BATON ROUGE, La. – The high-powered bats of Missouri baseball shined once again on Wednesday night as the Tigers routed Southern 19-8 to improve to 4-1 on the young season.
Mizzou racked up 16 hits, including three homers and seven doubles, to produce its highest scoring output of the season. Senior Josh Day was a sparkplug in the leadoff spot, going 3-for-5 with a double, home run and three RBI. Junior Torin Montgomery (2-for-2) and sophomore Garrett Rice (2-for-3) joined Day with multi-hit games. Eight Tigers had RBI in the win, including five players with three or more driven in.
On the mound, junior college transfer Nathan Landry (1-0) dazzled in relief to earn his first win as a Tiger. The southpaw struck out 10 Jaguars in just 4.1 innings of work. The lone blemish on his line came as the result of a stumble on a pop-up which turned into a triple and later scored.
As a staff, Mizzou tied a 59-year-old school record with 20 strikeouts. The total matched the output from a 21-7 win over Colorado back on April 19, 1963.
IMPACT INNING
With a 5-3 lead, Mizzou blew the game open with a four-run fifth. With one on following a walk, Montgomery doubled to left center to put runners at second and third with no outs. Rice followed with an RBI-single to left to make it 6-3 Tigers. Two batters later, Peña launched his first collegiate home run, a 3-run shot deep to right field, to make it 9-3 in favor of the black & gold.
TOP TIGERS
Nathan Landry: 4.1 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 10 K, 0 BB
Josh Day: 3-for-5, HR, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R
Garrett Rice: 2-for-3, 2B, 3 RBI
Shea McGahan: 1-for-1, HR, 4 RBI
IN THE NOTES
- Mizzou hit seven doubles in the game, the most as a team since 2018.
- Nathan Landry’s 10 strikeouts mark the most by a Missouri pitcher since April 2 of last season.
- Mizzou’s 19 runs are the most since May 1, 2019, when the Tigers put 21 on SEMO.
- Dexter Swims recorded his first hit as a Tiger and racked up three RBI in just two plate appearances.
- Freshmen Shea McGahan and Carlos Peña each launched their first home runs in the game. McGahan’s was a pinch-hit grand slam in the top of the ninth.
- Mizzou scored in each of the final five innings of the game.
- Freshman Justin Colon snagged his first knock at the collegiate level with a double in the ninth.
- Sophomore Garrison Bennett earned his first RBI with a single in the top of the ninth.
FROM THE SKIP
Coach Bieser on the young players and their impact on the game…
“We want to see them to continue to grow. I mean, they’re doing a great job of stepping in and coming off the bench. I think that upper class leadership is kind of leading the way and they’re showing them how to get things done. We know that they’re talented, we’ve seen them swing the bat a few times already, and they’re doing a really good job offensively.”
UP NEXT
Mizzou closes its season-opening road trip with a three-game series at Louisiana-Monroe beginning Friday, Feb. 25. The Tigers and Warhawks are set for a 6 p.m. first pitch in the series opener.
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