The Missouri Tigers baseball team will host Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) on Apr. 21 at Taylor Stadium in a midweek game scheduled for 6 p.m. Central Time, according to an announcement from the university. The event, designated as CoMo Day, will offer free admission to Columbia residents and feature a t-shirt giveaway for the first 200 fans.
The matchup is significant as it brings together two teams aiming to improve their records in front of a national audience on SEC Network. The Tigers will debut alternate jerseys inspired by local landmark The Columns. Notably, NASCAR Hall of Famer Carl Edwards, a Columbia native, is set to throw out the ceremonial first pitch, while John Warner Middle School students will perform the national anthem.
Missouri enters the contest with an even record of 20-20 after losing all three games in its recent series against No. 14 Oklahoma. Sophomore pitcher Brady Kehlenbrink has been highlighted for his performance this season, striking out nine or more batters in five of his ten starts.
On offense, Jase Woita leads the team with nine home runs and has collected 41 runs batted in this season—ranking him eighth in the Southeastern Conference for RBIs. Freshman infielder Blaize Ward recently earned SEC Co-Freshman of the Week honors after batting .615 during a series win over Kentucky.
SIUE comes into Tuesday’s game with a record of 21-19 overall and sits atop its conference standings alongside Little Rock. Junior Ryan Niedwiedz recently broke SIUE’s career home run record with his thirty-sixth homer.
The pitching matchup features Missouri’s left-hander Dane Bjorn (0-0 record; 3.52 ERA) against SIUE’s right-hander Brady Coon (0-0; 7.11 ERA). Fans can follow all Mizzou baseball games via audio stream on The Varsity Network app.
