Mizzou Softball Splits Day 2 of Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic

After splitting its first two games of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic on Thursday, No. 22 Mizzou softball did the same on Friday. The Tigers knocked off Baylor 8-3 in the morning contest, but they were stymied against Minnesota in the afternoon, falling 3-1 to the Golden Gophers.

The contest against the Bears featured explosive offense from Larissa Anderson's crew. Mizzou started the game with a bang, as a leadoff solo home run by Julia Crenshaw was soon followed by a two-run shot by Stefania Abruscato. In the fifth inning, Madison Walker hit her fifth home run of the season, which leads Mizzou through 15 games. She finished with two hits, while Abruscato led the team with three hits. Haidyn Sokoloski recored her first multi-hit game as a Tiger, going 2-for-4 at the plate in a pinch-hit role.

Mizzou also received a quality contribution from Cierra Harrison, who achieved career win No. 25 after pitching her second complete game of the season. She allowed four hits and three earned runs, but she registered seven strikeouts and didn't allow a run after the third inning. The victory snaps a four-game losing streak for Harrison, who hadn't picked up a win since Feb. 8 against Duke.

Unfortunately for the Tigers, they couldn't keep up their offensive momentum against Minnesota. Marissa McCann put together a nearly identical performance as Harrison did the game prior, allowing four hits and three earned runs while striking out seven batters. But once again, MU's bats went cold under the southern California sun; every batter outside of Crenshaw (2-for-4) and Sokoloski (3-for-3) went 1-for-20 at the plate, with the only hit coming courtesy of a Madison Uptegrove single.

Thursday was a continuation of a troubling trend for Mizzou's offense. In three of their four games at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, the Tigers scored exactly one run. Heading into Friday, they've scored three runs or fewer in nine of their 15 games thus far. Leaving runners on base was also an issue on Thursday, as Mizzou stranded seven runners against Baylor and eight against Minnesota. Whether the Tigers can win those low-scoring games consistently remains to be seen; last season, Mizzou scored three runs or fewer 30 times and went 13-17. This season, they're 3-6 in such games.

The Tigers have one game left in Cathedral City on Saturday, which will be against No. 19 Oregon at 11:30 a.m. CST. The Ducks are flying high, sitting at 14-1 on the season and winners of all four of their games at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.