University of Missouri
33-10
Missouri State
26-20
No. 15 Mizzou Softball Blanks Missouri State, 6-0
4/23/2015 3:19:00 PM | Softball
Senior Kelsea Roth hit a pair of two-run home runs to catapult the Tigers to their 8th straight win
SPRINGIFELD, Mo. - No. 15 Mizzou Softball (33-10, 11-7) clinched its eighth straight victory on Thursday night, beating in-state foe Missouri State, 6-0. The Tigers improved to 8-0 on the season in midweek games and secured their 12th road win in 2015.
Mizzou has now outscored its opponents 79-10 over the last eight games, combining solid pitching with a scorching offense during its current win streak. The Tigers jumped ahead early again Thursday as junior Taylor Gadbois (Maryville, Mo.) dropped down a bunt single, stole second and came around to score on a single by Sami Fagan (Dunnellon, Fla.).
Gadbois went 2-for-4 at the plate and added a steal in the leadoff spot. The 2014 All-American is now for 10-with-13 with eight stolen bases in her last three games. Meanwhile, after the RBI single in the first, Fagan has reached base safely in 30 consecutive games. That's the third-longest streak in school history.
The Tigers tacked on a pair of two-out runs in the third inning. Senior Corrin Genovese (East Amherst, N.Y.) lifted a bloop single to center to keep the inning alive and fellow senior Kelsea Roth (Yorba Linda, Calif.) made the most of the opportunity. Roth launched a two-run blast over the left field wall to put Mizzou up 4-0.
The veteran 1B wasn't satisfied yet. Roth crushed her second two-run home run of the contest in the top of the fifth inning, tying her career-high with four RBI in the process. She has 41 career long balls and is now alone at fifth all-time on Mizzou's career home run list.
Freshman Paige Lowary (Dallas Center, Iowa) got the start in the circle and tossed her second solid outing in as many days. She threw 7.0 innings, allowing no runs on four hits while striking out six MSU batters.
Lowary re-entered the game in the bottom of the fifth and escaped a bases loaded, no out jam by fanning the first batter and inducing an inning-ending double play. She sealed the Tigers' shutout victory by retiring the Bears' final eight batters.
The Tigers now turn their focus to a pivotal weekend at University Field as they host No. 3 LSU at University Field for a three-game set. The high-profile series begins Saturday at 2 p.m. CT.
For all the latest on Mizzou Softball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on twitter @MizzouSoftball.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Paige Lowary (15-3)
L: Chelsea Jones (13-7)
Batting:
HR: Kelsea Roth 2
RBI: Emily Crane 1 ; Sami Fagan 1 ; Kelsea Roth 4
Base Running:
RUNS: Taylor Gadbois 1 ; Erin Gililand 1 ; Corrin Genovese 1 ; Kelsea Roth 3
SB: Taylor Gadbois 1 ; Emily Crane 2
Base Running:
HBP: Erika Zimmer 1 ; Olivia Roark 1
