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GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 4 Florida scored in five of the first seven innings to build a five-run lead, then held off a late Missouri comeback bid to notch an 8-7 victory that completed a three-game Southeastern Conference series sweep of the Tigers Sunday afternoon at Condron Ballpark.
Wyatt Langford went 4-for-5 with a first inning home run that staked the Gators to a lead they would not relinquish, despite a late surge that saw Mizzou nearly wipe out an 8-3 Florida lead by scoring twice in the seventh and four times in the eighth.
Brandon Neely extinguished the Tiger comeback with 2.0 hitless innings to complete his ninth save and the Gators’ third straight win over Mizzou.
The victory for Florida (35-10, 14-7 SEC) was made possible by another strong afternoon from its lineup, as scored in all but the third, fourth and eighth innings, extending their lead with two runs in the second on back-to-back doubles by Luke Heyman and Colby Halter and a sac fly from Tyler Shelnut.
Mizzou starter Logan Lunceford (3-4) battled back from the two early UF scoring rallies to post consecutive scoreless innings, allowing just three runs on five Gator hits through the first four innings.
The Tigers (24-19, 5-16 SEC) took advantage of a pair of hit batsmen and the first of Dylan Leach’s two singles to generate their first scoring opportunity, loading the bases with nobody out in the fourth. But a double-play grounder derailed the chance for a big inning, despite bringing in the first MU run of the contest.
Jac Caglianone’s NCAA Division I-leading 25th home run of the season with two out in the fifth answered the Mizzou rally, reestablishing Florida’s three-run advantage.
Mizzou inched closer in the seventh, drawing to within 5-3 on Trevor Austin’s two-run double to right—the Tigers’ first hit of the day with runners in scoring position.
But Florida responded once more, this time getting a Cade Kurland leadoff homer in the home half of the inning to spark another rally. Langford followed with a double, preceding a hit batsman and a walk that loaded the bases. A Heyman sac fly produced another run, before an infield pop fly that was lost in the sun fell safely to chase home the third UF tally of the seventh.
Trailing 8-3 entering the eighth, Mizzou engineered its own big inning, as another Leach base started a string of five straight Tiger batters reaching to start the inning. Another hit batsman and a Ty Wilmsmeyer single loaded the bases with nobody out, and Matt Garcia plated two with a line-drive single to right to cut the margin to three runs.
Next, Cam Chick delivered a run-scoring hit and Ross Lovich’s fly ball to center allowed Garcia to trot home and pull Mizzou to within a single run.
Austin Troesser worked his second scoreless inning in the eighth to keep the Tigers within a run.
Neely worked around a two-out catcher’s interference in the ninth, getting the game-ending strikeout with the potential tying run on base.
In addition to two-hit performances by Austin and Leach, Garcia scored two runs and drove in two more to pace Mizzou’s offensive attack.
TIGER NOTEBOOK
- Mizzou was hit by pitches five times, matching a season high (March 7 vs. Western Illinois)
- After entering the series 21-2 when scoring six runs or more, the Tigers dropped their second consecutive contest when scoring seven runs
- Mizzou dropped to 5-31 all-time vs. Florida and 1-20 against the Gators in Gainesville
- Garcia logged his second multi-RBI game of the week after driving in three runs vs. SIUE on Wednesday
- The Tigers suffered their sixth-straight SEC setback, as well as their fifth consecutive conference series loss
- Troesser registered his fifth scoreless relief outing in SEC play, allowing two hits in 2.0 innings
UP NEXT
Mizzou returns to Columbia to open its final home stand of the season with a 6 p.m. nonconference game Tuesday (May 2) against Kansas at Taylor Stadium. Single-game tickets for Tuesday’s game, as well as all Mizzou baseball home games in 2023, can be purchased by calling 1-800-CAT-PAWS, or by visiting MUTigers.com/feature/BSBTix.
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