After a 22-3 start, No.11 Missouri softball looked near unbeatable. This feeling came crumbling down after being swept and outscored 21-2 in their series against No.9 Tennessee. Here are two things we learned from the Tigers’ first losing series of the season.

No pitching present

Entering the game, Missouri had not given up more than six runs in a matchup. In the first two games, the Vols scored nine and eight runs respectively. 

In the first game of the series, Tennessee scored seven runs in the first inning. The last four  came off a grand slam from senior outfielder Giulia Koutsoyanopulos. 

All nine runs in the game were allowed by senior pitcher Laurin Krings. She finished with 10 hits allowed and seven earned runs in 2.1 innings pitched. As a result, Krings did not pitch in the third game of the series, with freshman Marissa McCann getting the nod instead.

In her last three starts, Krings has allowed 13 runs in 10.2 innings pitched. Her ERA has jumped from 1.79 to 2.83 in that time frame.

“It’s good experience for her,” head coach Larissa Anderson said in a press conference on Tuesday, March 19. “The team needs you to have your ‘A’ game every single day.”

Sophomore Cierra Harrison faced similar troubles against the Tennessee batters. Harrison started better, allowing only two runs in the first three innings. 

Harrison was chased from the game in the fourth in case of deja vu, allowing a grand slam to sophomore Taylor Pannell. Harrison finished the game with 3.2 innings pitched and five earned runs, suffering her first loss of the season. 

McCann had the strongest starting outing of the three pitchers, only allowing four runs in five innings. The issue came on how the runs were allowed, with all four coming on home runs. 

Home runs were an issue all weekend, as Tennessee smashed seven of them in the three games.

These games gave low-stakes opportunities to freshman pitcher Nathalie Touchet, who only made one appearance before the weekend. Touchet pitched 2.0 innings in the two games against the Vols, allowing no hits and only one walk.

Batting blunders

The Tigers struggled with their hitting in addition to their pitching. Over the weekend, Missouri was able to muster up only two runs on nine hits. 

“We got to do a better job getting on time,” Anderson said. “We continue to get caught in between the hard and the soft [pitches].”

Senior outfielder Maddie Gallagher contributed two hits and both runs, coming on a two-run shot in the game on Saturday. Junior infielder Kara Daly was the other Tiger with multiple hits — one on Friday and the other on Sunday.

One player who struggled mightily was senior infielder Jenna Laird. In her eight at-bats over the weekend, Laird went 0-for-7, in addition to one walk. 

Another area of struggle came at the bottom of the lineup, with the bottom three batters not contributing any hits in the three games.

Edited by Michael Stamps

Copy Edited by Grace Knight

Edited by Genevieve Smith | gsmith@themaneater.com