COLUMBIA, S.C. - A two-out, two-run home run by sophomore C Kirsten Mack (Riverside, Calif.) in the fifth inning propelled the #20/21 Missouri Tiger Softball team to a 4-2 win Saturday afternoon at South Carolina. Mack's blast came on a line drive that cleared the center field fence to break a 2-2 tie, and it followed a two-out base hit by senior SS Corrin Genovese (East Amherst, N.Y.) to keep the inning alive. Mizzou improved to 11-3 overall on the season (1-0 in SEC play), while South Carolina dropped to 17-6 and 0-1.
Mack's homer was her third of the season, and was enough to support freshman LHP Paige Lowary, who allowed just three hits and struck out five batters in her first collegiate complete game to improve to 7-0 on the season. Lowary was sharp early, as she retired the first six Gamecock hitters, while her teammates staked her out to a 2-0 lead with single runs in the second and third innings.
Mizzou took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning on a two-out single by senior 1B Kelsea Roth (Yorba Linda, Calif.). Roth's hit drove in senior DP Angela Randazzo (Poway, Calif.), who led off the inning with her second double of the season. The lead was pushed to 2-0 in the top of the third on a two-out single by Genovese, who ended the day 3-for-4. Genovese's single plated junior 2B Sami Fagan (Dunnellon, Fla.), who reached with a one-out single and moved to second when the next batter, freshman Amanda Sanchez (West Covina, Calif.) was hit by a pitch.
The Tigers were outstanding Saturday with two outs, as all four of their runs scored with two outs. Six of Mizzou's nine hits on the day came with two outs.
South Carolina rallied to tie the game at two-apiece in the bottom of the third, as the Gamecocks had a pair of doubles in the inning. Both runs would eventually be ruled as unearned due to a catcher's interference call that played a role in the scoring. Lowary ended the threat by inducing a fly out to end the frame, and she would not allow a Gamecock runner past second base the rest of the game.
The win marked the sixth straight season that Mizzou has won its conference-opening ballgame (2010-15). The Tigers and Gamecocks will play a single game each of the next two days, with games scheduled for 5 p.m. (central time) Sunday and 6 p.m. (central) Monday. Both games will be telecast live on the SEC Network, and live audio will also be available on www.mixlr.com/Mizzou-Softball/.