After their walk-off victory marked the longest Southeastern Conference game of the season, Missouri baseball couldn’t continue to extend its SEC quota over the weekend. The Tigers couldn’t claim game two of the three-game set, and their 11-8 loss against Vanderbilt in eleven innings meant Missouri was unable to snap a long-standing streak: their first SEC home series victory since April 6, 2024, against the then-No. 4-ranked Florida Gators.
Mizzou has an opportunity to break the series streak and
play spoiler to perfection against Vanderbilt over the weekend. A series loss to the Tigers would effectively doom the Commodores’ NCAA tournament hopes—they haven’t missed it since 2005—with their current No. 74 RPI. A loss on Sunday would effectively slam the door on the ‘Dores.
Missouri was up 8-3 heading into the top of the sixth inning, and its bullpen arms simply gave out as the Commdores scored eight unanswered to pull off a comeback of their own after the Tigers’ come-from-behind heroics in game one of the series.
“You’ll take a split on the day, but too many opportunities,” Mizzou head coach Kerrick Jackson said. “In that second game, to have won the series, we just have to do a better job of being able to take advantage.”
The Tigers didn’t save their offensive roar for the end in this one. Offensive production was spread out across the second to fourth innings. Instead of a five-inning quality start for Brady Kehlenbrink going to naught, Mizzou’s bats backed up its pitching consistently, a few coming from self-inflicted wounds by Vandy, others from pure hard contact.
Recap of the Tiger defeat
Missouri was hit early by the Commodores. Kehlenbrink surrendered an early ground rule-double ironically enough, followed by an infield single by Mike Mancini, advancing the leadoff-batter Ryker Waite to third. Kehlenbrink threw a wild pitch, a theme that became more common for both teams on the mound. Ryker scored from third and a double by Braden Holcomb gave Vanderbilt the early advantage.
Tommy Goodin’s homer, the first of the team’s two, pushed the Vandy lead up to three. Mizzou soon responded. The Tigers scored eight runs from the second to the fourth, stretching the gap with a big second inning and a couple more insurance runs later.
After getting punched in the mouth early, Missouri hit around for a four-run second, sparked by a two-run double from Kam Durnin and an RBI single from Blaize Ward. The Tigers built the inning from the ground up with patience, resulting in three straight walks from Aiden Stillman to load the bases with one out. The third walk to Jase Woita drew the Vanderbilt bullpen into action while the music speakers played “Baby please don’t go.”
The pitching change proved more fruitful for the Tigers. A balk, a couple pithce into the at-bat of Kam Durnin moved every runner up a base, including Eric Maisonet who scored from third base. Consecutive hits from Durnin and Ward continued their high rates of production agains the Commodores.
Missouri broke the third inning open without needing a big hit. The Tigers started with a bunt single from Kaden Peer, then worked a hit-by-pitch and a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position before a walk loaded the bases.
The runs came on Vanderbilt miscues and a sacrifice fly. A wild pitch brought in Peer, Jase Woita lifted a sacrifice fly to center to score Chris Patterson. Another wild pitch led to Humbert scoring from third to cap the inning, giving the Tigerss a 7-3 lead, later increased to five, after a series headliner Donovan Jordan doubled home Mateo Serna.
Vanderbilt trimmed it to 8-6 in the sixth with a solo homer from Logan Johnstone and a pair of RBI from Korbin Reynolds and Ryker Waite; Missouri’s early cushion faded in the relief appearances of Kadden Drew and Eli Skidmore, who came in for the starter Kehlenbrink after his five innings on the mound.
After drawing one run closer to the Tigers on an RBI groundout in the seventh, Vanderbilt played long-ball on a game-tying homer in the eighth by Rustan Rigdon, his 6th of the season. New life for the Commodores, a major setback for the Tigers.
Trey Lawrence, after coming in for the Tigers to open the seventh inning, kept pitching in long relief and put down Vandy 1-2-3 in the ninth. Mizzou had its chance to win the game in the ninth, after series standout Donovan Jordan opened the inning with a single.
Kaden Peer attempted to bunt Jordan over to second and was unsuccessful, as Jordan was thrown out. The recent returnee from injury, Chris Patterson, singled to center to move Peer to second, and a groundout by Maosinet moved both runners over with two outs and another chance for Mizzou at walk-off heroics. Isaiah Frost, the pinch-hitter couldn’t come through, striking out, sending the game to extras.
Offense across the board was kept relatively quiet until the dam broke in the 11th. Two batters were retired by Lawrence before the two-out rally ensued. Ryker Waite, on the opening pitch in his at-bat, took Lawrence deep, crushing a 407-foot blast over the right-field fence.
Lawrence’s command depleted soon after, putting the next three batters on base via two walks and a hit by pitch. Isaiah Salas came in from the bullpen to stop the bleeding but was unable to do so, allowing a two-run single to Logan Johnstone.
Missouri’s order of Mateo Serna, Jordan and Peer all went down in order, giving Vanderbilt a taste of revenge after bullpen miscues led to their downfall in game one.
The Three Musketeers
Durnin, Jordan, and Blaize Ward have all had standout performances at the plate throughout, serving as bright spots even when the offense was quiet. Durnin, a combined 5-for-11, 3 RBI Jordan 4-for-11, 3 RBI and Ward 3-of-9, 3 RBI, they were the three guys who kept showing up for Missouri throughout both games.
Ward was the one who kept the offense moving, stacking five hits across the series and driving in runs in both games, including the single that kicked off the six‑run eighth on Friday and another RBI knock in Saturday’s early surge.
Jordan delivered the biggest swing of the weekend with the walk‑off single in Game 1 and kept finding barrels, finishing the two games with four hits and three RBI while mixing in a double and a handful of quality at‑bats.
“It’s been really cool to see his progress,” Jackson said of Jordan. “He’s a guy who red-shirted at Texas last year and has been waiting for opportunities to present themselves. He’s jumped in there and had big hits for us, whether it’s coming off the bench, whether it’s not playing for a number of games, then getting inserted into the lineup. He’s a tough competitor who wants to be in those situations.”
Durnin wasn’t as loud but was in the middle of almost every scoring inning. He doubled in each game, drove in three, scored three more, and drew the bases‑loaded walk that tied Friday’s comeback. Together, the three have been a steady thread for Jackson’s group.
Up Next
Missouri and Vanderbilt close the series on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. at Taylor Stadium, with both teams trying to steady themselves after two chaotic, late‑night finishes. Mizzou will look to carry over the pieces of offense that more than showed up in stretches on Friday and Saturday, while Vanderbilt tries to lock down a critical road series for their tournament hopes before heading into the final week of SEC play.
