COLUMBIA, Mo. – Behind a pair of shutdown pitching performances and an offense that hit five home runs, No. 7 Texas claimed both ends of a doubleheader with University of Missouri baseball, edging the Tigers, 7-4 in the first game before completing the sweep of the two clubs’ Southeastern Conference series with a 7-1 decision in the nightcap Saturday at Taylor Stadium.
Texas rode Will Gasparino’s second straight two-homer game and five shutout innings from its bullpen to a game one victory. Gasparino, who homered twice while driving in eight runs in Friday’s series opener, belted two more round-trippers in Saturday’s opener, including the go-ahead solo shot in the Longhorns’ three-run third inning that turned a 4-2 deficit into a one-run advantage for the visitors.
In the nightcap, UT relied on a dominant pitching performance from Ruger Riojas (6-1), as the right-hander struck out a career-best 10 hitters while holding Mizzou (9-17, 0-9 SEC) to just two hits over 7.0 shutout frames.
Mizzou rallied from an early 2-0 deficit in the opener to score four times in the bottom of the second inning, taking a two-run lead on Chris Patterson’s first career hit – a three-run homer to right-center.
But the Longhorns (23-3, 8-1 SEC) answered promptly, using an Ethan Mendoza leadoff single to spark their key third-inning surge. Jalin Flores dealt the next blow, launching a two-run homer to left-center to knot the score at 4-4, before Gasparino followed with the first of his two home runs to hand Texas the lead.
Mendoza and Gasparino teamed up to add to the UT lead again in the fifth. Mendoza once again came through with a leadoff hit, before moving into scoring position on a failed pickoff attempt and trotting home on Gasparino’s bases-loaded grounder. Gasparino put the finishing touches on the performance with another home run – his fourth of the series – to lead off the eighth, stretching the Longhorns’ lead to 7-4.
UT’s relief duo of Max Grubbs (3-0) and Dylan Volantis took care of the rest, combining to blank the Tigers on five hits while striking out nine hitters over the final five innings.
Jackson Lovich (2-for-5) and Tyler Macon (2-for-3, two walks) led the Mizzou offense, while Keegan Knutson and Pierre Seals each chipped in with two-hit games as well.
On the mound, Brock Lucas and James Vaughn combined to hold Texas to one run on three hits over 4 2/3 innings of relief.
In game two, the Longhorns jumped on top early, plating a run in the second before scoring six times over the ensuing two innings. Once again, UT relied on the long ball to establish its early cushion, as Casey Borba went deep to put the first score on the board in the top of the second. UT extended the lead to 3-0 in the third, with Jaquae Stewart drawing a two-out, bases-loaded walk to force home the second Longhorns run, and Tommy Farmer IV was hit by a pitch to bring in another.
Kimble Schuessler’s two-run homer in the fourth opened up a five-run UT lead, and a two-out throwing error produced the sixth and seventh tallies for the Longhorns.
Riojas cruised throughout the contest en route to his SEC-leading sixth mound victory, working five 1-2-3 innings and retiring 14 straight Tigers following a Kaden Peer single in the first.
The Tigers’ lone scoring rally occurred in the eighth, after a pair of walks and a hit batsman set up Patterson’s fourth RBI of the day on a one-out grounder that scored Seals from third.
Mizzou’s bullpen once again delivered in game two, with PJ Green and Xavier Lovett teaming up to hold the Longhorns scoreless on two hits over the last five innings. Green allowed two hits and struck out two in his 3.0 frames, before Lovett fanned three over 2.0 hitless innings.
TIGER NOTEBOOK
- Lovich turned in a team-leading 11th multi-hit game in the opener.
- Macon reached on four of his five plate appearances, walking twice and tallying his fifth multi-hit game of the campaign.
- Knutson’s two hits clinched his fourth multi-hit game in 2025.
- Seals registered his third multi-hit game as a Tiger, two of which coming against SEC competition.
- Patterson clubbed his first career hit in the second inning, a three-run homer over the left field wall to take the lead.
- With hits in all three games in the series, Peer extended his hit streak to six games.
- RHP Kaden Jacobi’s four strikeouts equaled his career best versus SEC competition in game one.
- Vaughn matched a Mizzou career high with his three strikeouts while facing just four batters in the opening game.
- Green tied a career-long outing, putting in 3.0 clean innings of relief work in game two.
- Lovett turned in his fourth outing this season with multiple strikeouts; he has only allowed one run over his last 6.2 innings on the mound.
- Patterson drove in his first four runs as a Tiger Saturday, including his first collegiate hit with his home run in the opener.
- Mizzou dropped to 30-37 all-time versus Texas following the first series matchup as SEC foes.
UP NEXT
Mizzou will open a two-game, midweek series with Arkansas-Pine Bluff Tuesday evening at Taylor Stadium. Game one of the non-conference series is slated for 6 p.m., followed by a Wednesday evening matchup, scheduled for a 7 p.m. first pitch.
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