March 28, 2014
|
#16 Mizzou 8, #13 Georgia 6 |
Time: 2:04 Att.: 613 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | F | |
| Georgia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | X | 6 |
| MIZZOU | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 8 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| W - Finucane (10-4) | 7.0 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 9 |
| L - Wilkinson (16-3) | 3.0 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 4 |
| Hitting Leaders | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | HR |
| MIZ - Genovese (2-for-3) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| UGA - Puailoa (2-for-3) | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
COLUMBIA, Mo.- The No. 16 Mizzou Softball team defeated No. 13 Georgia at their own game Friday night, as the Tigers played long ball in a big way to key an 8-6 win to open a weekend three-game series with the visiting Bulldogs. After falling behind 2-0 in the first inning, Mizzou (24-8 overall, 3-4 in Southeastern Conference play), erupted for eight runs, including four home runs (two alone by junior IF Corrin Genovese), in the bottom of the third to hand the Bulldogs (29-4, 5-2) just their fourth loss of the season.
Genovese (East Amherst, N.Y.) started Mizzou's third-inning long-ball party when she launched her second home run of the season to left-center for Mizzou's first hit of the evening which cut the deficit to 2-1. Genovese's blast came on a 3-2 pitch, as she worked the count full after falling behind 0-2 in the at-bat. After freshman C Kirsten Mack (Riverside, Calif.) worked a four-pitch walk, sophomore 2B Ashtin Stephens (Blue Springs, Mo.) reached on a fielder's choice, as Georgia 3B Bethany Beggs fielded a bunt and tried unsuccessfully to get the lead runner at second. Two batters later, with runners on first and second and one out, Tiger sophomore SS Sami Fagan (Dunnellon, Fla.) blasted a three-run homer over the right-field wall to give Mizzou its first lead, at 4-2.
But the Tigers were not done in the third, as junior 3B/C Angela Randazzo (Poway, Calif.) doubled with two outs, and scored on an infield single by senior OF Mackenzie Sykes (Blue Springs, Mo.) to make it 5-2. Junior 1B Kelsea Roth (Yorba Linda, Calif.) followed by hitting a home run well down the hill behind the left field wall for her fifth home run of the season and a 7-2 Tiger lead. Not to be outdone, Genovese promptly swatted her second big fly of the inning, another solo shot, just over the left field fence to cap the Tigers' prolific third inning.
Buoyed to an 8-2 lead by her teammates, Tiger freshman RHP Tori Finucane (Germantown, Md.) recovered from a rough first inning and was cruising with an 8-3 lead until the sixth inning. Georgia scored three times in the sixth to pull to within striking distance on a solo home run and a two-run double, but Finucane was able to get out of the inning with the two-run lead intact. She recorded a perfect seventh inning to notch her 10th win of the season. She struck out nine Bulldog batters on the evening to match her season-best total.
The Bulldogs hit three home runs overall Friday night, but all three came with the bases empty off Finucane. She out-dueled standout Bulldog RHP Chelsea Wilkinson, who fell to 16-3 on the season after being tagged for eight runs on six hits in the third inning. Wilkinson came into the game with an SEC-best 1.30 earned run average.
Mizzou continues its series vs. Georgia on Saturday, March 29, at 2 p.m. at University Field. The two programs finish the series with a noon start on Sunday, March 30.