Missouri softball defeats Arkansas in weather-delayed game to reach SEC Tournament semifinals
It took two days and almost as many weather delays as runs scored, but Missouri softball is heading to the semifinals of its conference tournament.
No. 5-seeded Mizzou softball defeated No. 4 Arkansas 3-1 in the quarterfinals of the SEC Softball Tournament over the course of Thursday and Friday in Auburn, Alabama, breaking through in the longest fifth inning you’re ever likely to see.
With the game tied 1-1, Missouri shortstop Jenna Laird crushed a first-pitch double in the top of the fifth right up center field, falling inches short of sending one out the park, to drive home Kayley Lenger from first and give MU a 2-1 lead.
Laird then reached third on an Alex Honnold single. Arkansas made a pitching change, bringing in Robyn Herron to relieve starter Morgan Leinstock, who had allowed seven hits, a walk and two earned runs in four innings.
That was Thursday.
Then came lightning, and with it a weather delay that sent the game into a second day. The quarterfinal games had already been delayed by more than seven hours due to inclement weather that delayed all of the day’s games. Missouri-Arkansas originally had been scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. Thursday.
When play resumed at 9 a.m. Friday, Missouri quickly tacked on another run, as Laird stole home on a well-executed double steal, as Honnold acted as a decoy heading to second, helping MU double its lead.
Missouri starting pitcher Cierra Harrison didn’t skip a beat overnight. She opened her Friday account with a 1-2-3 fifth inning, which took approximately 12 hours from start to finish with the delay. Harrison was replaced by freshman Marissa McCann in the sixth after allowing a single and a hit by pitch. The starter finished with four hits, one earned run, a walk and two strikeouts.
In Missouri's most dangerous moment, the rookie stepped up.
After loading the bases with no out, McCann drew a pop up, an 11-pitch strikeout and then backed that up with three straight strikes on pinch hitter Rylin Hedgecock to end the inning and get out of a serious jam.
Missouri closer Taylor Pannell entered the game in the seventh, and did what she has done more than any pitcher in the nation: Saved the day.
Pannell recorded her 14th save of the season, which is just one shy of the Division I record.
Up until that point, it had been a tight ball game.
The lone blip on the scoresheet for Missouri came when Arkansas third baseman Hannah Gammill, after working four straight big-swinging foul balls off Harrison on a 2-2 count, took the pitcher deep for a solo shot over the center field in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game at 1.
Mizzou took the lead in the top of the first, when second baseman Maddie Gallagher’s hit to left center likely should have been fielded, but some miscommunication between the Arkansas outfielders allowed Laird — who had singled and stolen second by beating the tag with a nifty swim move — to run home and open the scoring.
Missouri moves on to face No. 8-seeded LSU in the semifinals. It’s the second time Missouri has reached the conference’s final four in the past three seasons, as MU fell in the title game in 2022.
Two more quarterfinal games in the tournament will be played Friday. The semifinals also are slated for Friday, with the Missouri-LSU matchup slated for 3 p.m., barring any more delays.
Whenever the semis commence, Missouri will be there.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Missouri softball defeats Arkansas to reach SEC Tournament semifinals
