To kick off a travel-happy week, Missouri softball traveled to face Illinois in a doubleheader. Missouri emerged victorious 5-4 in the first game after a back-and-forth battle. Illinois led 4-3 after six innings, giving Missouri one final chance at the top of the seventh. 

With two outs, senior shortstop Jenna Laird cracked a single through the left side to keep the Tigers alive. Senior outfielder Alex Honnold finished it out with a home run over the left field wall to retake the Tiger lead. 

Sophomore Taylor Pannell entered to pitch in the bottom half of the inning. Pannell made quick work of the first two batters, with two outs on five pitches. 

Illinois wasn’t going down lightly as they put two on base with a single and a hit-by-pitch walk. With the pressure on, Pannell closed the game by catching a popout. 

Laird and Honnold carried the offensive load, with six of Missouri’s eight hits. Laird racked up an RBI, bringing home senior outfielder Chantice Phillips with a single in the top of the fifth inning to make the score 2-1.

Honnold added on with a double on the next at-bat, scoring Laird from first. This marked Honnold’s 11th double of the season, extending her lead at the top of the SEC.

In the circle, all four runs for Illinois came against senior pitcher Laurin Krings. In 4.1 innings, Krings allowed four runs on eight hits, while only striking out one. 

Sophomore Lily Whitten came in relief for Krings in the fifth after allowing a three-run home run. 

Whitten allowed three hits in 1.2 innings but allowed no runs while striking out a pair before Pannell closed out the game. 

With less than an hour break, the Tigers run-ruled Illinois in five innings 10-2 in the second matchup of the doubleheader.

Missouri jumped ahead in the first inning, as junior infielder Kara Daly blasted a three-run shot over the left field wall. Daly leads the team with four home runs on the year.

The Tigers expanded their lead to four, thanks to a single from senior infielder Maddie Gallagher with the bases loaded in the third inning. 

Sophomore pitcher Cierra Harrison kept Illinois scoreless in the first two innings, before letting in a pair of runs in the third. After the two runs, Harrison shut out Illinois, allowing no more hits.

Thanks to six runs in the fifth inning alone, Missouri pulled out the eight-run mercy rule and closed out the game. For the Tigers, the highlight of the inning came on a double from sophomore Katie Chester, scoring two runs with the bases loaded. 

The Tigers spread the offensive success around with seven players registering a hit. 

Harrison improves to 8-0 on the season, tied for most wins on the season with Krings.

Missouri improves to 7-0 in games as the true road team and 20-3 overall. 

Edited by Grace Ainger | gainger@themaneater.com 

Copy edited by Sterling Sewell | ssewell@themaneater.com 

Edited by Genevieve Smith | gsmith@themaneater.com