COLUMBIA - After a gutsy extra-innings win against Tennessee on Thursday night, Missouri could not solve starter Sean Hunley or reliever Garrett Stallings, who gave up the winning run in the series opener, in a 2-1 loss to the Volunteers on Friday at Taylor Stadium.
The loss ended Missouri's nine-game win streak against Tennessee dating back to 2015, which included back-to-back series sweeps in 2016 and 2017.
The winner of today's game clinches at spot in the Southeastern Conference Tournament. First pitch of the series finale - which will be Senior Day for the Tigers - is at 2 p.m.
Missouri (33-21, 11-18 SEC) managed just four hits in the loss, and Michael Plassmeyer's five-hit complete game was spoiled by a lack of run support and two solo home runs by the Volunteers, both deposited in the home bullpen in left field.
The junior left-hander threw 124 pitches, struck out 11 and gave up a walk and two earned runs. He didn't have good command of his changeup and was mostly throwing a two-pitch mix of fastballs and breaking balls.
"That should be enough," Missouri coach Steve Bieser said. "That's inexcusable, what we're doing offensively, and we've got to figure out something here in a short amount of time. Less than 24 hours we'll be back at it, and we've got to be a lot better offensively."
Plassmeyer put two aboard in the ninth with one out, and both moved into scoring position after a wild pick-off attempt, but he assured Bieser on a mound visit he could finish the game.
"He's been phenomenal. Plass, he's done everything and more that we could have expected this year and what we could have asked," Bieser said. "I really didn't want to take him out, but I needed to hear that he wanted to finish this game and that's the first words he said, that he wanted to finish the game, so it was his game."
Plassmeyer got a strikeout to end the inning.
The Tigers are now 7-5 in one-run games and 5-5 in one-run SEC games. Missouri batters were 0-for-10 with runners on and 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position Friday.
A one-out triple to right-center by Trey Harris and an RBI ground out by Alex Samples in the fourth inning provided the only offense, giving Missouri a 1-0 lead at the time.
"I feel like we were hitting balls hard, just they were always getting caught," said Harris, who finished 2-for-4 with the team's only run scored. "That's kind of what they did yesterday. It's kind of what they did today, too, they just had two that went over the fence. I think we're two evenly matched teams."
Tennessee designated hitter Nico Mascia belted a solo homer in the fifth to tie the game at 1, and sophomore Brandon Chinea hit the go-ahead home run with one out in the eighth inning. It was just Chinea's second home run of his career, but this one and the two-run homer he hit against Kentucky earlier this season were both game-winners.
Friday's win put Tennessee's conference record at 12-17, the team's highest SEC win total since winning 12 in 2014.
Missouri sent three seniors to the plate in the ninth in Harris, Samples - who drove in the winning run in Thursday's game - and Brett Bond. Samples hit into a double play after Harris singled and Bond went down on strikes to end the game.
Missouri junior left-hander Tyler LaPlante (4-3, 2.67 ERA) will face Tennessee junior right-hander Will Neely (4-1, 3.94 ERA) in today's rubber match.