COLUMBIA, Mo. - Mizzou Softball (19-4, 3-1) fell to No. 14 Tennessee, 12-4 (6) in game one of a three-game set this weekend. The Volunteers powered their way past Mizzou with four home runs, including a fourth-inning grand slam that gave them a seven-run cushion.
Senior Angela Randazzo (Poway, Calif.) provided a bright spot in the Tigers' loss. Randazzo went 2-for-3 at the plate with two RBI and a home run. With the Tigers trailing 1-0 in the top of the second inning, freshman Amanda Sanchez (West Covina, Calif.) singled and Kelsea Roth (Yorba Linda, Calif.) drew her 85th career walk to put runners on first and second. Following a second walk later in the contest, Roth is now alone at sixth all-time in school history in that category with 86 free passes.
After a strikeout, Randazzo stepped up with two outs and delivered a clutch RBI single to left to knot the score at 1-1. Tennessee struck back in the bottom half, plating four runs on a pair of two-run home runs to grab a 5-1 advantage.
Mizzou manufactured a run in the top of the third, but the Lady Vols' big grand slam swelled Tennessee's lead to 9-2 in the bottom of the fourth.
The Tigers narrowed the gap with a pair of solo shots. Randazzo blasted her third home of the season in the fifth and senior Corrin Genovese smacked her first long ball of the 2015 campaign in the sixth.
Tennessee answered and polished off the run-rule victory behind a three-run rally in the bottom half.
In the loss, junior Emily Crane went 2-for-3 at the plate and now has six hits in her last seven plate appearances.
Mizzou is back in action tomorrow on Saturday, March 21. The Tigers and Volunteers clash again with first pitch set for 7:30 p.m. CT. The game will be televised live on the SEC Network. For all the latest on Mizzou Softball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on twitter @MizzouSoftball.