96.9 The Jock ESPN Radio Springfield Missouri
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Missouri softball (38-21) reached the Columbia Regional final despite falling to Arizona in the first game of the day, 2-0. The 15-seed Tigers eliminated Missouri State behind a shutout performance by Laurin Krings with 11 strikeouts.
GAME ONE
The Tigers could not get the bats going in the first game of the day. Jordan Weber put together a strong outing in the circle, but a two-run home run in the fifth inning proved to be all that the Wildcats needed.
Mizzou threatened in the top of the third inning with the bases loaded and one out, but the Tigers could not get on the board. A shallow flyout and a strikeout ended the threat.
After Weber struck out the first two batters in the fifth, a 1-0 offering hit the Arizona batter to put a runner on base. Her 3-2 pitch to Scupin was driven over the right-center wall to give the Wildcats at 2-0 lead.
With one down and one on, Kendyll Bailey drove a 2-0 pitch deep to left center. The ball hit off the very top of the wall for a double, just a foot away from tying the game. The runners were stranded in scoring position and the Tigers did not threaten again.
GAME TWO
After being shutout in the first game, the Tigers did not waste any time getting on the board against Missouri State. Jenna Laird led off a triple into the left center field gap and Brooke Wilmes lined the first pitch that she saw into left field for an RBI single.
Kara Daly doubled the lead in the second inning with a leadoff solo shot to right field, her 13th of the year.
Krings did the rest for the Tigers to move on to the regional final. The sophomore struck out 11 batters on the night for her second consecutive game with double digit strikeouts. The Bears put a runner in on second four times, but Krings did not allow a runner to reach third.
NOTES
Laurin Krings tossed seven innings while striking out 11 batters. She picked up her sixth shutout of the season and she recorded her sixth double-digit strikeout performance.
Jenna Laird has hit safely in each game of the Columbia Regional. She led off the second game of the day with her third triple of the year before scoring the first run of the game.
Brooke Wilmes went 1-for-3 in each game and she drove in the go-ahead run against Missouri State. Wilmes moved into a tie for seventh in program history with 164 runs driven in over her career.
Kara Daly crushed a solo shot against Missouri State as a part of a 2-for-3 night.
The Tigers have advanced to a Regional Final in each season under Larissa Anderson.
UP NEXT
The Tigers face off with Arizona in a rematch starting at 3 p.m. CT. Mizzou will need to beat the Wildcats twice to advance to a Super Regional. Television is to be determined.
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