March 22, 2015
Box Score
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Mizzou Softball (20-5, 4-2) found itself in another early hole Sunday (March 22) and for the second consecutive game, the Tigers roared back to threaten late, but the comeback attempt fell short as Tennessee clinched the series win with a 10-7 victory.
Four Tigers recorded two hits and both Kelsea Roth (Yorba Linda, Calif.) and Amanda Sanchez (West Covina, Calif.) launched home runs in the loss. Roth went 4-for-7 in the entire series with four runs scored, four walks and three RBI.
After the Volunteers hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first, Roth answered with one of her own to level the score at 2-2. She now boasts 36 career home runs and five long balls in 2015.
Tennessee jumped ahead in the bottom half of the second, plating six runs in the frame to take an 8-2 lead. Freshman Paige Lowary (Dallas Center, Iowa) entered the game in relief to stop the bleeding and tossed an effective 4.2 innings in the circle, allowing two runs while fanning five batters.
The two squads traded runs in the third. Trailing 9-3 heading in to fifth frame, Mizzou attempted to mount its second massive comeback in two days. Emily Crane (Troy, Mo.) doubled to lead off the inning and junior Sami Fagan (Dunnellon, Fla.) immediately plated a run with an RBI single.
Two batters later, Sanchez lined a home run that just squeaked over the right field wall for her fifth career home run. The two-run bomb sliced the Tigers' deficit to three. Mizzou eventually loaded the bases again with two outs and sophomore Jordan Zolman (Arbyrd, Mo.) came through with a clutch RBI single to cut Tennessee's lead to 9-7. That was all the Tigers could muster in the inning.
The Volunteers tacked on an insurance run behind a solo home run in the bottom half. Mizzou could not manufacture another rally and suffered its second Southeastern Conference loss of the season.
Mizzou returns to the field on Wednesday, March 25. The Tigers take on border rival Illinois in a doubleheader at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo. The first game is slated to being at 3 p.m. CT. For all the latest on Mizzou Softball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on twitter @MizzouSoftball.
