No. 22 Missouri pulls away late to top Kansas

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – No. 15/21 Missouri baseball rallied for five runs in the ninth inning to take down rival Kansas, 8-3, on Saturday night at Kauffman Stadium.

After the Jayhawks erased a three-run deficit to even the score at 3-3 in the eighth, Justin Colon’s sacrifice fly plated the go-ahead run, before Hank Zeisler closed the decisive rally with a three-run double.

Logan Lunceford had a career day on the mound for Mizzou, working 6.0 shutout innings and striking out nine batters, both of which marked career highs for the freshman. He allowed just two hits and two walks and dominated the Jayhawks throughout, retiring 10 consecutive hitters at one point.

Zeisler delivered the first of two critical hits in the second inning, driving his ninth home run of the season over the wall in right for a two-run shot. The graduate transfer finished the night 2-for-5 with five RBIs.

Mizzou added to its advantage in the fourth, as Ty Wilmsmeyer hit a free pass, then advanced to second on his eleventh steal of the year. Colon brought him home with a single to right, extending Mizzou’s lead to 3-0.

Lunceford cruised through the middle innings before returning to the bullpen in the seventh. KU quickly loaded the bases on three consecutive runs, before Kyle Potthoff induced a 5-4-3 double play grounder and fly ball to right to escape the inning with a 3-1 lead.

But the Jayhawks pushed home two runs to knot the score at 3-3 in the eighth. Cole Elvis pulled KU within one run on a double to left, before Lukas Leto brought home the tying run with a sacrifice fly.

Mizzou’s key rally started with Cam Chick hitting a pitch to lead off the ninth. Wilmsmeyer doubled to left-center to give the Tigers a pair of runners in scoring position, and Colon followed by lifting a fly ball to center, deep enough for the Chicks to score easily from third.

Lukas Mann delivered a run-scoring single to make it a 5-3 game, before Dalton Bargo lined a base hit to right and Trevor Austin drew a nine-pitch walk. Zeisler capitalized, lining a 2-2 pitch to right to chase down all three baserunners.

After the Tigers’ fifth, Daniel Wissler (2-0) closed out the win with a scoreless frame. The left-hander wrapped up the win with 1.2 hitless innings, including a pair of strikeouts.

Colon drove in two runs, while reaching safely in three of his four trips to the plate, while Bargo added a two-hit performance.

TIGER NOTEBOOK

• The Tigers extended their all-time series lead over the Jayhawks to 218-129-2, including wins in each of the last two meetings.
• Wednesday’s game marked the fifth contest between the Tigers and Jayhawks at Kauffman Stadium, and the first since 2011; Saturday’s victory was Mizzou’s first over Kansas in a set.
• Mizzou improved to 5-2 in Major League Soccer over the last four seasons; MU posted a 2-1 record in the 2023 College Baseball Showdown at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, and the 2020 Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic at Minute Maid Park in Houston.
• After making the polls for the first time since 2019, the Tigers earned their first win as a ranked team since their May 2019 win over eventual national champion Vanderbilt.
• Lunceford logged career highs in two innings pitched (6.0) and strikeouts (9).
• Lunceford’s nine strikeouts are the most by a Mizzou pitcher since Tony Neubeck struck out nine against Oklahoma State on opening day (February 17).
• Zeisler hit his ninth home run of the season and matched his career high for RBIs (5).
• Zeisler’s five RBIs on the day matched his career high from the previous two games, including Mizzou’s 10-8 win over Lamar on March 15.

UP NEXT

Mizzou will open a three-game Southeastern Conference series with South Carolina on Friday (March 24) afternoon at Founders Park in Columbia, SC