Mizzou loses series finale, falls short of sweep against LSU
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
No. 15/16 Mizzou Softball ended the weekend one win short of clinching a sweep against a top three team in the nation. No. 2/3 LSU escaped Mizzou Softball Stadium with a narrow 4-3 win on Sunday afternoon.
You can watch the full postgame press conference with head coach Larissa Anderson, as well as designated player Katie Chester in the video players below.
For a third consecutive time in the series, Mizzou was forced to overcome an early deficit. After driving a one-out triple to deep left field, Ciara Briggs scored on a wild pitch to put the Baton Rouge Tigers on the board 1-0 in the first inning.
However, Mizzou responded one frame later. Katie Chester blasted a two-run home run to left-center field to give the hometown Tigers a one-run lead. Chester is now tied for the team lead in home runs with four on the season.
After LSU tied the game on an RBI single in the next frame, Mizzou capitalized on a pair of errors to retake the lead 3-2 in the home half of the inning. However, LSU returned the favor in the top of the sixth, scoring two unearned runs to give them a one-run advantage.
Larissa Anderson's crew threatened to score in the final frame after putting two runners on base with a hit by pitch and a single, but LSU's Sydney Berzon was able to get Julia Crenshaw to ground out to end the game.
Mizzou only posted three hits as a team during Sunday's action and left six runners on base.
In the circle, Laurin Krings bounced back after giving up seven earned runs against LSU in the series opener. The senior right-hander allowed just two earned runs on seven hits over 5.2 innings of work on Sunday. Taylor Pannell relieved Krings in the sixth inning and stranded a runner on third base. The SEC's saves leader also posted a scoreless seventh inning while picking up her 17th strikeout of the year.
Up next - Mizzou begins a four-game East Coast road trip on Tuesday, March 26 with a doubleheader against Fordham and Hofstra in New York. The first game of the Tigers' Tuesday doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. followed by game two at 3:30 p.m.
