No. 14 Softball Secures Series Win Over No. 18 Mississippi State Sunday

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The No. 14/14 University of Missouri softball team (37-13, 10-10 SEC) took game two of its series with No. 18/18 Mississippi State (30-16, 9-11 SEC), 4-1, Sunday at the Mizzou Softball Stadium to secure the series win on Senior Day.

The victory improves Missouri to 37-13 (10-10 SEC) in 2024, as MSU falls to 30-16 (9-11 SEC) for their campaign.

On Senior Day, senior shortstop Jenna Laird set the pace offensively for the Tigers, finishing 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.

Sophomore Katie Chester brought home two with a pinch hit fourth-inning single, and sophomore Cierra Harrison collected her 13th win of the season, going 5.1 innings, allowing zero earned runs (one run), and surrendering just one extra-base hit, and three in total.

Harrison would get to work early Sunday. After the leadoff batter knocked a double, she coaxed three quick outs, including a strikeout to exit the top of the first unscathed.

The Tigers then pushed one across in the bottom of the frame, as Laird scored thanks to an RBI groundout from freshman Abby Hay, putting MU up 1-0.

In the bottom of the fourth, a pinch hit double from Chester brought a pair of Tigers home, increasing Mizzou’s lead to three. Chester, a Liberty, Missouri, native, picked up her 27th RBI of the season.

Laird then brought home another on a single, as the home squad took a 4-0 lead.

Harrison, a Lee’s Summit, Missouri, native, continued to dominate in the circle for MU, getting 14-straight outs after the leadoff double, not allowing a baserunner until the fifth inning.

In the sixth, MSU managed to push one across on an RBI single from Ella Wesolowski, but freshman Marissa McCann escaped a bases loaded jam to limit the damage and preserve a 4-1 lead.

With the three-run advantage in hand, sophomore closer Taylor Pannell entered the game in the seventh to close it out. Pannell fanned a pair en route to her NCAA-leading 11th save of the season.

GAME NOTES

• Jenna Laird picked up her team-leading 18th multi-hit game. She finished 2-for-3 with one run, and an RBI.
• Alex Honnold extended her hitting streak to six games with a first-inning single. She went 1-for-3 Sunday.
• Maddie Gallagher picked up her career-best 11th double of the season. She also notched a walk. Gallagher has hit safely in three-straight games.
• Freshman Stefania Abruscato added a 1-for-2 outing with a walk.
• Katie Chester picked up her 27th RBI of the season after bringing home two runs with a pinch-hit single in the fourth. Chester is 3-for-7 (.429) as a pinch hitter this season.
• Katie Chester paces Mizzou with eight multi-RBI games in 2024.
• Abby Hay has recorded an RBI in three straight games (four RBI in the last three games) for the first time in her career.
• Cierra Harrison moved to 13-3 on the season with the win, pitching five innings, allowing one run (zero earned runs), and allowing three hits with two strikeouts and a walk.
• Taylor Pannell picked up her NCAA-leading 11th save of the season. She pitched the final inning Sunday, notching two strikeouts to go with a pair of hits (zero runs).
• Marissa McCann made her 21st appearance in the circle, allowing just a hit over 0.2 innings of work.
• Danielle Blackstun scored her 15th run of the campaign in the fourth, coming on as a pinch runner.
• Claire Cahalan scored her 11th run of the season in the fourth inning.
• Missouri won its fourth SEC series of the 2024 campaign,
• The Tigers move to 27-1 when they limit their opponents to two or fewer runs.
• Mizzou now leads the all-time series with Mississippi State, 14-9.
• Head coach Larissa Anderson is 7-5 against the Bulldogs in her career.
• Mizzou recognized seniors Maddie Gallagher, Jenna Laird, Laurin Krings, Alex Honnold, and Chantice Phillips following Sunday’s contest.

LOOKING AHEAD

• Mizzou next finishes its SEC home series against No. 18/18 Mississippi State on Monday. First pitch is 6 p.m., CT at the Mizzou Softball Stadium. The game will be televised on SEC Network with Head coach Larissa Anderson Mic’d Up throughout the broadcast.
• The giveaway for the series finale is a Truman Sliding Bobblehead sponsored by Coca Cola, while supplies last.

• Mizzou closes out its 2024 regular season with a three-game series at South Carolina. Games are set for Friday (5 p.m., CT), Saturday (5 p.m., CT) and Sunday (2 p.m., CT) in Columbia, South Carolina.
• The Tigers then look to postseason play, beginning with the 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).