Missouri Tigers baseball (7-2) gave fans a scare in its home opener, trailing Arkansas-Pine Bluff (4-6) 1-0 after two innings. 

True freshman JD Dohrmann started on the mound for the Tigers, making his second start of the season after picking up a loss to FAU on Feb. 17. He hit AUPB’s Konnor Gidley, who then stole second base and was batted home by Ian Smith. 

Between the FAU loss and the rough start against the Golden Lions, skies weren’t exactly bright blue for the youngster. 

So who does Dohrmann turn to when times get rough? 

“Coach (Drew) Dickinson, the pitching coach,” Dohrmann said. “He's the first one to always come up to me, just asked me what I was thinking… Then one of my roommates, Luke Sullivan, he's a huge supporter of mine. We play catch together all the time. So he just knows when I get sidetracked and when things start to spiral. So he called me down and just talked me through it.”

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Dohrmann went on to pitch six of seven innings, picking up his first career win while allowing just one hit.

“I mean, it's something that I've dreamed of for a long time,” Dohrmann said. “Having my family here to see it is just, it's a dream.”

After a scoreless second inning on both sides, AUPB pitcher Jack Hasten loaded the bases in the bottom of the third, then proceeded to hit Pierre Seals and walk Sam Parker to give Missouri a 2-1 lead. 

Hasten was subbed out in place of James Reagan, who failed to keep baserunners Hasten had allowed on base from scoring. What began as a strong start for UAPB quickly turned into a disaster opening third, as Missouri exploded for five runs in just three hits and batted through the entire order. 

Small-ball fueled the majority of Missouri's offense, but starting catcher Mateo Serna knocked in a 407-foot solo home run to deep-right field in the fifth inning to score the one of the Tigers’ two homers of the day and his first of the season. Jase Woita hit Missouri’s second home run, knocking one 367-feet deep in right field to score himself and two baserunners in the sixth inning for his third homer of the season. 

Tyler Macon went 2-for-4 at the plate with two RBIs, keeping him firmly atop of Missouri’s leaderboard in hits. He credits his coaching staff for the early offensive success.

“Good approach from the coaches,” Macon said. “They have a good plan coming into the game, and just try to stick with it, and just try to get on base as much as I can.”

No matter which Golden Lion was on the mound — Hasten or any other member of UAPB’s rotating bullpen — each struggled to find consistency, walking or hitting 14 Tigers and allowing 

While this was the expected result, Missouri head coach Kerrick Jackson emphasized he did not want to underestimate his opponents, and the Tigers had plenty to learn about themselves from games like these. 

“If you take them too lightly, they can beat you,” Jackson said. “One of the things that we always talk about is, if you give a team like this confidence, they will use that confidence to turn around and beat you with it. And so if you don't give them any confidence from the very start of the game to when the game is over, then you don't have a chance and any opportunity to lose

Macon, a leader on the team, agreed. 

“Respect your opponent, no matter who it is,” Macon said. “Got to respect the game as well. You take them lightly. The game will bite you.”

Jackson and Macon were spot on — underdog opponents would run with any ounce of confidence given toward them, which AUPB did in its second game against Missouri. 

The Golden Lions’ pitching held the Tigers scoreless through five innings of action. Although the same can be said about the Tigers’ pitching toward AUPB, it’s much more of a scare for the Tigers to be in that position. 

Missouri then piled in four runs in the sixth inning thanks to a grand slam from Serna, who now has home runs in back-to-back games. 

Serna would follow up the homer with a groundout RBI in the eighth inning to cap off the Tigers’ scoring, bringing the score to 5-1 in what would eventually read as the final. Macon was the only other Tiger to record a hit, as he logged two. 

What allowed Missouri to hang in the game despite five scoreless innings was the success on the mound from Sullivan, the fellow true freshman pitcher who helped Dohrmann work through his struggles in the first game of the series. 

Sullivan pitched 5.1 innings, allowing just one hit and zero runs while striking out five batters. He wasn’t credited with the win, but was vital despite what the box score reads. 

Missouri will continue to use upcoming non-conference games to discover its identity before a Southeastern Conference gauntlet arrives. The Tigers are back in action to continue its homestand by kicking off a three-game series against North Dakota State at 6 p.m. Friday.