#16 @MizzouSoftball Posts 8-5 Series Opener Win at Mississippi State

Friday, April 29

Starkville, Miss.

6:00 PM

University of Missouri

35-12, 10-9

Mississippi State

25-25, 3-16

Missouri

Mississippi State

#16 @MizzouSoftball Posts 8-5 Series Opener Win at Mississippi State

4/29/2016 11:27:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

Three Tigers record multi-hit nights to key offensive production

STARKVILLE, Miss. - No. 16 Mizzou Softball (35-12, 10-9 SEC) waited out a long rain delay on Friday evening and tallied an 8-5 victory over Mississippi State. The sixth-straight win for the Tigers pushed them across the .500 mark in Southeastern Conference play for the first time since April 3.

Redshirt senior Taylor Gadbois (Maryville, Mo.) started the evening with a little history. Following a leadoff single, Gadbois swiped second for her 47th stolen base of the season. The 47 steals marked a new single-season career-high and moved her into third place for most swipes in a year in Tiger history.

Junior Chloe Rathburn (Mission Viejo, Calif.) destroyed a second inning solo home run to put Mizzou on top, 2-0. The long ball marked Rathburn's 12th home run of the season. Mizzou piled on three more runs in the third inning behind RBI singles from Rathburn, sophomore Amanda Sanchez (West Covina, Calif.) and freshman Rylee Pierce (Visalia, Calif.).

Mississippi State reached the scoreboard for the first time Friday with three runs in the third inning. The Bulldogs used three hits, three walks and a wild pitch to key their big scoring frame. Mississippi State added another run in the fourth following a costly Tiger throwing error.

The Tigers' early five-run advantage suddenly was down to one run heading to the fifth inning. Mizzou got back on track with two runs as Pierce and junior Kirsten Mack (Riverside, Calif.) delivered big RBIs.

The Bulldogs tallied a single run in the bottom half of the inning but senior Emily Crane (Troy, Mo.) answered in the sixth with her 16th home run of the season. Crane's solo shot moved her into T-3rd most single-season home runs in program history.

Mizzou brought a three-run lead into the bottom half of the seventh. A leadoff hit and a fielding error brought the tying run to the plate for Mississippi State with no outs. The Tigers recorded a fielder's choice then a big game-ending double play to wrap up their series opening victory.

Sophomore Paige Lowary (Dallas Center, Iowa) tossed her ninth complete game of the year, en route to her 19th victory. The 19 wins in 2016 marks a new single-season career high for the Tiger lefty.

KEY MOMENT

The Tigers jumped out to a 5-0 lead through two and a half innings. Mississippi State responded with four unanswered runs to make it a one-run advantage for Mizzou. The Tigers pushed two runs across in the fifth inning and one run in the sixth to give them breathing room yet again.

TOP TIGERS

Rathburn: 3-for-4, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, SB
Crane: 2-for-4, 2 R, HR, RBI, SB
Lowary (W, CG, 19-6): 7.0 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 3 K

UP NEXT

Mizzou continues its final road trip of the 2016 regular season on Saturday, April 30, at Mississippi State. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. (CT) and the game will broadcast live on SEC Network.

Visit MUTigers.com for the latest information on all things Mizzou Softball. You can also find the Tigers on social media by liking us on Facebook (University of Missouri Softball Team) and following us on Twitter and Instagram (@MizzouSoftball).