University of Missouri
43-16, 0
Omaha
42-13, 0
No. 7 Softball Falls to Omaha in Regional Opener Friday
5/17/2024 9:54:00 PM | Softball
COLUMBIA, Mo. – The No. 7 seeded University of Missouri Softball team (43-16) fell in a pitcher's duel to Omaha (42-13), 3-1, in nine innings during the first day of the 2024 NCAA Columbia Regional Friday at the Mizzou Softball Stadium.
Mizzou welcomed a Regional-best 3,347 fans to Mizzou Softball Stadium.
With the loss, Missouri will face Indiana Saturday at 4:30 p.m., CT and then take on the loser of No. 13/15 Washington/Omaha at 7 p.m., CT.
With the contest tied at 1-1, Ava Rongisch broke the stalemate with a two-run homer to center field in the ninth.
The Mavericks then retired Mizzou, one-two-three, to secure the win, 3-1.
Omaha jumped out to an early 1-0 lead after a solo homer from Sydney Thomason in the first. Despite the early deficit, starting pitcher Cierra Harrison, who made her first NCAA Regional start in the circle, retired five-straight batters after giving up the longball.
Harrison continued dealing for MU, registering her second one-two-three inning of the evening after her sixth strikeout retired the side in the fourth frame.
Marissa McCann relieved Harrison to begin the fifth inning, picking up where the starting pitcher left off by retiring six of the first seven hitters she faced.
During the bottom of the sixth inning, Missouri assembled multiple base runners with no outs for the third time of the contest.
Abby Hay commenced the inning with a single to center, before Julia Crenshaw singled to short. During Stefania Abruscato's at-bat, Crenshaw advanced to second to put multiple runners in scoring position. Kara Daly then lifted a fly ball to left field, resulting in a sacrifice fly that scored Hay.
NOTES
- Making her first career NCAA Regional start, Cierra Harrison dealt 4.0 innings, giving up just one earned run on three hits and forcing six strikeouts.
- Missouri's pitchers combined for 10 strikeouts which is the most in an NCAA Tournament contest since May 21, 2022, when Laurin Krings fanned 11 Missouri State batters.
- Kara Daly brought home her 32nd RBI of the season via a sacrifice fly to tie the game in the sixth inning.
- Jenna Laird made her program-record 239th consecutive start in the black and gold.
- Kayley Lenger, Abby Hay and Julia Crenshaw (four-game hitting streak) have all reached base in eight consecutive contests. Maddie Gallagher is on a six-game reached base streak while Jenna Laird has reached base in each of the last five.
- Marissa McCann pitched 4.2 innings out of the bullpen, allowing two earned runs on two hits with three strikeouts.
- Mizzou welcomed a Regional-best 3,347 fans to Mizzou Softball Stadium. The Tigers previously set the single-game attendance record with 3,607 April 13 against Florida. Missouri ranked fourth in the NCAA in 2024 with an average attendance of 2,520.
- Missouri is competing in its 17th-straight NCAA Tournament. The Tigers have made it to Regionals 27 times in their history, now holding a 54-33 overall record in Regionals.
- The Tigers are hosting their third NCAA Regional in four seasons. This campaign marks the 13th-ever Regional in Columbia.
- In her sixth season at Mizzou, head coach Larissa Anderson is making her fifth Regional appearance (2020 cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic) and is hosting for the third time (2021, 2022). So far, she's obtained a 9-7 record in the first round of the NCAA Tournament with the Tigers.
UP NEXT
- The Tigers square off in the first elimination game of the 2024 NCAA Columbia Regional against Indiana Saturday at 4:30 p.m., CT. With a win, Mizzou would then take on the loser of No. 13/15 Washington/Omaha at 7 p.m., CT.
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: Meyer, Kamryn (26-4)
L: McCann, Marissa (8-4)
Batting:
HR: Thomason, Sydney 1 ; Rongisch, Ava 1
RBI: Thomason, Sydney 1 ; Rongisch, Ava 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Thomason, Sydney 1 ; Ross, Sydney 1 ; Rongisch, Ava 1
HBP: Tucker, Lynsey 1
Batting:
RBI: Daly, Kara 1
SF: Daly, Kara 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hay, Abby 1
CS: Lenger, Kayley 1
HBP: Laird, Jenna 1 ; Gallagher, Maddie 1 ; Crenshaw, Julia 1
