
Baseball Prepped for StorageMart Border Showdown at Kansas
3/16/2026 5:37:00 PM | Baseball
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Baseball will hit the road for rival territory Tuesday, making the trip to Lawrence, Kansas, for a mid-week clash versus Kansas in the first of two 2026 editions of the StorageMart Border Showdown.
The Tigers (15-5, 0-3 SEC) saw their 13-game winning streak get snapped over the weekend, coming off a competitive series with No. 6 Auburn in which they dropped games 2-0, 4-3 (10 inn.) and 9-2, respectively. Kansas (11-8, 1-2 Big 12) is coming off its opening weekend of Big 12 play where it dropped a series to Texas Tech, two games to one. The Jayhawks salvaged the series with an 18-7 win in Sunday's finale.
Tuesday's game will mark the 355th all-time meeting of the teams, making KU the Tigers' most frequent opponent. The Tigers hold a 220-132-2 all-time lead in the series which dates back 125 years to the 1901 season. Kansas is scheduled to pay a return visit to the Tigers in Columbia on March 31 at 7 p.m.
The game will be streamed live on ESPN+. All Mizzou Baseball games are available via audio stream on The Varsity Network app by Learfield with longtime Mizzou play-by-play voice Tex Little alongside Matt Michaels providing color. Tickets can be purchased at THIS LINK.
Expected Pitching Matchup vs. Kansas
- Tuesday, March 17 (6 P.M. CT)
- Mizzou – RHP Luke Sullivan (0-0, 2.70 ERA, 13.1 IP, 9 K, 2 BB)
- Kansas – RHP Kannon Carr (0-0, 2.45 ERA, 14.2 IP, 17 K, 6 BB)
- Mizzou vs. Kansas, Tuesday, March 17 @ 6 P.M. CT | Hoglund Ballpark | LIVE STATS | TV
SCOUTING THE JAYHAWKS
- Kansas enters the mid-week clash at 11-8 on the season overall.
- Offensively, the Jayhawks are slashing .263/.388/.447, hitting 26 home runs, four triples and 33 doubles.
- Kansas has a +10 scoring margin on the season, scoring 133 runs and allowing 123. The Tigers hold a +108 margin, for comparison.
- Jordan Bach leads the Jayhawks with a .356 batting average and 26 hits on the season, including four home runs and six doubles.
- Augusto Mungarrieta enters Tuesday as the team leader in home runs (5) and has driven in a team-best 16 runs.
- Another key piece for Kansas offensively is Brady Ballinger, who is hitting .311 with five doubles, a triple and a pair of home runs to go along with 16 RBI – tied for the team lead.
- As a team, Kansas is pitching to a 6.15 ERA through 162.1 innings, striking out 174 and walking 78.
SERIES HISTORY
- This will the 355th all-time meeting between the two programs, with the Tigers leading the series 220-132-2.
- Mizzou has won four of the last seven matchups with the Jayhawks.
ON THE BUMP
- Freshman RHP Luke Sullivan will make his third start and sixth appearance overall on the mound for the Tigers. The St. Louis native has pitched 13.2 innings overall, striking out nine and walking just two while allowing four runs on 10 hits for a 2.70 ERA. He was especially sharp in his first career start on Feb. 25 vs. UAPB, going 5.1 innings and allowing just one baserunner (one hit) and striking out five.
MAKING STRIDES ON THE MOUND
- Under first-year pitching coach Drew Dickinson, the Tigers have made impressive strides on the mound through the first 20 games of the campaign.
- As of March 16, the Tigers rank 10th nationally in hits allowed per nine innings (6.67), 41st in strikeouts per nine innings (10.5), 43rd in WHIP (1.31) and 48th in ERA (4.13).
- Five innings from starting pitching has become the standard under Dickinson in 2026. Through the first 20 games of the season, Mizzou starters have gone five-plus innings in 16 out of 20 starts.
- In the opening weekend of SEC play vs. No. 6 Auburn, Mizzou starters Javyn Pimental, Josh McDevitt and Brady Kehlenbrink each went six-plus innings.
- The starting rotation has combined for a 9-1 record, a 3.58 ERA, 116 strikeouts to just 43 walks and opponents are batting just .183 against the unit.
CONSECUTIVE SHUTOUTS FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2017
- The Tigers recorded consecutive shutouts for the first time since May 18-19, 2017, after defeating UIC 7-0 and 10-0, respectively, March 7 and 8.
- Those shutouts accounted for 16 innings within a 22-inning stretch of consecutive scoreless frames by Tiger pitchers.
OFFENSE CONTINUES TO ROAR
- The Tigers are No. 4 nationally in triples (9), No. 7 in HBP (49), No. 14 in runs (192), No. 19 in on-base percentage (.440), No. 32 in batting average (.310) and No. 39 in hits (202).
- With the Tigers 15-1 victory over UAPB on Feb. 24, they became the fastest team in program history to reach 100 runs (8 Games).
- The Tigers' run-rule victory over UAPB on Feb. 24 marked the first time Mizzou has recorded four-straight run-rule wins in the 56-game regular season era (1997).
- MU earned its fifth run-rule victory of the season on Sunday (March 8) in a 10-0 win over UIC.
MACON US GO!
- Lead-off hitter Tyler Macon has been a spark plug for the Mizzou offense to start the season.
- Through the first 20 games of the campaign, Macon is seventh in the SEC in hits (30) with a .417 batting average (No. 57 NCAA, No. 5 SEC), 25 runs (No. 11 SEC) and 25 RBI (No. 11 SEC).
- Macon has slugged a team-best seven doubles and a pair of triples and is getting on base at a .516 clip (No. 9 SEC) thanks to walking equal times (14) to striking out (10).
- In the game three record-breaking win over Mount St. Mary's on Feb. 15, Macon became the first Tiger in program history to go 8-for-8 on base – going 6-for-6 at the plate with a pair of doubles, eight RBI and four runs scored, also reaching twice via walk.
- In addition, Macon became just the third Tiger ever to record six hits in a game and the first since Jeff Terrell in 1995 (6-for-6, cycle, vs. Iowa State). The other was Jay Hawkins in 1956 in a 27-4 win over Nebraska (6-for-7, school-record six runs scored, three stolen bases, four RBI).
LIGHTING UP THE SCOREBOARD
- The Tigers have scored 192 runs through 20 games (9.6 per game) to rank 14th nationally and third within the Southeastern Conference.
PASS THE TORCH
- The Tigers have already hit consecutive home runs on three occasions this season:
- Sam Parker / Chris Patterson (Feb. 15 vs. Mount St. Mary's, 8th inning)
- Eric Maisonet / Isaiah Frost (March 5 vs. UIC, 7th inning)
- Kaden Peer / Cameron Benson / Pierre Seals (March 8 vs. UIC, 3rd inning)
- In the series finale vs. UIC on March 8, the entire starting outfield (Peer, Benson, Seals) went back-to-back-to-back in a matter of five pitches – all solo shots.
- It marked the second time of Benson's career being a part of back-to-back-to-back home runs, the first coming April 11, 2023, as a member of the Kerrick Jackson-coached Memphis Tigers in an 11-9 win at Ole Miss.
GOING STREAKING!
- Mizzou had its 13-game winning streak snapped over the weekend – its longest since rattling off 20-straight victories in 2017.
- South Carolina grad transfer Jase Woita and outfielder Cameron Benson are each riding 15-game on-base streaks into Tuesday's matchup.
- In addition, Benson extended his hitting streak to 10 games over the weekend, hitting safely in all three games against No. 6 Auburn.
- Graduate outfielder Pierre Seals has put together a five-game hitting streak, second-longest actively on the team.
- Center fielder Kaden Peer has been on base in all eight games since returning from injury.
- Shortstop Kam Durnin has reached base safely in seven-straight games.
ON LIKE DONKEY KONG
- Mizzou ranks 19th nationally with a .440 on-base percentage, major thanks to ranking 39th nationally in hits (202).
- The Tigers have drawn 108 free passes to rank 46th nationally in that category.
- In addition, MU ranks seventh in the country with 49 HBP.
WEAR IT!
- The Tigers are averaging 2.45 HBP per game to rank seventh nationally, being plunked 49 times so far this season.
- Winthrop leads the nation with 65 HBP.
- Mizzou has been hit five-plus times on five occasions and has been hit at least twice in half of its games (10).
- Freshman Blazie Ward was hit three different times in the series finale versus New Haven and has been hit six times (tied for the team lead) in just 34 at-bats.
KEEP STACKING BRICKS
- The Tigers and head coach Kerrick Jackson have developed a new winning ritual: stacking bricks.
- After each win, the Tigers add a brick to the wall, each of them resting on three black cinder blocks at the base of the wall that each display one of the team's three core values: accountability, respect and connection.
- The bricks themselves have a color-code black are non-conference victories, gold are SEC victories and tiger-striped brick signifies a series-clinching victory.
DEFEND THE TURF
- Mizzou is in its first season of a brand-new turf surface at Taylor Stadium, and the Tigers are off to a 10-3 start on the new digs.
- With their 10-0 shutout of UIC on Sunday (March 8), the Tigers officially have more home wins this season than they had all of last season, going 8-20 at Taylor Stadium in 2025.
NON-CON DOMINANCE
- After concluding the 2025 season with a 13-11 record against non-conference opponents, the Tigers are off to a 15-2 start in 2026.
- Last year's Tigers clinched a winning non-con season slate for the 11th time in the last 12 seasons; only MU's 2021 squad (7-14) failed to reach the .500 mark vs. non-SEC foes over that span.
- Over the last 13 seasons, the Tigers' dominance has been equally impressive, with MU winning 117 more non-conference games than it has lost (207-90).
C-LOHSE-ING TIME
- Lefty Ian Lohse has served as a key back-end bullpen piece so far for the Tigers, locking down four saves through the first 20 games of the season - tied for second in the SEC and 11th nationally.
- He recorded three saves in a matter of four days from Feb. 25-28, including two in the same day in the double-header sweep of NDSU on Feb. 28.
- On the season, the sixth-year southpaw has pitched to the tune of a 3.86 ERA over 7.0 innings, racking up 11 strikeouts.
HISTORIC OFFENSIVE OUTPUT
- Mizzou baseball used a record-setting performance from its offense in Sunday's series finale to earn a dominant 34-3 victory over Mount St. Mary's on Feb. 15.
- Missouri's 34 runs were its second most in a single game in program history and the most since a 35-run outing in 1902.
- As a team, the Tigers had a program-best 32 RBI, passing the previous record of 28 against Texas on April 19, 2008.
- In addition, the Tigers' 26 hits matched a program record that had been done just twice (2005 vs. Navy; 2008 vs. Texas).
- Lead-off hitter Tyler Macon went 6-for-6 (eight RBI) to become the third Tiger in program history with a six-hit performance while Jase Woita, batting second, went 4-for-7 with a home run and eight RBI. The top two spots in the Tigers' lineup combined to go 10-for-13 with 16 RBI and seven runs scored, while both Macon and Woita came up one RBI short of tying the school record (nine).
- Left fielder Isaiah Frost was overshadowed while still having a huge day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a double and five RBI.
- Four Tigers scored four runs apiece: Macon, Chris Patterson, Jamal George and Gehrig Goldbeck.
- Overall, 11 Tigers recorded hits while 13 players scored a run.
STAYING IN THE SHOW ME STATE
- The 2026 Mizzou roster features 13 players from the state of Missouri: Dane Bjorn (St. Louis / Lindbergh HS), JD Dohrmann (St. Louis / St. John Vianney HS), Kam Durnin (Linn Creek / Camdenton HS), Isaiah Frost (Lee's Summit / Blue Springs South HS), Leo Humbert (St. Charles / Francis Howell HS), Brady Kehlenbrink (Ballwin / Parkway South HS), Ian Lohse (St. Louis / Marquette HS), Tyler Macon (Kirkwood / Kirkwood HS), Kaden Peer (Chesterfield / CBC HS), Eli Skidmore (O'Fallon / Francis Howell HS), Ben Smith (Springfield / Springfield Catholic HS), Luke Sullivan (St. Louis / Parkway South HS), Richie Swain (Wentzville / Timberland HS).
INTERNATIONAL INFLUENCE
- The 2026 Mizzou roster includes five players from outside of the United States: Juliomar Campos (San Juan, P.R.), Jamal George (Trujillo Alto, P.R.), Eric Maisonet (Florida, P.R.), Keyler Gonzalez (Santa Clara, Cuba), Juan Villarreal (Panama City, Panama).
FOLLOW THE TIGERS
For all the latest information on Mizzou baseball, please visit MUTigers.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Tigers on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

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