Mizzou wins a wild one, lives to see another game

What a difference a day makes. With its season at the brink, Missouri softball came out bats and legs a-blazin’ to stave off elimination and face a date later tonight with the Washington Huskies, who lost 3-2 in the earlier game.

A day after accumulating just four hits, the Tigers amassed eight, with two apiece coming from Jenna Laird, Alex Honnold and Abby Hay, on its way to a 5-1 win. It was a wild one, but needlessly so, as Missouri did some weird things en route along the way that left us all scratching their heads.

Let’s get to it.

Offensive Parade

Unlike Friday’s debacle, in which the Tigers didn’t get their first hit until the fifth inning, it started early in this one, as they immediately teed off against Indiana starter Brianna Copeland (also the leadoff hitter, a “Real Big 10 Shoshei Ohtani,” per Eli Hoff) with a leadoff double by Jenna Laird. After an Alex Honnold walk, Maddie Gallagher hit one back at Copeland, who bobbled it before the first baseman, Cora Bassett misplayed it. It was scored as just one error, but seems like if it should have been two if I'm being honest. While those shenanigans were going on, all the runners advanced, allowing Jenna to come home to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. But they weren’t done!

After an Abby Hay groundout, the ghost of baserunning blunders reared its ugly head, as Gallagher tried to take third, over-slid the bag and was tagged out by third baseman Alex Cooper (no relation to the Call Her Daddy podcast host). But all was not lost, as Honnold came around to score, giving the Tigers a 2-0 lead.

In the second inning, the Tigers had a chance to plate another one, but took a decidedly more conservative approach, choosing not to send Abruscato on Claire Cahalan’s single up the middle, which was a very good call (she lacks the speed of say, a Honnold or Laird). After a Laird groundout to new pitcher Sophie Kleiman, the Tigers left runners at the corners.

In the sixth, the Tigers got to Kleiman bringing in two more insurance runs. Maddie Gallagher worked a (very loud— we heard it in the press box) hit-by-pitch before Abby Hay followed with a double to right field. Gallagher, thank God, seemed to think about coming home, but decided to wisely stay back. Crenshaw then dropped down a perfect baby bunt, leaving the Hoosiers with no play, which loaded the bases for pinch hitter Katie Chester, who hit into a fielders choice for the first out. Daly, continuing her struggles this series, flied out for the second out before Kayley Lenger walked in a run to make it 3-0.

Madison Walker, who we hadn’t seen since a pinch hit at-bat vs. South Carolina on May 3, entered as a pinch hitter in the 9-hole, and madness ensued. When the ball got away from the catcher, Crenshaw took off for home, and with Parker blocking the plate, she maneuvered around her, appearing to tag the back part of home plate. An extremely lengthy review ensued, and she was ultimately called out for being out of the baseline. There was nowhere for her to go, friends.

In the seventh the Tigers tacked on one more, as Laird hit into a one-out single and then swiped second. Honnold then put runners at the corners after a supremely successful fielder’s choice that didn’t result in an out. Gallagher followed with a fielder’s choice of her on, and Laird came home, making it 4-0, until Hay’s RBI single make it 5-0.

Pitching Dominance

Laurin Krings was exceptional in this one, allowing just four hits and one earned run in her 6.1 innings of work. While only punching out two batters, she was effective and efficient, throwing just 86 pitches. After a 1-2-3 inning in the first, she allowed a single a two-out single to Aly VanBrandt but she was extinguished almost immediately after being caught stealing second. She sent down batters 1-2-3 in both the third and the fourth before allowing a leadoff single to Avery Parker in the fifth. In the sixth Krings worked one more 1-2-3 inning before the seventh, when she ran into some difficulty.

After a one out line drive for the first out, Sarah Stone spoiled the shutout with her tenth home run of the season to make it 5-1. When Parker followed with a single, Mizzou head coach Larissa Anderson had seen enough. Enter Taylor Pannell.

Pannell was also exceptional, and worked two quick strikeouts, including an absolutely filthy called third strike to preserve the win and send the Tigers to the late game.

The Ghost of Baserunning Blunders Past

Now... about those aforementioned legs a-blazin.’ I know Coach said they’d need to be hyper-aggressive because of the opponent, but my God...

After Gallagher had been called out for foolishly over-sliding third base in the first, she was a bit more conservative in her own approach, opting not to go home later in the game when given a chance, but golly, she sure thought about it.

The fifth inning was — I’ll be blunt — it was what you would call a real cluster*$%#, my friends. The Tiger bats had gone a bit quiet under IU pitcher Sophie Kleiman up until this point, when leadoff hitter Kayley Lenger laid down a beautiful bunt that went in between the pitcher and third base and left them unable to take a play. Just as swiftly, she swiped second, easily beating the tag. Awesome. She went too far off the bag, however, on a routine fly ball to right center, leaving her unable to tag up (not awesome) and get to third base, and when Honnold’s subsequent single to first wasn’t corralled, Lenger - and by extension, Anderson - made the odd decision to send her from second to home. It did not work, friends, and shoddy baserunning cost the Tigers a chance to extending the inning and bringing in another run. Super NOT awesome. Perhaps the least awesome.

I wondered, at what point does aggressive baserunning become absurdity and stupidity?

It was then, folks. It was then.

Crenshaw’s weird out at home aside — I don’t blame her for trying to take that base and she should have been safe — Anderson apparently agreed with me, taking a far less, what I’ll call terrifying approach, to base running, holding Laird and Hay at third later in the game.

For good measure, the weirdness also extended to the Hoosiers, who had a runner called out after she was hit by a ground ball in the fifth.

I told you; it was a wild game.

Survive and Advance

That’s where we are now. The Tigers must win tonight to keep it going for a chance for a revenge game against Omaha tomorrow at 1pm. Win or go home.

Let’s go.