Mizzou survives and advances; will play one more for a spot in the Women’s College World Series
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Mizzou softball team will live to play another day after a 3-1 win against Duke in NCAA Super Regional action on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers and the Blue Devils will now play for a trip to the Women's College World Series on Sunday.
You can watch the full postgame press conference with head coach Larissa Anderson, pitcher Taylor Pannell and first baseman Abby Hay in the video player below.
The Tigers came out with a lot of energy, following Friday's three-run loss to Duke.
Both defenses were playing lights out to start game two, which held the two teams scoreless until the fourth inning. That's when the MU bats came alive against Duke's star pitcher Jala Wright. Alex Honnold was the first base runner of the day with a single to shortstop and, right after that, Maddie Gallagher also got on board with a single to center field. Rock Bridge alum Abby Hay brought both runners home, knocking an RBI single to right field, advancing to third on a bad throw from Duke. Julia Crenshaw then brought Hay home from third on a sacrifice grounder to put MU up 3-0 over Duke.
Senior ace Laurin Krings got the start in the circle for the sixth-straight game. She tossed a game of one-hit softball against Duke until the fifth inning. In that inning, Francesca Frelick took Krings deep for the second-straight game to cut the Blue Devil deficit to two runs.
Freshman Marissa McCann took Krings' place in the circle after that homer, however, she only pitched 0.1 innings and didn't allow any hits against the two batters she faced.
Closer Taylor Pannell was the one to make history, however. In two innings of work, the sophomore struck out two batters and didn't allow any runs, earning her 15th save of the season. That 15th save tied the Division I record for saves in a season.
Up next - Mizzou and Duke will play one more with a spot in the Women's College World Series on the line. The time of first pitch is still to be announced.
