University of Missouri
16-5, 0-1
Tennessee
17-6, 1-0
No. 14/8 Tigers Stumble Against No. 18 Tennessee
3/13/2022 10:08:00 PM | Softball
COLUMBIA, Mo. – No. 14/8 Missouri softball fell behind early in each of its two games against No. 18 Tennessee and the Tigers were unable to overcome the deficit in either contest, falling to 0-2 in SEC play. University of Missouri softball (16-6, 0-2 SEC) fell by run-rule in the first game of the day by a score of 14-3 before taking a 5-4 defeat in the second game.
GAME ONE
The Tigers fell behind early in the first game of the day. A two-out double by Ashley Morgan gave the Lady Vols a 1-0 lead in the first inning. After Gibson was hit by a pitch, Zaida Puni cranked a three-run homer over the left field wall to extend the lead to four runs.
Mizzou was not able to answer in the first despite getting a pair of baserunners.
In the top of the third inning, Tennessee quickly loaded the bases with nobody out. After a strikeout, a sharp ground ball down the left field line turned into a two-run double, making it 6-0 for the Lady Vols.
Missouri finally got on the board in the bottom of the fourth. Kara Daly smashed a long home run to right center field to lead off the inning, making it 6-1. After a two-out popup was dropped, Riley Frizell homered to left field to cut the Tennessee lead to just three.
Tennessee got all three runs back in the top of the fifth. With two on and two out, Kiki Milloy drove a 1-0 pitch off the center field wall that turned in to an inside-the-park home run, making it 9-3.
Brooke Wilmes and Jenna Laird reached base to start the bottom of the fifth, but after a Wert flyout, Daly hit a ground ball right at the third base bag for a double play. Tennessee then added five in the top of the sixth after the first five batters reached base safely.
GAME TWO
The Tigers fell behind in the first inning yet again in the second game of the day. With two outs and a runner on second base, the Tigers recorded back-to-back errors to allow a run to score.
After a leadoff walk in the second inning, a one-out blast to left field from Webber gave the Lady Vols a 3-0 lead. A solo shot from Puni in the third inning pushed the lead to 4-0 for Tennessee before Davis added a solo shot of her own in the fourth.
Trailing by five runs, the Tigers jumped back into the contest in the bottom half of the fourth. After back-to-back singles from Kimberly Wert and Kara Daly, Alex Honnold ripped a sharp grounder back up the middle that deflected off of the second baseman's glove for an RBI double. Kendyll Bailey then singled back up the middle on the first pitch that she saw to put another run on the board for the Tigers. After a pitching change, Hatti Moore ripped a single through the left side to make it 5-3.
In the bottom of the fifth, Brooke Wilmes and Jenna Laird both moved into scoring position with nobody out. Kimberly Wert scored Wilmes with a sacrifice fly to left field, cutting the Tennessee lead to only one. The Tigers were unable to bring home another run to tie it up.
In the bottom of the seventh, Mizzou had two baserunners reach with two outs in Wert and Daly, but a blooper to left did not fall and the contest ended there.
NOTES
The Tigers trailed for the entirety of each game.
Kara Daly became the first Tiger to homer in five-straight games with her solo shot in game one.
Daly has hit safely in 10 of her last 11 games.
Riley Frizell cranked her second home run of the season.
UP NEXT
The Tigers will travel to Illinois on Wednesday for a doubleheader.
FOLLOW THE TIGERS
For all the latest on Mizzou Softball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team @MizzouSoftball (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook).
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Erin Edmoundson (10-1)
L: Weber, Jordan (5-1)
Batting:
2B: Amanda Ayala 1 ; Ashley Morgan 2 ; Lair Beautae 1
HR: Kiki Milloy 1 ; Zaida Puni 1
RBI: Kiki Milloy 5 ; Ashley Morgan 1 ; McKenna Gibson 1 ; Zaida Puni 3 ; Ivy Davis 1 ; Lair Beautae 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Kiki Milloy 1 ; Amanda Ayala 1 ; Rylie West 1 ; Ashley Morgan 2 ; Katie Taylor 1 ; McKenna Gibson 2 ; Zaida Puni 2 ; Ivy Davis 2 ; Lair Beautae 2
HBP: Rylie West 1 ; McKenna Gibson 1 ; Ivy Davis 1
Batting:
HR: Daly, Kara 1 ; Frizell, Riley 1
RBI: Daly, Kara 1 ; Frizell, Riley 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Daly, Kara 1 ; Moore, Hatti 1 ; Frizell, Riley 1
HBP: Wilmes, Brooke 1
