COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Mizzou Softball team hosted its annual Black & Gold scrimmage game on Saturday, Feb. 7. The Black team claimed a 16-1 victory. More than 500 fans came out to University Field to watch the Tigers in their intrasquad showcase. The Black unit was powered by a three-hit, five-RBI performance from junior 2B/OF Emily Crane (Troy, Mo.) and four innings of one-run pitching from sophomore Tori Finucane (Germantown, Md.)
Along with Finucane, freshman Paige Lowary (Dallas Center-Grimes, Iowa) and sophomore Cheyenne Baxter (Norborne, Mo.) also saw action for head coach Ehren Earleywine's Black team, with four innings of scoreless pitching between them. The three combined to go eight innings, recording nine strikeouts and allowing just two walks.
Mizzou's Black Team got on the board with an eight-run showing in the fourth inning. After two errors from the Gold Team plated two runs, senior SS Corrin Genovese (East Amherst, N.Y.) smacked an RBI single.
Then junior Sami Fagan (Dunnellon, Fla.) and Crane kept the line the moving with back-to-back RBI knocks that handed the Black Team a 6-0 advantage. Fagan put together a 4-for-5 performance at the plate on Saturday. Senior 1B Kelsea Roth (Yorba Linda, Calif.) polished off the big frame with a home run over the right centerfield wall.
The Tigers' Black squad never looked back, doubling their run total over the final four innings. That group allowed their only run of the game in the waning moments of the scrimmage. Sophomore OF Anna Reed (Lonedell, Mo.) collected an RBI with a single to left to get the Gold Team on the board.
Mizzou will officially start its regular season next Friday at the Dot Richardson Invitational in Clermont, Fla. The Tigers launch the tournament against Louisville, with the first pitch scheduled for 10 a.m.
For all the latest on Mizzou Softball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on twitter @MizzouSoftball.