Columbia News

The Missouri Tigers baseball team is set to face the No. 23 Kansas Jayhawks in a non-conference game on Tuesday evening at Hoglund Ballpark in Lawrence, Kansas. The first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m., with coverage available on ESPN+ and the Tiger Radio Network via the Varsity Network app.

This matchup marks the 353rd meeting between Missouri and Kansas, with Missouri holding a 220-130-2 advantage in the all-time series. The Tigers have won 69 of their 121 games played in Lawrence but have managed just two victories in their last eight contests at Hoglund Ballpark since 2010. Last season, the teams split their home-and-home series, each winning once in extra innings.

Missouri enters the game with a record of 13-30 after being swept by No. 16 Alabama over the weekend. Under head coach Kerrick Jackson, now in his second year after returning to Columbia where he previously served as an assistant coach from 2011-15, the Tigers are looking to rebound. Jackson reached his 100th career coaching victory earlier this season against UConn.

Key contributors for Missouri include junior infielder Jackson Lovich, who has been performing strongly at the plate with a .387 average, seven home runs, and 34 RBIs over his last 31 games. Sophomore outfielder Kaden Peer leads the team with 11 stolen bases and has reached base safely in a streak of 21 consecutive games earlier this season. Several newcomers such as Pierre Seals and Cayden Nicoletto have also made significant impacts offensively.

On the mound, senior right-hander Kaden Jacobi leads Missouri pitchers with 42 strikeouts across multiple roles this season. Graduate left-hander Ian Lohse recently returned from injury and has recorded 40 strikeouts in just over 30 innings pitched.

Missouri’s pitching staff has tallied exactly one strikeout per inning so far this season (346 strikeouts in 346.1 innings), maintaining a trend seen throughout much of the past three decades for the program.

For Kansas, third-year head coach Dan Fitzgerald’s squad enters Tuesday’s contest with a strong record of 35-10 and holds fourth place in team batting average within the Big 12 Conference at .297. The Jayhawks lead their conference—and rank ninth nationally—in home runs (84). Their offensive leaders include Jackson Hauge with 17 home runs and Brady Ballinger hitting .374 while leading KU in several categories including hits and doubles.

Kansas pitchers have compiled a team ERA of 4.66 along with five shutouts this year. RHP Malakai Vetock is slated to start against Missouri’s Josh Kirchhoff.

The previous meeting between these teams took place at Kauffman Stadium on March 19, when Kansas edged out Missouri in extra innings to split last season’s series.

Missouri has already secured a winning record against non-conference opponents for an eleventh time in twelve seasons since only falling below .500 once since 2013.

Several individual milestones are within reach for Tigers players: Jackson Lovich recently surpassed the career mark of 100 hits; Cameron Benson did so earlier this month; Pierre Seals is four hits away from reaching that milestone; Ian Lohse needs five more strikeouts to reach his own career mark of 150 Ks.

Tuesday’s probable starting pitchers are right-handers Josh Kirchhoff for Missouri and Malakai Vetock for Kansas.