Mizzou Softball Sweeps Mizzou Invitational, Routs Kansas City in Successful Weekend Slate

Quentin Corpuel | 22 Hours Ago

Mizzou Athletics

After playing its first 24 games away from Columbia, Mizzou softball's first few games at home went about as well as it could've wanted.

The Tigers swept the Mizzou Invitational, going 4-0 against South Dakota State, Princeton, Michigan and Quinnipiac. On Sunday, Mizzou only needed five innings to annihilate Kansas City 17-0. It marked MU's fourth run-rule victory of the season.

The hosts started the Mizzou Invitational with its second run-rule win over SDSU of the season, a 9-1 domination that only took five innings. The Tigers scored seven runs in the first inning, which included a three-run home run by Madison Walker. Cierra Harrison allowed just four hits and one earned run, pitching all five innings of the weekend opener.

Their next game against Princeton was far more contested. After Mizzou scored the first two runs of the game in the bottom of the third, the other Tigers responded with four runs in the following half-inning. The mini-onslaught was catalyzed by a three-run home run courtesy of Julia Dumais, who hit her first round-tripper since Feb. 15. However, MU would end the game on a 5-0 run, including home runs from Abby Hay and Madison Uptegrove. The freshman's blast was the first of her collegiate career, and Marissa McCann sealed the deal in the top of the seventh.

Game No. 3 of the Mizzou Invitational saw the hosts use the longball to its advantage, this time against Michigan. After Jenissa Conway opened the scoring with a solo home run in the top of the first, Kara Daly hit a three-run shot in the bottom half of the inning. The Tigers were carried the rest of the way offensively by Hay, who recorded a 2-RBI single in the bottom of the third and two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth. McCann was stellar in the circle, pitching a complete game while allowing just four hits and two earned runs to go along with six strikeouts.

Mizzou's final two games of the weekend somehow featured even more power. In the last game of the Mizzou Invitational, the Tigers hit three home runs in a 7-1 win over Quinnipiac -- Walker and Julia Crenshaw spurred the power surge along with Taylor Ebbs, who hit her first home run with MU in the bottom of the third. Against Kansas City -- a game that was rescheduled due to inclement weather -- the Tigers scored 17 runs in four innings, as 12 different players reached base. Daly led the way with five RBIs, while her and Uptegrove homered.

The pitching was also excellent over the final two contests of the weekend. Against the Bobcats, Harrison struck out eight batters in five innings of work. Courtney Donahue threw two shutout innings in relief to close the door. Agains the Roos, McCann allowed one baserunner and struck out five batters in three innings. Taylor Pannell, who got rocked against Princeton, bounced back with two shutout innings against Kansas City.

This weekend proved to be a major statistical boost for the Tigers. Walker is up to 12 home runs on the season, a top-10 number nationally thus far. Hay, who recorded just three hits from Feb. 7 to Mar. 8, recorded four hits and six RBIs over the past five games. Daly continued her recent hot streak as well, registering a hit in four of five games and 11 RBIs.

Mizzou will hope that this wave of momentum can carry over into this week. The Tigers host Illinois on Tuesday before No. 2 Oklahoma comes to town on Friday for a three-game weekend series.