Harrison's No-Hitter Highlights Another Doubleheader Sweep by Mizzou Softball
No. 14/15-ranked Mizzou softball kicked off its second season-opening tournament on Friday, and like the previous one, it couldn't have gone much better.
Mizzou began the Tracy Beard College Classic against Texas A&M-Commerce, and in a battle of large cats, the Tigers jumped on the Lions early and held on for a 1-0 victory. They went on to complete the doubleheader sweep, 4-3 over South Dakota State.
After a 1-2-3 inning from Cierra Harrison, Mizzou drew first blood. The leadoff batter, Jenna Laird, took first on a walk. The aggressive base running that showed in Florida last week carried over into Texas, as Laird stole second and third. Julia Crenshaw then scored Laird on a sacrifice fly.
Then, both cats went to sleep offensively.
The rest of the way was a pitcher's duel between Cierra Harrison and Julia Sanchez. Unfortunately, there was no actual broadcast of the game, and the StatBroadcast app (the only sit that was scorekeeping the game) didn't provide play-by-play updates, so there's little knowledge of how the game actually unfolded except for eyewitness accounts.
What we do know, however, is that Harrison and Sanchez both threw no-hitters. Yes, you read that correctly, a double no-hitter, with the sac fly from Crenshaw being the difference. Harrison also only allowed one baserunner on a walk in the top of the seventh, but they were presumably thrown out at second by Crenshaw (the Mizzou softball Twitter/X account didn't provide the name of the baserunner). So, Crenshaw was responsible for the only Tiger run and helped prevent the only Lion baserunner from scoring.
A double no-no is an extreme rarity across both baseball and softball. There's only been one instance in MLB history where both pitchers took a no-hitter into the ninth inning -- a 1917 contest between the Fred Toney of the Cincinnati Reds and Hippo Vaughn of the Chicago Cubs. However, Vaughn lost his no-hitter in the tenth inning, while Toney finished the job. There've also been 10 recorded instances in the minor leagues dating all the way back to 1886. Despite relatively thorough internet research, there hasn't been a recorded double no-no in softball at the collegiate level.
Harrison struck out eight batters, and the Tigers moved to 6-0.
Mizzou's second game of the day came against South Dakota State, and the Tigers came out of the gates hot. Like last game, Laird got on base to lead things off for Mizzou, this time on a single. After a single by Alex Honnold advanced Laird to third, Crenshaw hit a sacrifice fly to make it 1-0 MU. Deja vu all over again!
Two batters later, after Honnold stole second, Madison Walker singled her home to make it 2-0.
The Jackrabbits responded in the bottom of the first, as a double by Emma Osmundson was followed by an Abby Gentry single for SDSU's first run of the game.
After Mizzou couldn't capitalize on a one-out double from Honnold, the Jackrabbits tied the game in the bottom of the third. Cheyanne Masterson drilled a leadoff triple, which was immediately followed by a single by Jocelyn Carrillo.
It didn't take long for Mizzou to regain the lead, as the Tigers capitalized off of Jackrabbit mistakes on the mound and in the field.
Walker led off the inning and reached first via an E6. After a sac bunt by Mya Dodge advanced pinch-runner Claire Cahalan to second, Maddie Gallagher and Stefania Abruscato both walked to load the bases. Up came Kayley Lenger, who was hit by a pitch. Laird then hit into a fielder's choice at third base, but it was enough to score Gallagher to give the Tigers a 4-2 lead.
Both offenses stalled until the bottom of the sixth. With freshman Natalie Touchet in for Lauren Krings, Osmundson hit a leadoff double, and she advanced to third on a passed ball. Gentry followed with a single to center that cut Mizzou's lead to one. However, that's all the damage the Jackrabbits would inflict, as Touchet forced a Masterson groundout to strand runners on first and third.
After a scoreless top of the seventh, Taylor Pannell entered the game for Mizzou to try and seal the victory, which is exactly what she did. After giving up a leadoff single, Pannell forced a groundout and struck out the last two batters to secure the win.
Krings pitched five innings, allowing five hits and two earned runs with three strikeouts. Honnold led the way at the plate with two hits.
The Tigers have another doubleheader tomorrow, as they'll have a rematch with South Dakota State at 11 a.m. before battling North Texas at 1:30 p.m.
