Preview: Illinois Fighting Illini at Missouri Tigers

O’FALLON, Mo. (March 24, 2026) (Interstat) — The Missouri Tigers (16-8) host the Illinois Fighting Illini (12-10) in a non-conference matchup Tuesday at CarShield Field, with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. under partly cloudy skies and a game-time temperature of 81 degrees.

The contest features a compelling pitching duel between two arms coming off strong, yet contrasting, recent outings. Illinois will look to right-hander Aidan Flinn, who has been excellent in a versatile role. In his last appearance Sunday, Flinn provided five innings of two-hit, scoreless relief in an 8-3 loss to Rutgers. Over his last four outings spanning 13.1 innings, he has allowed just one earned run.

Missouri will counter with right-hander Brady Kehlenbrink, who brings dominant strikeout stuff but seeks more consistent results. Kehlenbrink struck out nine over six innings at Tennessee on Sunday but took the loss in a 7-1 defeat, undone by four unearned runs. He fired six scoreless innings with 11 strikeouts in a win over Illinois-Chicago on March 8.

The Tigers enter having dropped two of three in a weekend series at Tennessee, though they won the opener 8-4. Missouri’s offense was held to three total runs in the two losses. Illinois arrives after losing its weekend series to Rutgers at home, two games to one, despite scoring 25 runs in the two victories.

According to Interstat’s game simulator, the projected final score is Illinois 5, Missouri 4.

Following Tuesday’s game, Missouri travels to face Lindenwood on Wednesday before opening a pivotal Southeastern Conference series at home against Texas A&M on Friday. Illinois continues its road swing with a Big Ten Conference series at Penn State beginning Friday.