No. 13/15 Softball Earns Road Series Win Over RV/RV South Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Thanks to eight singles and a strong showing out of the bullpen, the No. 13/15 University of Missouri softball team (39-14, 12-11 SEC) defeated RV/RV South Carolina (33-20, 8-15 SEC), 4-2, Saturday at Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field, to win game two of their three-game weekend set and secure the series win.

The win is Mizzou’s 39th of the season (39-14, 12-11 SEC), while South Carolina’s record drops to 33-20 (8-15 SEC).

Freshman Stefania Abruscato went a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate, including a first-inning RBI single. She notched a career-best matching three hits Saturday.

Senior Jenna Laird finished 2-for-4 in the win with two singles and a run scored.

Freshman Marissa McCann, the two-time SEC Freshman of the Week, collected her seventh win (7-4, 4-3 SEC) of the season, going for 4.1 innings out of the bullpen, striking out four and allowing just two runs on six hits.

Mizzou’s offense started hot in the contest, with Laird and senior Alex Honnold logging consecutive singles, before senior Maddie Gallagher’s sacrifice fly brought home Laird and gave the Tigers a run just three batters into the game.

Abruscato then plated Honnold thanks to an RBI single, as the Tigers’ squad exited the top of the first with a 2-0 lead.

Sophomore Cierra Harrison escaped a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the first, inducing a pair of flyouts to preserve the Mizzou lead.

After a brief 14-minute rain delay, South Carolina loaded the bases again in the bottom of the second, only for McCann to strike out the Gamecocks number three hitter on four pitchers, stifling another opponent rally.

The Tigers continued to pounce on opportunities. After junior Julia Crenshaw reached on catcher’s interference, back-to-back singles from Abruscato and junior Kara Daly would bring the backstop home in the top of third.

South Carolina then scored its first run of the game in the third on an RBI single from Aniyah Black. With two on and two outs, McCann coaxed a popup to end the inning, to leave Mizzou’s lead intact, 3-1.

Mizzou continued to utilize a small-ball approach, with a Katie Chester RBI single scoring Crenshaw again in the fifth.

Through five frames, MU had seven hits, all of which were singles, three walks, and only struck out twice. The approach put Mizzou ahead 4-1.

The Gamecocks scratched across another run in the bottom of the fifth, using a sacrifice fly from Alana Vawter to cut Missouri’s lead back to two.

Taylor Pannell entered in the seventh and registered three quick outs to collect her NCAA-leading 12th save of the season and secure the 4-2 victory for the Tigers.

GAME NOTES

• Freshman Stefania Abruscato went a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate, including a first-inning RBI single. She notched a career-best matching three hits Saturday.
• Stefania Abruscato has now reached base safely in five straight games.
• Stefania Abruscato posted her third multi-hit game of the season.
• Jenna Laird finished 2-for-4 in the win with two singles, two stolen bases and a run scored. She has posted a hit in five-straight games.
• Jenna Laird leads Mizzou with 16 stolen bases in 2024. She moves to tied for seventh in Mizzou program history with 80 career stolen bases. 
• Alex Honnold (1-for-3, run, walk, stolen base), Kara Daly (1-for-3, RBI) and Katie Chester (1-for-2, RBI) each posted a hit Sunday.
• Abby Hay’s two walks tied a career high.
• Maddie Gallagher, Stefania Abruscato, Kara Daly, and Katie Chester all recorded RBIs in the victory.
• Kayley Lenger picked up her SEC-leading 18th HBP.
• Alex Honnold extended her reached base streak to nine games. She now has 196 career hits at Mizzou.
• Freshman Marissa McCann, the two-time SEC Freshman of the Week, collected her seventh win (7-4, 4-3 SEC) of the season, going for 4.1 innings out of the bullpen, striking out four and allowing just two runs on six hits.
• Taylor Pannell recorded her NCAA-leading 12th save (sixth in SEC play) of the season.
• Mizzou picked up its first SEC road series win of the campaign Saturday.
• Every one of Mizzou’s eight hits in the contest were via single.
• MU’s lineup struck out just twice in 33 plate appearances in the game.
• With the victory, the Tigers have won three of their last four SEC series. Saturday marked Mizzou’s first SEC road series win of the season.
• Mizzou’s win gives them a 16-9 advantage versus South Carolina all-time.
• Larissa Anderson secured her tenth career win (10-4) against the Gamecocks in her coaching career.

LOOKING AHEAD

• Mizzou concludes its weekend series against the Gamecocks on Sunday at 2 p.m., CT in Columbia, South Carolina. The game will be broadcasted on SEC Network+.
• The Tigers then look to postseason play, beginning with the 2024 SEC Tournament, which is slated for May 7-11 in Auburn, Alabama.

FOLLOW THE TIGERS

• For all the latest on Mizzou Softball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team @MizzouSoftball (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook).