COLUMBIA, Mo. – Matt Garcia’s two-out, bases-loaded double capped a four-run eighth inning for University of Missouri baseball, as the Tigers rallied from a five-run deficit to edge Auburn, 12-11, Friday evening in the opening game of the two clubs’ Southeastern Conference series at Taylor Stadium.
Trailing 11-6 after Auburn scored six times in the top of the seventh inning, Mizzou (22-28, 8-17 SEC) plated six unanswered runs over the next two innings and used a shutdown relief performance from Bryce Mayer (2-6) to lock up the victory.
Garcia delivered the biggest blow of the comeback, driving Parker Carlson’s 0-1 offering into the gap in left-center field for a three-run double that turned an 11-9 deficit into a one-run lead for the Tigers. Jedier Hernandez’s third hit of the ballgame — an RBI single to left — sparked the pivotal surge, starting a string of three consecutive two-out hits that kept the rally alive for Mizzou. Danny Corona and Matthew Serna followed with base hits to center, loading the bases for Garcia’s go-ahead double.
Mayer finished off the victory with his second scoreless frame of relief, working out of jams in each of the final two innings to secure the contest for the Tigers. The junior right-hander wiggled out of a bases-loaded, nobody-out situation in the eighth, inducing a 1-2-3 double-play grounder and a bouncer to shortstop to keep AU off the scoreboard. A one-out error and a walk put the potential tying and go-ahead runs aboard in the ninth, but Mayer once again extinguished the threat, this time blowing third strikes past Cade Belyeu and Caden Green to end the contest.
Garcia finished the night with four RBIs, while Hernandez went 3-for-5 and drove in a pair of runs to lead a contingent of five Tigers who finished with multiple hits.
Justin Colon was one of those, going 2-for-4 with key hits in a pair of early rallies that gave Mizzou leads. With two out in the second, Colon belted a two-run homer to left that handed the Tigers a 2-0 lead. He also ignited a three-run burst in the fifth with a leadoff infield single, scoring on Jackson Lovich’s RBI bouncer to short moments later. The Tigers countered a string of five unanswered Auburn runs in the third and fourth innings, plating the tying run on a two-out, bases-loaded walk to Serna, then taking a 6-5 lead on a wild pitch that brought home Trevor Austin from third.
Auburn (23-25, 4-21 SEC) battled back in the seventh, using a two-run double by Eric Guevara and a bases-loaded triple by Ike Irish to push six runs across the plate for an 11-6 lead.
After Mizzou cut into the deficit on RBI singles by Hernandez and Serna in the home half of the seventh, the visiting Tigers appeared poised to extend their lead in the top of the seventh after three consecutive walks loaded the bases.
But Mayer would need just six pitches to escape the jam, getting Guevara to chop a 3-1 pitch back to the mound to start the double-play comebacker, then retiring Chris Stanfield on a first-pitch bouncer to Drew Culbertson at shortstop.
Irish led Auburn at the plate, finishing the night 3-for-5 with four RBIs, including one of three fourth-inning home runs by the Tigers.
TIGER NOTEBOOK
- Missouri now boasts a 14-11 all-time series advantage over Auburn, including a 6-4 edge in Columbia.
- MU clinched its first win over the visiting Tigers since May 22, 2021, stopping a string of four-straight losses to Auburn.
- The Tigers’ rally from a five-run deficit is Mizzou’s largest in a victory since Feb. 17 at Cal Poly, a 12-8 victory after trailing 9-4.
- Colon’s home run marked his second of the season—and his first since the same Feb. 17 win at Cal Poly—and his sixth as a Tiger.
- Colon also logged his fifth multi-hit game with a 2-for-4 night.
- Austin crossed home plate twice to score his team-leading 44th and 45th run of the season.
- Hernandez matched a career high with three hits, registering his 11th multi-hit outing of the season.
- Serna (2-for-4) has reached safely in 11-straight games, with at least one hit in all but two of those contests (since April 9).
- Lovich continued his recent RBI run, driving in a run with a fifth-inning grounder to mark his sixth-consecutive outing with at least one run batted-in.
- Lovich ran his team-leading RBI total to 31 for the season.
UP NEXT
Mizzou and Auburn will square off again Saturday (May 11) for game two of the series at Taylor. Senior Day festivities are scheduled to begin at 2:30 pm, with first pitch set to follow at 3 pm (CDT). Single-game tickets for each of the Tigers’ two remaining 2024 home contests are on sale now via phone at 1-800-CAT-PAWS or by visiting MUTigers.com/Tickets.
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