SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Riding a shutdown pitching performance and some timely hitting, Missouri baseball edged Cal Poly, 3-1, in the second game of the two clubs’ season-opening doubleheader, giving Kerrick Jackson his first head coaching victory as head coach of the Tigers.
Carter Rustad (1-0) took a no-hitter into the fifth inning and struck out six Mustangs over 5.0 shutout innings to earn the victory, before a pair of relievers kept Cal Poly in check down the stretch. Thomas Curry provided all the offense the Tiger pitching staff would need, belting a two-run homer in the fifth inning to break up a scoreless pitcher’s duel.
Curry, a freshman seeing his first collegiate action, powered the Mizzou offense in both ends of the doubleheader, finishing his day a combined 3-for-5 with three walks.
Rustad and Cal Poly right-hander Steven Brooks kept the game scoreless into the fifth inning. Each hurler turned in dominant opening stretches, striking out six opposing batters apiece, with Curry’s third-inning double representing the lone hit of the first four frames.
Rustad worked around hit batsmen in the first and third innings, doing so with the aid of six strikeouts through four innings. Only one Cal Poly baserunner reached scoring position, and the Mustangs would not record a hit until Evan Cloyd led off the fifth with a single to left. The Tigers’ senior right-hander avoided further damage by inducing a fielder’s choice grounder and a pair of fly balls to end his evening.
From there, graduate lefty Ryan Magdic impressed in his Mizzou debut, working a 1-2-3 sixth inning and minimizing a seventh-inning threat with a pair of strikeouts after a walk, passed ball and Cal Poly sac fly sliced the MU lead to 2-1. Fellow transfer Jacob Peaden took over in the eighth and coaxed a 5-4-3 double play and an inning-ending strikeout to preserved the one-run cushion.
The Tiger offense added a key insurance run on a Jackson Lovich two-out double in the top of the ninth after Jedier Hernandez doubled to start the rally.
Peaden once again rose to the occasion in the home half, brushing off a fielding error and a hit batsmen and fanning Alejandro Garza on a check swing to end the game.
Brooks (0-1) suffered the loss for Cal Poly, despite striking out a career-high 12 hitters in 7.0 innings.
Curry finished the contest 2-for-2 with two walks and two critical RBIs, while Rustad, Magdic and Peaden combined to strike out 11 batters in the one-hit victory.
Game one followed a similar pattern, albeit with a decidedly different outcome for the Tigers, who dropped a 3-2 decision, despite out-hitting the Mustangs by an 8-to-7 margin.
The Cal Poly pitching tandem of Jakob Wright (1-0) and Tanner Sagouspe teamed up to strike out eight Tigers, while holding Mizzou to single tallies in the third and eighth innings. Wright worked into the seventh inning, finishing his day with five punchouts while scattering six hits and allowing just one run.
After the Mustangs scored single runs in the second, fourth and fifth frames to snap a 1-1 deadlock, Mizzou mounted a late charge, scoring a run in the eighth on a Hernandez RBI groundout. Tucker Moore, who logged a 2-for-4 afternoon in his debut game for the Tigers, drilled a leadoff double off the left-field wall to start the ninth, setting up a potential game-tying threat.
But Sagouspe promptly struck out back-to-back Mizzou batters, then coaxed a game-ending fly ball to right off the bat of Drew Culbertson to hand the Mustangs the win. Sagouspe fanned three hitters in his 2 1/3 frames to earn the save.
Tate Shimao led the Cal Poly charge at the plate, tripling and scoring in the second inning to open the scoring against Mizzou starter Bryce Mayer (0-1).
Wright would need little breathing room, allowing just two hits after a third-inning Mizzou rally briefly knotted the score at 1-1. Culbertson and Jackson Beaman started the inning with back-to-back singles, before Trevor Austin’s chopper to short plated the equalizing run.
But Shimao struck again an inning later to help turn the tide in Cal Poly’s favor for good. The sophomore designated hitter sparked the go-ahead rally by drawing a one-out walk before moving into scoring position on an errant pickoff attempt. Dylan Kordic snapped the 1-1 tie with a sacrifice fly to center, giving Cal Poly a lead it would hold for the duration of the game.
Mizzou left-hander Ian Lohse gave the Tigers a lift out of the bullpen, registering 3.0 scoreless innings following a scoreless frame by Nic Smith in the fifth. Lohse fanned Casey Murray with two on in the sixth to extinguish a Mustangs threat, then dispatched the final six Cal Poly hitters of the game to keep the Tigers within striking distance.
At the plate, the Tigers received a boost from a trio of freshmen—Culbertson (1-for-3), Moore (2-for-4) and Curry (1-for-3)—who combined to go 4-for-10 in the contest. Lovich added a two-hit performance as well to lead MU’s eight-hit attack.
TIGER NOTEBOOK
UP NEXT
The Tigers and Mustangs continue their four-game series Saturday (Feb. 17) with a single contest that has been rescheduled for 11 a.m. (CST).
Carter Rustad (1-0) took a no-hitter into the fifth inning and struck out six Mustangs over 5.0 shutout innings to earn the victory, before a pair of relievers kept Cal Poly in check down the stretch. Thomas Curry provided all the offense the Tiger pitching staff would need, belting a two-run homer in the fifth inning to break up a scoreless pitcher’s duel.
Curry, a freshman seeing his first collegiate action, powered the Mizzou offense in both ends of the doubleheader, finishing his day a combined 3-for-5 with three walks.
Rustad and Cal Poly right-hander Steven Brooks kept the game scoreless into the fifth inning. Each hurler turned in dominant opening stretches, striking out six opposing batters apiece, with Curry’s third-inning double representing the lone hit of the first four frames.
Rustad worked around hit batsmen in the first and third innings, doing so with the aid of six strikeouts through four innings. Only one Cal Poly baserunner reached scoring position, and the Mustangs would not record a hit until Evan Cloyd led off the fifth with a single to left. The Tigers’ senior right-hander avoided further damage by inducing a fielder’s choice grounder and a pair of fly balls to end his evening.
From there, graduate lefty Ryan Magdic impressed in his Mizzou debut, working a 1-2-3 sixth inning and minimizing a seventh-inning threat with a pair of strikeouts after a walk, passed ball and Cal Poly sac fly sliced the MU lead to 2-1. Fellow transfer Jacob Peaden took over in the eighth and coaxed a 5-4-3 double play and an inning-ending strikeout to preserved the one-run cushion.
The Tiger offense added a key insurance run on a Jackson Lovich two-out double in the top of the ninth after Jedier Hernandez doubled to start the rally.
Peaden once again rose to the occasion in the home half, brushing off a fielding error and a hit batsmen and fanning Alejandro Garza on a check swing to end the game.
Brooks (0-1) suffered the loss for Cal Poly, despite striking out a career-high 12 hitters in 7.0 innings.
Curry finished the contest 2-for-2 with two walks and two critical RBIs, while Rustad, Magdic and Peaden combined to strike out 11 batters in the one-hit victory.
Game one followed a similar pattern, albeit with a decidedly different outcome for the Tigers, who dropped a 3-2 decision, despite out-hitting the Mustangs by an 8-to-7 margin.
The Cal Poly pitching tandem of Jakob Wright (1-0) and Tanner Sagouspe teamed up to strike out eight Tigers, while holding Mizzou to single tallies in the third and eighth innings. Wright worked into the seventh inning, finishing his day with five punchouts while scattering six hits and allowing just one run.
After the Mustangs scored single runs in the second, fourth and fifth frames to snap a 1-1 deadlock, Mizzou mounted a late charge, scoring a run in the eighth on a Hernandez RBI groundout. Tucker Moore, who logged a 2-for-4 afternoon in his debut game for the Tigers, drilled a leadoff double off the left-field wall to start the ninth, setting up a potential game-tying threat.
But Sagouspe promptly struck out back-to-back Mizzou batters, then coaxed a game-ending fly ball to right off the bat of Drew Culbertson to hand the Mustangs the win. Sagouspe fanned three hitters in his 2 1/3 frames to earn the save.
Tate Shimao led the Cal Poly charge at the plate, tripling and scoring in the second inning to open the scoring against Mizzou starter Bryce Mayer (0-1).
Wright would need little breathing room, allowing just two hits after a third-inning Mizzou rally briefly knotted the score at 1-1. Culbertson and Jackson Beaman started the inning with back-to-back singles, before Trevor Austin’s chopper to short plated the equalizing run.
But Shimao struck again an inning later to help turn the tide in Cal Poly’s favor for good. The sophomore designated hitter sparked the go-ahead rally by drawing a one-out walk before moving into scoring position on an errant pickoff attempt. Dylan Kordic snapped the 1-1 tie with a sacrifice fly to center, giving Cal Poly a lead it would hold for the duration of the game.
Mizzou left-hander Ian Lohse gave the Tigers a lift out of the bullpen, registering 3.0 scoreless innings following a scoreless frame by Nic Smith in the fifth. Lohse fanned Casey Murray with two on in the sixth to extinguish a Mustangs threat, then dispatched the final six Cal Poly hitters of the game to keep the Tigers within striking distance.
At the plate, the Tigers received a boost from a trio of freshmen—Culbertson (1-for-3), Moore (2-for-4) and Curry (1-for-3)—who combined to go 4-for-10 in the contest. Lovich added a two-hit performance as well to lead MU’s eight-hit attack.
TIGER NOTEBOOK
- Missouri secured its first victory in the state of California since defeating Cal Poly in Los Angeles to open the 2011 season, ending a six-game skid in the Golden State.
- Mizzou fell to 80-44-1 all-time in season openers, including victories in seven of its last 11 such games.
- The Tigers improved to 3-2 all-time vs. Cal Poly.
- MU has fallen in back-to-back season openers for the first time since dropping the first games of the 2012 and 2013 seasons.
- Lovich’s two-hit game in the opener is his second career multi-hit performance, joining a March 5, 2023 three-hit effort vs. Texas Southern.
- Beaman made his second career start in the opener, marking his first since Feb. 21, 2022 at Nicholls State; he also notched his first hit since March 15, 2022 against Saint Louis, the second of his career.
- Moore, a redshirt freshman, logged a two-hit performance in his collegiate debut.
- Rustad’s six strikeouts marked a Mizzou career high for the fifth-year senior, as well as his best single-game total since fanning eight Santa Clara hitters on April 25, 2021.
- Rustad’s victory is the 13th of his NCAA Division I career and first since April 16, 2022 vs. Kentucky.
- Peaden registered his fourth career save and his first since May 22, 2021 at Saint Louis.
- In all, nine Tigers made their Mizzou debuts on Friday: Moore, Culbertson, Danny Corona, Peaden, Magdic, Hernandez, Mayer, Curry and Jeric Curtis.
UP NEXT
The Tigers and Mustangs continue their four-game series Saturday (Feb. 17) with a single contest that has been rescheduled for 11 a.m. (CST).
