Mizzou Treks to No. 4 Vanderbilt to Open SEC Play

COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri baseball (12-2) begins Southeastern Conference action at No. 4 Vanderbilt (14-2) on Friday night at Hawkins Field in Nashville, Tenn. All three games of the weekend series will stream on SEC Network+.

First pitch in the series opener is set for 6 p.m. with game two on Saturday at 2 p.m. The series finale on Sunday has been moved up to a noon start.

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Fans can also catch Mizzou baseball on the airwaves all season long on KTGR and the Tiger Radio Network. Tex Little and Matt Michaels will have the call.

PITCHING PROBABLES

Friday – RHP Spencer Miles (2-0, 1.88 ERA) vs. RHP Chris McElvain (2-0, 2.33 ERA)

Saturday – RHP Austin Troesser (3-0, 2.45 ERA) vs. LHP Carter Holton (3-0, 2.74 ERA)

Sunday – TBA vs. TBA

SERIES BUSINESS

• Mizzou opens SEC action against SEC East favorite and No. 4 Vanderbilt. The Tigers and Commodores will meet for the 27th time in Friday’s series opener.
• Vandy leads the all-time series 22-4 over the Tigers.
• Mizzou’s last victory in the series came in Nashville in 2019 when the Tigers earned a 5-2 win in the middle game of the series.
• The Tigers have won just one series against the Commodores since joining the SEC, taking 2-of-3 in 2018.

LAST TIME OUT

• Mizzou pummeled Saint Louis in the midweek with an 18-4, run-rule victory on Tuesday night.
• The Tigers racked up 17 hits in the blowout as 11 different players recorded base knocks and 13 scored runs. 10 Tigers drove in a run, led by a 4-RBI game from Nander De Sedas.
• The 18-4 win marked the largest margin of victory in series since 2007 when the Tigers earned a 19-1 win.

SEC OPENER

• Mizzou is 10-14 all-time on the opening weekend of SEC play. In its eight previous SEC-opening series, the Tigers have claimed just two of those – both sweeps of Georgia (2015) and Alabama (2017).
• This weekend marks the first time the Tigers have opened the SEC slate against Vanderbilt. The Commodores are the only SEC East foe Mizzou is yet to face to open the conference season.

FIRST INNING FIRESTARTER

• Torin Montgomery has sparked the Mizzou offense with first-inning RBI in eight different games this season.
• The cleanup hitter has nine total first-inning RBI and has driven in a run in the first in six of the last seven games for Mizzou.
• Montgomery is 5-for-7 (.714) in the first frame with three doubles and a pair of sac flies.

SCOUTING THE COMMODORES

• Vanderbilt enters SEC play ranked No. 4 in the country. The Commodores hold the top ranking in two polls as well.
• As has become customary, Vandy is led by a formidable pitching staff which has worked to a 2.07 ERA over 16 games and 139.0 innings.
• Opponents are hitting just .183 off Vandy arms.
• At the plate, veteran Dominic Keegan leads the ‘Dores with a .429 average, four homers and 18 RBI. Davis Diaz is also hitting over .400 at .415 on the season.
• As a team, Vandy hits .327 through 16 games.

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-MUTigers.com-