Missouri baseball upsets 9-seed Ole Miss, will face Mississippi State on Wednesday
By Ethan Stone
Published:
The Missouri baseball team had nothing to lose, and they played like it on Tuesday during the first round of the SEC Baseball Tournament. The Tigers, thanks to electric offensive performances from Kaden Peer and Mateo Serna, downed 9-seed Ole Miss to advance to Day 2 against Mississippi State.
The Tigers mashed 3 home runs and totaled 14 hits, with each member of the starting lineup accumulating at least one hit.
Missouri started slow, falling back 2-0 after the first 2 innings. However, Kam Durnin knotted things up at 2 with this swing in the third:
Durnin scored again in the 5th inning thanks to an RBI single from Mateo Serna. Speaking of Serna, the Tigers catcher was outstanding not only from the plate, but with his ABS challenges (Automated ball/strike challenging system) — which is new to the SEC Tournament this year. He made 3 correct ABS calls in the 5th inning alone and finished the day with 3 hits and 2 RBI.
The game-changing moment came just a few moments after Serna’s RBI, when Kaden Peer gave the Tigers a 5-run lead thanks to a monster shot to left center. Just like that, it was 7-2, Tigers.
A quick reminder: Mizzou finished as the worst team in the SEC this season, sitting at 23-30 overall and 6-24 in conference play. Here’s a look at the final out:
Missouri added another run in the 6th, then 2 decisive runs in the 8th inning to complete the upset win. The Tigers will face Mississippi State at 10:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday.
Ethan Stone is a Tennessee graduate and loves all things college football and college basketball. Firm believer in fouling while up 3.
