No. 11/13 Softball Falls to No. 22 Baylor Saturday

CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. – The No. 11/13 ranked University of Missouri softball team (13-2) fell to No. 22 Baylor, 5-4, Saturday evening in Mizzou’s 2024 Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic finale at Big League Dreams Wrigley Field.

Baylor scored five unanswered runs over the final four innings to secure the win. With the score tied, 4-4, Kaci West hit a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the seventh to complete the comeback for the Bears. 

Mizzou capitalized on a Baylor error in the first to take an early 1-0 lead. Leadoff batter Jenna Laird reached on a miscue before advancing to second after a walk. Maddie Gallagher then belted an RBI double to left. 

The Tiger offense would get back to work in the second, with Alex Honnold and Julia Crenshaw both hitting singles that pushed across runs, giving Mizzou a 3-0 lead after two frames.

Crenshaw would get back to work in the top of the fourth, knocking in Kayley Lenger to widen the gap to four.

Baylor then got on the board in the fourth, scoring two runs on back-to-back singles from Leah Cran and Presleigh Pilon, but Laurin Krings would come in out of the bullpen to stop the bleeding and preserve a 4-2 advantage.

A solo shot by Sydney Collazos in the bottom of the sixth would trim Mizzou’s lead to one, and another RBI single would tie the game at four.

GAME NOTES

• Julia Crenshaw set the pace for the Tigers offensively, going 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI and a walk in the effort.
• It marked Julia Crenshaw’s second multi-hit game of the campaign and team-leading third multi-RBI game in 2024. 
• Jenna Laird posted a 2-for-4 day of her own, including scoring twice, a stolen base and smacking a second-inning double.
• It marked Jenna Laird’s team-high sixth multi-hit game. She has scored twice in five games (five of 15 this season, 33 percent) this season. 
• Maddie Gallagher and Alex Honnold both collected RBI, with Gallagher’s being a first-inning double and Honnold’s being a second-inning single.
• Maddie Gallagher has now registered three doubles in 2024. She also pushed her reached base streak to nine games. 
• Alex Honnold extended her hitting streak and reached base streak to seven games.
• Kayley Lenger scored a career-best matching two times Saturday. It marked her third career game with two runs scored. 
• Starter Cierra Harrison pitched 3.2 innings, allowing two runs on five hits with a trio of strikeouts. 
• Laurin Krings made an appearance out of the bullpen and finished with 2.2 innings pitched, three runs on two hits, and a pair of strikeouts.
• Taylor Pannell picked up a strikeout while allowing two hits in the seventh.

UP NEXT

• The Tigers will next travel to Lincoln, Nebraska, to compete in the Big Red Invitational March 2-3. No. 11/13 Mizzou will face Wichita State and Nebraska twice each over the two-day competition.

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