 1.71 ERA, while holding the opposition to a .162 average.
• In his eight outings, Lucas has recorded six scoreless appearances, three of which have extended four innings or more.

CAN'T SLOW DOWN

• In the Tigers' 12 wins this season, MU baserunners have been successful on 25-of-26 steal attempts.
• Mizzou posted five stolen bases each of its two wins over UT Martin, going 10-for-10 in steal attempts against the Skyhawks.
• The Tigers' last five-steal performance came on April 11, 2023 at Missouri State.
• OF Brock Daniels was a perfect 4-of-4 in steal attempts in the series, including the first three-steal effort by a Tiger since 2022.
• For the season, Mizzou ranks fourth in the SEC with 41 steals (in 48 attempts) this season.
• OF Jeric Curtis leads the Tigers with 10 steals, which is good for ninth overall in the SEC.

TERRIFIC WITH TWO

• The Tigers have been clutch this season with two out, both at the plate and on the mound.
• Mizzou's offense has recorded 69 two-out RBIs in just 30 games, while hitting .293 (103-for-352) after the second out has been recorded in an inning this season.
• Jackson Lovich has been MU's most consistent two-out threat, hitting a scorching .342 (13-for-38) and driving in 13 runs in such situations.
• Mizzou pitchers have been equally dominant, holding the opposition to a collective .208 (66-for-317) two-out batting average.
• Brock Lucas has yet to allow a two-out hit, holding the opposition hitless in 23 official at-bats. Jacob Peaden has been nearly flawless as well, limiting MU's opponents to just one hit in 22 two-out at-bats (.045).

RANK AND FILE

• The Tigers notched their first win over a top 25 foe March 23 with their 2-1 victory over No. 21 Kentucky.
• The victory also marked head coach Kerrick Jackson's first conference win — as well as the first SEC win for a Black head coach in the circuit's history.
• Mizzou recorded seven wins over ranked opponents last season, but suffered 18 of its 24 overall losses against ranked clubs.
• This year, the Tigers could face as many as 10 ranked SEC foes in weekend series, as each of their scheduled league opponents have spent time in at least one top 25 poll this spring.

PRIMETIME PIMENTAL

• Junior LHP Javyn Pimental has been one of the Tigers' key linchpins on the mound through the first seven weeks of the season as well, bringing a 2.60 ERA into the weekend.
• Pimental registered dominant starts against top 25 teams in back-to-back weekend starts to open SEC play; the lefty notched his first victory of the season with 6.0 strong innings vs. No. 21 Kentucky (March 23), allowing just one run on four hits while fanning five; the previous week, he held No. 1 Arkansas hitless through four innings and posted 5.0 scoreless frames overall before yielding to his bullpen.
• For the season, the Hawaii native has fanned 28 batters — a single-season best for the junior — in 27.2 innings spanning six total appearances.
• In his last five outings (four starts), Pimental has surrendered just five earned runs while striking out 23 batters over 24.0 innings, good for an ERA of 1.88.
• Over the same stretch dating back to March 1, the lefty has limited the opposition to a .173 batting average.

MOUND MAGIC

• The Mizzou pitching staff has met the challenge of SEC play, logging a team ERA of 3.57 over the Tigers' last two league series.
• Against back-to-back ranked opponents (Kentucky and Vanderbilt), the Tigers have limited the opposition to .238 hitting and an average of just 4.5 runs per game over the six-game stretch.
• Mizzou's three weekend starting pitchers — RHP Logan Lunceford, LHP Javyn Pimental and RHP Carter Rustad — have combined to hold the opposition to 12 earned runs over their 28.0 total innings, while striking out 21 hitters.
• Additionally, the MU bullpen has been equally as effective, holding the Wildcats and Commodores to a .206 average. RHP Bryce Mayer has turned in 5.1 scoreless innings, combining with RHP Brock Lucas, LHP Daniel Wissler, LHP Ryan Magdic and RHP Victor Quinn for 14.0 scoreless frames.

ON THE AIR

• Missouri is slated to appear in eight linear broadcasts on the ESPN family of networks over the course of the 2024 season.
• Mizzou's SEC matchups, including all three games this weekend, and select non-conference games will stream on SEC Network+.