Baseball Drops Home Finale to Conclude Regular Season

Saturday, May 17

Columbia, Mo.

2 p.m.

University of Missouri

16-38, 3-27

Mississippi State

34-20, 15-15

Mississippi State

Missouri

Baseball Drops Home Finale to Conclude Regular Season

5/17/2025 6:38:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mississippi State scored six times in the first inning and relied on five strong innings from starting pitcher Karson Ligon to complete a three-game Southeastern Conference series sweep of University of Missouri baseball with a 12-1 victory over the Tigers Saturday afternoon at Taylor Stadium.

After using early power surges to build insurmountable leads in each of their first two wins in the series, the Bulldogs once again turned to the long ball to gain an early advantage in the finale. Hunter Hines homered for the fourth time in the series to open the scoring with a two-out, two-run shot in the opening frame. Mizzou starter Josh McDevitt (0-2) quickly dispatched the first two batters of the game, before Noah Sullivan singled to kick off a stretch that would see seven-consecutive Bulldog hitters reach base safely.

Following Hines' homer, Bryce Chance kept the rally alive with a double, before a hit batsman and a Ross Highfill single brought home the third MSU run. Nolan Stevens added to the tally with a two-run double, and Gatlin Sanders made it a six-run inning with his base hit through the right side of the Mizzou infield.

Mississippi State added to its lead in the second, thanks to an Ace Reese single and a two-run homer by Sullivan. Ligon (6-5) ran into trouble in the home half of the second, as a Mateo Serna leadoff single and a pair of hit by pitches loaded the bases with one out. Brock Daniels came through with a long fly ball to center to bring in Serna with what would prove to be the Tigers' only offense of the afternoon.

Ligon, who scattered three hits over his 5.0 frames, used one of his seven strikeouts to escape the second without incurring any further damage. The right-hander picked up steam from that point, retiring 10-straight hitters until a two-out Jackson Lovich single in the fifth.

The Bulldogs (34-20, 15-15 SEC) extended their lead on Reese's 21st homer of the season – a leadoff solo shot – in the fourth, then broke the game wide open with three more in the sixth. A pair of walks and another hit by pitch loaded the bases, setting up a run-scoring grounder from Chance and a two-run double by Reed Stallman.

After Ligon exited following the fifth, MSU relievers Ryan McPherson and Charlie Foster closed out the victory with scoreless innings.

Mizzou senior relievers Seth McCartney and James Vaughn teamed up to work a scoreless seventh for the Tigers (16-38, 3-27 SEC), after Victor Christal turned in a scoreless inning of his own. Xavier Lovett shouldered the load with 3.1 innings in relief of McDevitt, striking out a pair of Bulldogs in the fourth.

TIGER NOTEBOOK

Saturday's official attendance of 1,668 brought the Tigers cumulative 2025 home attendance to 33,469, which ranks as the third-best in Mizzou history; the Tigers home average of 1,395 spectators at Taylor Stadium this spring also ranks as the third-highest in program history.
Keegan Knutson saw his six-game hit streak come to an end with an 0-for-2 afternoon.
Lovich logged his team-leading 18^th multi-hit performance this season with his 2-for-3 day at the plate.
Mississippi State improved to 16-7 all-time against the Tigers.

UP NEXT
Mizzou will travel to Hoover, Ala., to compete in the 2025 Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament, beginning Tuesday (May 20) at 9:30 a.m.

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