No. 7 Softball Forces Game 3 with 3-1 Victory over No. 10 Duke

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The No. 7 University of Missouri softball team (48-17) continued to play at a high level with its back against a wall, knocking off No. 10 Duke (51-7), 3-1, to force a deciding game three in the 2024 NCAA Columbia Super Regional, Saturday inside Mizzou Softball Stadium.

The two teams will face off on Sunday with a spot in the 2024 NCAA Women’s College World Series on the line. Game time and television network will be announced by the NCAA later Saturday night.

Sunday’s game three is sold out, marking three-straight sellouts for Missouri this Super Regional. The Tigers have welcomed 7,587 fans through the first two games including a program-best 3,806 on Friday.

Mizzou won its fifth elimination game of the NCAA Tournament in front of a sellout crowd of 3,781 Saturday as Taylor Pannell worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth and retired Duke in order in the seventh to tie the NCAA single-season record with her 15th save of the campaign.

The 48 wins for MU are its most since its last WCWS appearance in 2011 when the team finished 53-10. Mizzou’s 48 wins in 2024 rank fourth all-time in program history.

The Tigers broke open an early pitcher’s duel with three runs in the top of the fourth inning. Abby Hay knocked a single to right which scored Alex Honnold from second. Maddie Gallagher took third and then scored on a throwing error with Hay ending up on third. Julia Crenshaw’s groundout scored Hay and increased the Tigers lead to 3-0.

Duke added a run in the fifth on Francesca Frelick’s second solo home run to left field in as many days.

Both starters, MU’s Laurin Krings and Duke’s Jana Wright were perfect through three innings, facing the minimum nine batters apiece. Wright took the loss, only her second of the year and Krings picked up the win, her career-best 17th of the campaign.

The Tigers’ Marissa McCann came in after Frelick’s home run and got a groundout to end the inning. She faced one batter in the sixth before being lifted for Pannell.

Pannell went one-two-three in the seventh, punctuating her NCAA-tying 15th save (Mizzou and SEC record) with a strikeout. The sophomore from Lee’s Summit, Missouri, pitched the final two shutout innings Saturday, notching two strikeouts and allowing just a walk.

NOTES

• Alex Honnold, Maddie Gallagher, Abby Hay and Madison Walker each notched a hit in the win.
• Abby Hay posted her 20th RBI of the campaign, with a single in the fourth.
• Julia Crenshaw picked up RBI no. 29 with an RBI groundout in the fourth.
• Abby Hay extended her reached base streak to 14.
• Alex Honnold has now reached base in seven consecutive games (hits in each of the two Super Regional games).
• Maddie Gallagher has notched a hit in each of the last two Super Regional games.
• Laurin Krings picked up the win, her career-best 17th of the campaign. She pitched 4.2 innings, allowing just one earned run on two hits with a trio of strikeouts.
• Laurin Krings is four strikeouts away from 600 in her career.
• Taylor Pannell secured her NCAA single-season record tying 15th save of the campaign. She is tied with Taylor Bauman of FGCU and Mallory Aldred of Canisius for most in a single-season, and is the sole Mizzou (Kacey Marshall, 12 saves in 1994) and SEC (Kellie Wilkerson, MSU, 14, 2002) saves record holder.
• Jenna Laird is one run away from 200 in her career (fourth in Mizzou program history). She is second all-time in Missouri history with 790 at bats. Laird has a career best 207 at bats this season which ranks fourth at Mizzou.
• Alex Honnold is two walks away from 100 in her career.
• Mizzou is making its 10th Super Regionals appearance in program history. The Tigers are 9-14 all-time. Mizzou is hosting its sixth Super Regionals this weekend.
• Mizzou and Duke are 1-1 in the all-time series.
• Head coach Larissa Anderson is now 2-3 in Super Regionals at Mizzou.

UP NEXT

• The Tigers next face No. 10 Duke in the 2024 NCAA Columbia Super Regional finale Sunday at the Mizzou Softball Stadium.
• Game time and television network will be announced by the NCAA later Saturday night.

FOLLOW THE TIGERS

• For all the latest on Mizzou Softball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team @MizzouSoftball (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook).