Zeisler, Neubeck Lift Baseball to Win Over FIU

MIAMI  Hank Zeisler belted a grand slam as part of a five-run third inning that propelled Mizzou to a 5-2 victory over FIU Friday evening, leveling the four-game series at one game apiece.

Zeisler logged hits in each of his first three at-bats, finishing the night 3-for-5 with his second home run of the season and four RBIs, and Tony Neubeck posted a dominant five-inning stint out of the Mizzou bullpen to keep the Panthers in check.

Mizzou (3-2) seized control of the contest in the third, striking for all five of its runs before the Panthers (2-3) put their first batter on base. Justin Colon and Cam Chick singled to spark the key rally, before back-to-back walks to Dalton Bargo and Trevor Austin forced home the game’s first run.

Zeisler, who homered in Thursday’s series opener for his first round-tripper as a Tiger, crushed Christian Santana’s 1-0 pitch over the wall in left to clear the bases and hand Mizzou a 5-0 cushion.

Mizzou starting pitcher Ian Lohse cruised through the early stages of the contest as well, retiring the first seven FIU hitters he faced before yielding a one-out single to Brendan Roney in the third. One batter later, Lohse appeared to tweak his side and was removed from the game as a precautionary measure after 2.1 scoreless innings.

After freshman lefty Daniel Wissler recorded back-to-back strikeouts to avoid trouble in the third, the Panther bats finally clicked the following inning. FIU put its first four batters on base, as Adrian Figueroa lined a two-run single to right to pull his club to within three.

But Neubeck (1-0) retired three in a row to get out of the inning, then set down six more FIU batters in succession, before a leadoff double in the seventh stopped his string of nine straight retired. In all, the sophomore lefty struck out six and allowed just two hits over 5.0 scoreless innings to earn the victory.

Zach Franklin recorded the final three outs to lock up his first save as a Tiger and the 12th of his collegiate career. FIU threatened, putting a pair of runners on base to bring up the potential tying run, but the graduate right-hander induced a pop fly behind third base for the final out.

Colon complimented Zeisler’s night at the plate with a 2-for-3 effort to help pace the Mizzou offense.

UP NEXT

The Tigers and Panthers will square off again Saturday at 4 p.m. game, before concluding the series Sunday with an 11 a.m. contest.

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