After cutting it close in a doubleheader against Evansville on Wednesday, Missouri softball coach Ehren Earleywine ripped into his team’s offensive effort. Missouri responded emphatically, scoring more than nine runs per game while sweeping Ole Miss in three road games this past weekend.
Missouri’s pitching performance matched its hitting. Senior Missouri pitchers Chelsea Thomas, Nicole Hudson and Lindsey Muller combined to give up just seven hits, all of which came in game two of the series. In the first and third games, Thomas teamed up with Hudson and Muller, respectively, to no-hit the Rebels.
During her three starts, Thomas went 3-0 in 18 innings. She struck out 22 batters and didn’t surrender a single walk all weekend. The performance earned Thomas the Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Week award, her third time winning the award this season.
In Friday’s game, Missouri struck in back-to-back big innings on its way to an 11-0 rout in five innings.
In the third, Missouri put together a two-out rally. First, a double from sophomore third baseman Angela Randazzo scored junior left fielder Mackenzie Sykes. Missouri then benefitted from an Ole Miss throwing error, which scored Randazzo. Sophomore shortstop Genovese Corrin extended the lead to 6-0 with a two-RBI double to left.
Missouri pushed its lead to 10 the following inning with help from a two-RBI triple from Randazzo.
On Saturday, the game remained tight until another four run inning blew the doors open for Missouri, leading to a 6-1 win.
Genovese started the fifth with a single. The next batter, freshman second baseman Emily Crane, drove in Genovese on her second double of the game.
Crane scored right away when Marston hit her second RBI double of the afternoon. Randazzo and sophomore first baseman Kelsea Roth finished off the scoring, giving the Tigers a 5-1 lead.
Missouri finished up the weekend in the same fashion it started it with: a blowout win. A home run from Roth and a 2-for-2 game from Crane lead Missouri to a 12-0 win, coming again in five innings.
Roth now has eight home runs on the season, tying her with Hudson for the team lead. They sit tied for sixth in the SEC in home runs, but have hit more home runs per game than any player ahead of them.
Hudson and Roth stand atop the SEC in slugging percentage, slugging 1.093 and 1.054 apiece. Texas A&M freshman catcher Cali Lanphear sits in third at .984.
With the sweep, Missouri (15-2, 4-1 SEC) now sits in second place in the SEC East behind Georgia (21-7, 3-0 SEC). Missouri’s next SEC opponent, South Carolina (16-9, 0-3), is currently last in the East.
With a doubleheader against Illinois set for Wednesday in St. Louis, Missouri was scheduled to get right back on the diamond. Forecasted inclement weather caused the cancellation of the two-game set, so the team will have to sit tight until its three-game non-conference series with Georgia Tech starts with a doubleheader on Saturday.
