Freshman Milo Burton launched a two-run homer and Eric Maisonet added a solo shot in an explosive three-run seventh inning to propel Missouri baseball to a 6-2 victory over Southeast Missouri State in the second game of the Show-Me Diamond Duel.

Coming off a 3-3 tie in their tournament opener, the Tigers broke free in the late innings to secure a crucial fall victory at home against a field that featured Missouri State, Saint Louis, SEMO, Lindenwood and Central Missouri.

Trailing 2-0 into the bottom of the fourth, Mizzou generated its first breakthrough when Juliomar Campos reached on an error at third base with two outs, bringing home a pair of runs to tie the game at 2-2.

The Tigers seized their first lead in the sixth frame behind another two-out spark. After Steve Solorzano singled to center, Seojun Oh ripped a double to right field. Donovan Jordan followed with an RBI single to left field, driving in Oh to put Mizzou ahead 3-2.

Maisonet provided immediate insurance in the seventh with a towering solo home run to deep left field. Two batters later, Burton smashed a two-run home run to deep left-center to extend the Tigers’ lead to 6-2 and put the game out of reach.

SEMO built its early lead in the top of the second against starter Brady Kehlenbrink, capitalizing on a walk and a hit before driving a two-run double to left-center.

Mizzou’s bullpen proved dominant in relief, shutting down the SEMO offense across the final five innings. Luke Sullivan tossed a 1-2-3 fifth with two strikeouts, Zach Van Hook retired the side in order in the sixth, and Nolan Foster struck out two in a scoreless seventh.

Luke Fricker struck out the side in order in the eighth before Sam Schmidt sealed the victory in the ninth, striking out two batters to secure the win.

Burton went 2-for-4, with a homerun, two RBIs and two runs. Maisonet went 2-for-3 with a homerun, a double and an RBI. Campos went 1-for-3, with two RBI. On the pitching side, Fricker pitched one inning, allowing no hits, no runs and three strikeouts. Sullivan pitched one inning, allowing no hits or runs and two strikeouts. Van Hook did the same with just one strikeout, while Foster and Schmidt had two each.

Mizzou and Division II UCM played to a 3-3 tie Saturday in fall ball, a game that came down to one big inning, a long stretch of quiet bats and a dropped pitch in the eighth. The Tigers got their early runs on a two-out rally in the second, then went almost silent against the D-II Mules until the late tying run.

UCM opened the second with a first-pitch home run, but Mizzou wasted no time answering. Steve Solorzano struck out, and Anthony Diaz was thrown out at first after the catcher dropped a third strike. Then the UCM pitcher lost the zone.

Seojun Oh, Cam Pruitt and Eric Maisonet drew walks to load the bases, and Charlie Wortham lined a deep shot to left that scored two. Khamaree Thomas worked another walk to reload them, but Ty Waid struck out swinging, and the Tigers stranded the bases loaded.

Once the second inning ended, Mizzou struggled to string anything together. Maisonet went down looking in the fourth, and Wortham struck out after a challenge on a 3-2 pitch was upheld as a strike. Thomas followed him back to the dugout. By the fifth, Waid’s strikeout was the fourth in a row, and the seventh ended without a single baserunner.

The pitching staff did enough to keep the game close. Starter Connor Jones, who did not play last year, struck out the first two batters he faced. Stephen Lewis, Dylan Curtis, Dane Bjorn, Sam Rosand and Carter DeGondea followed him to the mound. UCM still found a way to break through, taking a 3-2 lead in the seventh when a line drive smashed off the third baseman’s glove for an RBI.

Mizzou found the tying run without a clean hit. Solorzano popped out on the first pitch of the eighth, then Diaz doubled deep off the wall. Oh grounded out, and with Pruitt at the plate, the catcher couldn’t hold a pitch, allowing Diaz to race home and make it 3-3. The Tigers went down in order in the ninth, and the game ended in a tie.

The challenge system was a subplot all game. Waid challenged a first-pitch strike, Wortham a 3-2 call and Oh a 3-1 count, and the calls on all three stood. Hitters are still learning when a challenge is worth using, and in a close game each one carried real weight.

With the final fall games of the season under wraps, the Tigers now look forward to the upcoming spring season, where they hope to translate their hard work into regular-season success.

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