Long Ball Lifts No. 1 Tennessee Over Mizzou

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – For a second-straight night, Missouri baseball jumped on No. 1 Tennessee early but a sixth-inning grand slam off the bat of Jordan Beck flipped the game in an 11-4 Volunteer win on Saturday at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

Juniors Luke Mann and Torin Montgomery went back-to-back with two outs in the first inning to stake Mizzou (18-10, 3-8 SEC) to another 2-0 lead.

Tennessee (30-1, 11-0 SEC) responded in the second with back-to-back-to-back home runs to start the inning. The Tigers stopped the bleeding at three and battled back in the top of the third to retake the lead. Fox Leum doubled off the top of the center field wall to make it 4-3 Mizzou. The lead would hold until the decisive sixth inning.

Freshman Tony Neubeck went 4.1 innings in the start, allowing three runs on eight hits. The southpaw struck out seven Volunteers while walking just two. Austin Cheeley (1-1) took the loss in relief, surrendering four runs in 1.2 innings.

Chase Dollander (6-0) earned the win for the Volunteers with 6.2 innings pitch and four runs on the ledger. The four runs matched the most Dollander has allowed this season. 

IMPACT INNING

The Vols found their magic again in the sixth inning where a pair of singles and a walk set the stage with one out. Beck stepped to the dish and launched an 0-1 offering into the left field deck for a grand slam and a 7-4 Tennessee lead.

TOP TIGERS

Luke Mann: 2-for-4, HR, RBI

Torin Montgomery: 1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI

IN THE NOTES

  • Mann’s first inning blast was his second in the series and his fifth homer in the last five games.
  • Montgomery’s homer was his second of the year.
  • The Tigers went back-to-back for the second time this season. It was the first back-to-back homers in SEC play since 2019.
  • Josh Day extended his hitting streak to eight games.
  • Garrett Rice recorded his first hit in SEC action with a pinch-hit single in the ninth.

FROM THE SKIP

Coach Bieser on another quick start and Tennessee’s rally…

“We’re kind of in that rut, we’re getting good starting pitching and coming out swinging the bats pretty good and getting that lead. We just can’t hold it in the bullpen, but I believe the pieces are there, we’ve just got to fix it.”

UP NEXT

The Tigers and Vols conclude the series with a 12:30 ET/11:30 CT start on Sunday on SEC Network +.

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-MUTigers.com-

This article is provided by University of Missouri Athletics
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