Missouri Baseball Falters in Friday Game at No. 18 Alabama, Loses Series

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— The Missouri baseball team extended its SEC skid to 0-20 on Friday night, going down to No. 18 Alabama 7-3 at Sewell-Thomas Stadium for the second game in a row.

Things were looking up through an inning of play on Thursday, as the Tigers (13-29, 0-20 SEC) held a 5-0 advantage after getting to Crimson Tide starting pitcher Tyler Fay. Things cascaded downwards from there, culminating in seven unanswered Alabama runs and a Missouri loss.

The string of bad luck continued in the early stages of Friday's contest when starting left fielder Brock Daniels was ruled not to have been on the team's roster of eligible players for the series during the second inning. He had already caught a fly ball for an out in the first.

Daniels' spot was declared an automatic out for the first at-bat. On a more positive note, third baseman Chris Patterson picked up the team's first extra-base hit of the series during the frame. Alabama got on the board with a two-run home run from left fielder Kade Snell in the third.

The Crimson Tide (34-10, 11-9 SEC) had threatened to blow the game open but left the bases loaded in the top of the third. The home team did, however, score four runs in the bottom of the fifth to max out its lead at six runs.

Missouri began to chip away immediately, with an RBI triple from Patterson in the top of the sixth plating the visitors' first run. Pierre Seals, who took Daniels' place in the lineup, singled Patterson in to make it 6-2.

Just before the seventh inning stretch, the Tigers added a third run courtesy of a sacrifice fly from Kaden Peer. Alabama got that run back with a solo moonshot from third baseman Jason Torres in the home half. Torres has been struggling at the dish, but the Missouri dugout wouldn't have known it watching the baseball fly.

Crimson Tide senior reliever Braylon Myers picked up a three-inning save, his second of the year. Tigers starter Wil Libbert took the loss; he pitched three innings and was one of four arms used by head coach Kerrick Jackson in the game.

The Tigers, who were outhit 11-7 Friday and stranded eight runners on base, have one more chance to take a game from the Crimson Tide. Saturday's series finale begins at 1 p.m. CT and will be live streamed on SEC Network+.

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