Mizzou’s offense went the first three innings without a hit, making the few fans quite nervous on a cold, cloudy day in Columbia (including the editor of this site). But the Tigers heated up quickly, scoring seven runs in two innings en route to a 7-0 shutout victory.
Saniya Hill had a particularly impressive performance at the plate, starting with her first career home run in the fourth. He added a 2-RBI single in the fifth, finishing the day 2-for-2 with a walk. Abby Hay was the other Tiger with multiple hits, opening the scoring with a solo shot. He finished the game 2 for 3 by adding a single in the fifth, coming back to score on Hill’s base hit.
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“I think we were too aggressive at the beginning of the game, as she was thrown a little slower than we’re used to,” Hay said. “Just getting the tone back and really finding something we could push. And I think after my hit, everyone started finding the pitch they could push.”
Marissa McCann took the circle again after recording a perfect game in last week’s midweek matchup against SIUE. He had another elite performance, pitching four scoreless innings and striking out seven batters.
“She was throwing at a high velocity, with very good control on both sides of the plate,” coach Larissa Anderson said. “What we threw a little bit more today was his curveball, so he had some chases off the plate on that curveball, and it was really good to see.”
Abby Carr closed the door with relief, pitching the final three innings and allowing no runs, one hit and two strikeouts.
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The first 3 1/2 innings were fairly slow, as Mizzou failed to record a hit. Kansas City recorded a pair of hits/baseballs to put runners in scoring position on several occasions, but McCann was able to get out of the early jams. After a pair of runners led off the third inning, McCann rebounded with three straight strikeouts to strand the runners.
Hay recorded Mizzou’s first hit/run after a solo home run to left field in the fourth. Saniya Hill launched one of her own a little closer to the foul pole that barely stayed clean for her first career home run.
“The whole time I was thinking about my dad,” Hill said. “He is my biggest motivator.”
Madison Uptegrove singled and Sophie Smith walked, setting up two runners for pinch-hitter Gracie Britton to bring them both home with a double. As the inning came to a close, Mizzou’s offense blew the game wide open.
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Abby Carr entered the game in the circle in place of McCann, but made an early mistake after a pop-up fell off her glove. But the Tigers did not worry and chained three outs in a row to avoid allowing runs. Mizzou loaded the bases for Hill, who capitalized with a two-RBI single to extend the lead to six. They scored another on a sacrifice fly to right field by Uptegrove to score pinch-runner Claire Cahalan at third. But the Tigers couldn’t make good on the mercy rule when a fly ball in foul territory ended the inning.
The Roos caught a runner with two outs with a single, but found no other offense in the top of the sixth. Mizzou failed to add any runs after three straight outs in the home half, and Carr closed the door with a 1-2-3 inning as the Tigers improved to 27-26 on the year.
Since SEC Tournament games count toward the Tigers’ overall record, Mizzou needs two more wins before the end of that tournament to reach the .500 threshold needed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. With an RPI currently in the top 40, it appears the Tigers are a candidate for the Big Dance if they can find the wins.
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That trip continues with a three-game weekend series at home against Tennessee to close out the regular season. The first game against the Lady Vols will take place on Thursday at 6 pm and will be available to watch on SEC Network+.