Missouri Softball Swept By Tennessee in Another Shutout Defeat
In 2024, home runs have been a big part of what's made Missouri softball so successful. While they haven't been over-reliant on the long ball for offensive success, several wins like Auburn and Illinois have happened in large part due to home runs.
On the other hand, opposing home runs have sunk the Tigers as well, and Sunday was no different.
Statistically, Tennessee had its worst offensive performance of the series, as it's four runs were the lowest the Volunteers had registered over the three-game home stand.
However, two main things allowed UT to emerge victorious despite the lack of firepower compared to the first two games. One was that all four runs were brought in via home runs. Laura Mealer, McKenna Gibson and Kiki Milloy all went yard off of Missouri starting pitcher Marissa McCann.
The other propeller for Tennessee was the fact that Missouri couldn't propel themselves at the plate once again. The Tigers combined for three hits and a walk en route to another lackluster offensive performance. It was the first time Missouri had been shut out multiple times in a single series, with its last occurrence coming in the first two games of a home stand against Alabama on Mar. 31 and Apr. 1.
A silver lining for Missouri is that they registered several competitive at-bats, something head coach Larissa Anderson has heavily emphasized this season. Out of MU's 25 total at-bats, 13 of them lasted five or more pitches.
McCann finished the day with six hits allowed and four earned runs in five innings of work. Taylor Pannell had a solid outing in relief of McCann, as she threw two strikeouts in her lone inning of work.
The Tigers will get a couple of rest days ahead of their next matchup against Kansas on Wednesday in Lawrence. First pitch is set for 5 p.m.
