Missouri Softball Falls to Tennessee, Clinches Series Loss
After Friday's run-rule defeat to No. 8/9 Tennessee, No. 11/11 Missouri softball didn't have many places to go but up. It was the first time the Tigers had been run-ruled all season, as nothing seemed to be going right all evening.
On Saturday, they did go up...but not by much.
The Volunteers dominated the Tigers once again, this time by a final score of 8-2. It was the first time this season that Missouri had lost two games in a row.
Like the day prior, Missouri put together a performance that wasn't only negative, but was also uncharacteristic. One example was Cierra Harrison, who looked unsteady from the get-go. She hit the first two batters she faced; the first hit batter, Kiki Malloy, scored from second off of a throwing error from Jenna Laird.
Things only got worse for Harrison in the following inning. Bella Faw, Tennessee' nine-hitter who took Laurin Krings deep on Friday, seemed to keep her bat in the microwave overnight. Facing a 1-2 count, Faw hit a moonshot into left field to make it 2-0 Volunteers.
The game-breaking moment didn't come until the bottom of the fourth inning. The bases were loaded with two outs for UT's Taylor Pannell, and she'd worked a 3-2 count against Harrison. A strikeout would likely save the Tigers from disaster, and home run would throw them right into it.
Judging by the aforementioned final score, one might guess that the latter became reality. And they would've guessed right.
Harrison threw a pitch right over the plate, and Pannell sent a ball that barely cleared the bleachers in left field to up Tennessee's lead to 6-1. In the bottom of the sixth, McKenna Gibson added a couple of more on an RBI single to put the cherry on top.
Something that was also similar to Friday was how much Missouri struggled at the plate. Maddie Gallagher was MU's only consistent source of electricity on offense, as she hit a towering solo home run to center field and an RBI double. The only other Tiger to register a hit was Stefania Abruscato.
In less than four innings pitched, Harrison gave up six hits, five earned runs and five earned walks, marking the worst start of her season thus far. In the field, the Tigers committed two more errors after Laird's initial gaffe. At the plate, Missouri's 1-4 hitters — Laird, Alex Honnold, Julia Crenshaw and Kara Daly — went a combined 0-8, although Honnold and Crenshaw did combine for five walks.
The Tigers will look to avoid the sweep on Sunday against Tennessee. First pitch is set for 12:30 p.m.