How to Watch: Missouri Baseball at Tony Gwynn Legacy
Missouri hit the road again for their second series of their 2024 campaign, but didn't have to go far for their next game.
The Tony Gwynn Legacy takes place in San Diego, California, with one of the venues being San Diego State's Tony Gwynn Stadium. Missouri, UC San Diego, San Diego State, CSU Bakersfield, Utah and Loyola Marymount will all play in this series that honors the life and legacy of MLB Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn. Missouri will be facing CSU Bakersfield, San Diego State and UC San Diego in the first three days of the event, with the UC San Diego contest being a doubleheader.
For their first of only five Thursday games this year, the Missouri Tigers will take on the CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners on Feb. 22 at 8 p.m. They will look to keep their two-game win streak going against the Roadrunners. CSU Bakersfield is on a four-game losing streak to start their season after participating in the College Baseball Series with Minnesota, New Mexico and No. 7 Oregon State. They started their first game off strong against Minnesota, keeping a tie into the 12th inning before the Golden Gophers took the lead, 8-7. However, they weren't able to put together more than three runs in the following games of the series.
Making his first start in the 2024 season, Missouri right-hander Javyn Pimental will take the mound against CSU Bakersfield, who has not yet announced a starting pitcher. Pimental made eights starts last season for the Tigers, holding opponents to a .267 batting average and striking out 25 though 26.0 innings.
Next up on the docket for the Tigers is the San Diego State Aztecs starting at 8 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 23. The Aztecs will have the advantage for this game since Tony Gwynn Stadium is their home field. San Diego State dropped their first two games to Portland, one of which went to 13 innings, before they were able to get a win in the third game of the series. They weren't able to create a win streak and will be coming off a 7-5 loss to California State University - Northridge.
Missouri has right-hander Bryce Mayer slotted to face off against San Diego State's left-hander Chris Canada. In his 2024 debut, Mayer gave up four hits and three runs in a 3-2 loss to Cal Poly in his return from a season ending injury last season. Canada served as the Aztecs opening day starter and gave up zero hits with four walks, two runs and seven strikeouts in their 5-4 loss to Portland. Both pitchers will be looking to redeem themselves from opening day losses.
The Tigers will end with their toughest matchups of the event in a doubleheader against the UC San Diego Tritons on Saturday, Feb. 24 starting at 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. CT. These two games are not at the Tony Gwynn Stadium and will be played at UC San Diego in La Jolla, Calif. The Tritons started their season with a 3-0 run against San Jose State, but recorded their first loss of the season 8-7 to the University of San Diego. UC San Diego will face Utah on Friday, Feb. 23 before their doubleheader with the Tigers.
Missouri has Carter Rustad on the mound for game one and Logan Lunceford on for game two. Rustad was locked into a pitchers duel for a majority of his start against Cal Poly. He held the Mustangs to one hit through five shutout innings in his 2024 debut to help the Tigers earn their first win of the year. Lunceford started the rain-riddled third game of the series and gave up eight hits for five runs, two of those being unearned. UC San Diego is yet to announce a starter for either game of the doubleheader.
Missouri and Utah are the only teams in the Tony Gwynn Legacy event coming off of a win. The Tigers will try to keep the momentum going in their next matchup. Here's what you need to know:
How to Watch Missouri at CSU Bakersfield
What: Missouri Tigers (2-1) at CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners (0-4)
Where: Tony Gwynn Stadium, San Diego, Calif.
When: Thursday, Feb. 22, at 8 p.m. CT
Watch: Varsity Network (Search "Missouri")
Series: Missouri leads 2-0 with the first meeting occurring on May 16-17, 2009. This two-game series the last time the Tigers faced the Roadrunners, taking both games at home.
Last time out, CSU Bakersfield: The Roadrunners are on a four-game losing streak to start their season after participating in the College Baseball Series with Minnesota, New Mexico and No. 7 Oregon State.
Pitching Matchup: Javyn Pimental vs TBD
How to Watch Missouri at San Diego State
What: Missouri Tigers (2-1) at San Diego State Aztecs (1-3)
Where: Tony Gwynn Stadium, San Diego, Calif.
When: Friday, Feb. 23, at 8 p.m. CT
TV: Mountain West Network
Series: Missouri leads 2-1 with the first meeting occurring on March 30, 1985. The Tigers have won two neutral site games versus the Aztecs and lost their one trip to San Diego State in 1997.
Last time out, San Diego State: San Diego State is coming off of a 7-5 loss to California State University - Northridge. The Aztecs were able to put together a four-run seventh inning, but it wasn't enough to get them the win.
Pitching Matchup: Bryce Mayer vs Chris Canada
How to Watch Missouri at UC San Diego
What: Missouri Tigers (2-1) at UC San Diego Tritons (3-1)
Where: Triton Ballpark, La Jolla, Calif.
When: Saturday, Feb. 24, at 3 and 6:30 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN+
Series: This is the two teams first matchup against each other.
Last time out, UC San Diego : UC San Diego lost 8-7 to the University of San Diego. Thanks to a disastrous ninth inning for Toreros, the Tritons were able to put together a three-run comeback to tie the game and send the game to extra innings. It wasn't enough, however, San Diego hit a walk-off single to end the game.
Pitching Matchup - Game one: Carter Rustad vs TBD
Pitching Matchup - Game two: Logan Lunceford vs TBD
Last time out, Missouri: The Tigers won their last contest in a high-scoring affair against Cal Poly. They took the series win 2-1 to mark their first series win under new head coach Kerrick Jackson.
