A five-run first inning was all the Missouri Tigers (18-18, 3-5 SEC) needed to secure their first SEC series win over the Auburn Tigers (23-12, 2-6) on Saturday afternoon at Jane B Moore Memorial Softball Complex. With such a head start, the black & gold Tigers needed to just hold on and keep the potent Auburn offense at bay for the rest of the game. Largely, they succeeded, allowing just a handful of runs.
Early Offense
From the jump, the Mizzou offense was hot, taking advantage of the sun against Auburn pitcher SJ Geurin, with a leadoff walk by Addy Waits, before a Stefania Abruscato single to center put two on for Sidney Forrester, who blasted a triple to center to make it 2-0 Mizzou. Abby Hay then reached on a fielding error — again by the center fielder, who got a lot of action early on in this one, which allowed Forrester to score and make it 3-0. Back-to-back doubles by Abby Carr and Sophie Smith made it 5-0 with no outs, before the final three Tigers of the inning went down on a fly out, sac bunt and ground out.
In the top of the second, Abruscato teed off with her second hit of the day and the 100th of her career, a one-out solo shot to right center to make it 6-1.
Good thing the Tigers got the hot start, honestly, as the offense went largely dormant after an eventful first two innings, going down 1-2-3 in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings before getting back-to-back singles from Claire Cahalan and Abruscato in the top of the seventh.
Pitching Prevails
After giving up a five-spot in the first, Auburn immediately got one back in the home half with Marissa McCann in the circle on an Alyssa Hastings home run, but she limited the damage by striking out the side. McCann had an efficient second inning, sending the blue & orange Tigers down 1-2-3 on a flyout and two more strikeouts, bringing her tally to five on the day.
That was not the case in the third, as McCann lost some of her control, walking three batters to load the bases before a sac fly made it 6-2. Again, though, she limited the damage, picking up her sixth strikeout to leave two on base. The control issues extended into the fourth, ultimately ending McCann’s day at the dish. In her final inning of work, she allowed two more walks before a single to left made it 6-3 with two out, leading Mizzou head coach Larissa Anderson to bring in Courtney Donahue in relief.
In her 3.2 innings of work, McCann allowed just two hits (one homerun) to go along with three earned runs, five walks and seven strikeouts.
Donahue was successful in her role, pitching three innings and ultimately earning the win after allowing just two hits— a leadoff single in the fifth and a two out single in the seventh. After allowing the second hit in the seventh, Carr moved from DP to pitcher to finish out the game and earn a save. After allowing a single to her first batter, Carr forced a strikeout looking to secure the W and the Tigers’ 12th win in their last 14 games.
Some Stats
What a day for Stefania Abruscato! The junior recorded three hits on the day, an RBI and two runs scored. It also was a better day for the freshmen on Saturday, who were responsible for a double, triple, walk, three RBI and three runs scored.
UP NEXT: Missouri will look for a sweep on The Plains Sunday at 1pm. You can watch the game on ESPN+.
