Mizzou softball comes out of opening weekend with 2-3 mark on the season
CLEARWATER, Fla. (KMIZ)
The Mizzou softball team fell just short of a win in the NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic finale, on Sunday, losing to South Alabama 5-4 in 11 innings.
With that loss to end the weekend, head coach Larissa Anderson and her team came out on the other side of opening weekend with a 2-3 start to the season, with wins against No. 23 Liberty and BYU on Saturday.
Despite the extra innings loss, true freshman pitcher Abby Carr shined in the finale against the Jaguars. The two-way player started her day with her first collegiate home run in the second inning and then, later, came in in relief for pitcher Courtney Donahue. Carr tossed for about four innings and allowed just one run on three hits, while striking out three batters.
Before she was taken out of the circle, Donahue earned her second-career start, throwing three innings and allowing two earned runs.
Carr stepped into the circle when South Alabama had a 2-1 lead and didn't let them get anything else going until extra innings came at the Eddie C. Moore Softball Complex.
In the meantime, Mizzou's hitters got them back into it. Tolton alum Madison Uptegrove tied up the game at two in the sixth inning, with bases loaded single up the middle. Then, in extra innings, another Mid-Missouri talent played hero for Coach Anderson.
In the eighth inning, Rock Bridge alum Abby Hay plated a run courtesy of a single to center field to grab a 3-2 lead for her Tigers. However, as they had the whole game, the Jaguars dialed up a response, returning the favor with an RBI single of their own to push this thing into another inning.
However, Hay wasn't done. She struck again the top half of the 10 with an RBI single to right field, which gave Mizzou the 4-3 lead. But, a familiar story followed Hay's heroics. South Alabama ended up winning the game in walk-off fashion in the 11th, 5-4.
Up next - Mizzou will continue its run in the Sunshine State. The Tigers will play their first midweek game of the season against UCF on Wednesday. First pitch in Orlando, Fla. is set for 5 p.m. CT.
