Missouri's Baseball Struggles in Friday Clash with No. 18 Alabama, Series Tilted

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— The Missouri baseball team continued their Southeastern Conference losing streak with a 0-20 record on Friday night after falling to No. 18 Alabama 7-3 at Sewell-Thomas Stadium for the consecutive match in a row.

Things were looking up through an inning of play on Thursday, as the Tigers (13-29, 0-20 SEC) held a 5-0 advantage after getting to Crimson Tide starting pitcher Tyler Fay. Things cascaded downwards from there, culminating in seven unanswered Alabama runs and a Missouri loss .

The streak of misfortune carried over into the initial part of Friday’s game when starting left fielder Brock Daniels was discovered not to be listed on the team's roster of eligible players for the series during the second inning. This came after he had already snagged a fly ball for an out in the opening frame.

In Daniels' turn at bat, his position was automatically ruled as an out. Positively though, third baseman Chris Patterson secured the team’s initial extra-base hit of the series within that same sequence. The score changed when left fielder Kade Snell smashed a two-run homer for Alabama in the third inning.

Crimson Tide (34-10, 11-9 SEC) nearly extended their advantage significantly but failed to capitalize with the bases full during the top of the third inning. Nevertheless, the hosts managed to tally four runs in the bottom of the fifth, increasing their largest lead to six runs.

Missouri started cutting into the lead right away, as Patterson’s RBI triple in the top of the sixth brought home their first run. Pierre Seals, who had taken over for Daniels in the batting order, hit a single that scored Patterson, making the score 6-2.

Right before the start of the seventh-inning stretch, the Tigers tacked on a third run thanks to a sacrifice fly by Kaden Peer. In response, Alabama clawed one run back with a towering solo homerun hit by their third baseman, Jason Torres, during their half of the inning. Despite his recent struggles at bat, Torres made sure the Missouri dugout saw nothing but the ball soaring through the air as he connected with it perfectly.

Crimson Tide senior reliever Braylon Myers picked up a three-inning save, his second of the year. Tigers starter Wil Libbert took the loss; he pitched three innings and was one of four arms used by head coach Kerrick Jackson in the game.

The Tigers, who were outhit 11-7 Friday and stranded eight runners on base, have one more chance to take a game from the Crimson Tide. Saturday's series finale begins at 1 p.m. CT and will be live streamed on SEC Network+.

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The article was initially posted on www.si.com/college/missouri as Missouri's Baseball Team Struggles in Friday's Match Against No. 18 Alabama, series lost .