Mizzou Takes Down SLU, 10-6

Wednesday, April 1

Columbia, Mo.

4:00PM

University of Missouri

23-7

Saint Louis

20-12

Saint Louis

Missouri

4/1/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball

Box Score

April 1, 2015

Box Score | Photo Gallery

Columbia, Mo. - Mizzou Softball scored in five of six innings and withstood a rally by Saint Louis University to defeat the Billikens by a score of 10-6 on Wednesday at University Field. The win improved the Tigers' record to 23-7, while SLU fell to 20-12 on the season.

Mizzou held Saint Louis scoreless in the first inning, and in the bottom of the frame, junior Emily Crane scored on an error by the Billiken second baseman to give the Tigers an early 1-0 lead.

In the second inning, SLU managed to load the bases with two outs, but sophomore pitcher Tori Finucane ended the threat with a strikeout. Finucane would go 3.1 innings in all on the day, and was awarded the win as she improved to 12-6 on the season, allowing just one run while striking out three Billikens.

The Tigers scored four runs in the bottom of the second. Senior Kelsea Roth led off with a walk, and sophomore Kirsten Mack drove her in with a two-run homerun to right field. This was Mack's 10th homerun of the season, which leads the team. The scoring continued with a sacrifice fly to centerfield by Sami Fagan to bring in Natalie Fleming. That was followed by a single up the middle by Amanda Sanchez (who went 3-for-4 with three RBI), and Kayla Kingsley beat the throw to home giving Mizzou a 5-0 lead.

Saint Louis responded in the third inning with a run of their own making the score 5-1. They were also able to hold Mizzou scoreless in the inning.

Finucane struck out the first batter she faced in the fourth inning, her third strikeout of the game, and was relieved by sophomore Cheyenne Baxter. Baxter had a short outing. After allowing a run on a bases loaded walk pushing the score to 5-2, she was relieved by freshman Paige Lowary. Lowary struck out the first batter she faced, but Saint Louis took the lead on a grand slam, giving them a 6-5 advantage.

In the bottom of the fourth, Fagan hit another sacrifice fly, this time to bring Kingsley home and tie the score at 6-6.

The Tigers held SLU scoreless in the top of the fifth inning thanks to three strikeouts from Lowary. In the bottom of the inning, Mizzou scored two runs to retake the lead at 8-6. Freshman Morgan Walters stole third and scored after a throwing error by the SLU catcher. Later, Kingsley singled to drive in sophomore Anna Reed.

The Billikens failed to score again in the sixth inning, and Mizzou added two runs in the bottom of the sixth to push their lead to 10-6. Sanchez singled to score Crane, and senior Corrin Genovese grounded out to the shortstop to plate Fagan.

The game was called in the seventh inning due to rain, and Mizzou came out with the victory in a game that signaled the return to University Field by former Tiger All-Americans Chelsea Thomas and Ashley Fleming, who are assistant coaches for SLU.

Mizzou Softball returns to action on the road Friday, April 3 when it takes on Georgia at 5 p.m. in Athens, Ga. in the first of a three-game series. For all the latest on Mizzou Softball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter @MizzouSoftball.