Abby Hay put the team, Mizzou and the entire city of Columbia on her back, hitting a go-ahead two-run homer in the seventh inning as Mizzou softball defeated kU 4-2 in Lawrence.
Hay was a productive bat all game, recording three hits and two RBI. She scored Abby Carr, who had a productive day in her own right with three walks, scoring twice. She also earned the win in the circle, pitching the last two innings and allowing no runs and only two hits with three strikeouts.
She entered the game in relief
of Marissa McCann, who pitched five innings of great softball, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out four.
One of Mizzou’s strengths came in its fast starts, leading off the inning with hits on four separate occasions. By comparison, the Jayhawks only did that once.
Read the play-by-play of the game below:
Mizzou scored one run in the first inning, jumping out to an early lead. Carr started the rally with a two-out walk before powering over to third on a single from Hay. Sidney Forrester capped off the rally with a single of her own, bringing Carr around to score. McCann forced the Jayhawks into three straight outs to start the game, including her first K.
The Tigers added another run in the second, starting with an infield single from Claire Cahalan, advancing into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt. The bases were loaded after Kayley Lenger was hit by a pitch and Addy Waits walked. Stefania Abruscato brought home Cahalan from third with a sac fly to centerfield. McCann gave up a two-out single in the bottom of the second, but that was the only kU baserunner as the pitcher shut down the rally.
Hay led off the third inning with a single, making it all the way to third with a stolen base and advancing on a groundout. But she could not come around to score, as a flyout ended the offensive rally for Mizzou. The Jayhawks pushed their first runner into scoring position with a blooper of a double into shallow left field, but McCann extinguished the rally with a groundout then flyout.
Waits was the only Mizzou baserunner with a two-out single in a quiet fourth inning offensively. But the Jayhawks had an even quieter 1-2-3 inning, capped off with an amazing diving play and throw across the diamond for the groundout from Waits at third.
Carr led off the fifth with a walk but the Tigers couldn’t add anything, ending the inning with three consecutive outs. McCann responded with two more strikeouts en route to her third 1-2-3 inning of the game.
It was deja vu for Mizzou in the sixth, as Saniyah Hill led off with a walk before three outs including two strikeouts ended a potential rally. McCann was pulled after allowing back-to-back singles to start the inning. Carr came in relief, helping stop the damage with back-to-back outs. But Kansas refused to go away, with a triple to score two baserunners and tie the game. The Tigers escaped the inning without any more damage with a strikeout.
But the Mizzou bats responded in a major way, as Carr drew a walk before being scored on a two-run homer from Hay that scraped over the wall in right-center.
Carr shut the door on the mound, surviving a pair of baserunners with one final strikeout to seal the victory.
With this win, Mizzou moves to 23-22 and back over .500. The Tigers are five wins away from securing a winning record to close the regular season. They will attempt to get one win closer when they open the series against South Carolina at 6 p.m. Friday from the Mizzou Softball Stadium. The game will be available to watch on SEC Network+ on the ESPN app.
