Missouri softball allowed a 2-0 lead over No. 3 Florida to slip through its fingers in the seventh inning as the Gators rallied for three runs on two of their four hits of the game to win 3-2.

Florida junior starting pitcher Elizabeth Hightower struggled to put away batters as both of Missouri’s runs came on two-strike hits. She also completed just one inning without allowing a baserunner.

But Missouri’s lackluster offense failed to bring any of those baserunners home. The Tigers finished the game 1-13 with runners on base and 1-9 with runners in scoring position.

Their lack of offense allowed senior second baseman Hannah Adams’ only hit of the night, which decided the game. With runners on first and second and a full count, she unloaded with a homerun to left field that went just past the outstretched arm of junior left fielder Casidy Chaumont.

Still, sophomore pitcher Jordan Weber did all she could to help the Tigers pick up the win, tossing five innings of no-hit softball and just two hits in the sixth inning.

Weber struggled to pick up outs at the start of her third time through Florida’s lineup so coach Larissa Anderson replaced her with freshman pitcher Laurin Krings. She immediately struck out two batters to finish the sixth inning and seemed poised to face the bottom half of the Florida lineup.

Striking out the first batter in the top of the seventh, Krings then surrendered a double and hit a batter to put runners on first and second base, which opened the door for Adam’s late-game heroics.

With a lack of overall hitting, the Tigers mustered just two runs on five hits. In her fourth inning of work, graduate pitcher Katie Chronister replaced Hightower. Chronister dominated the Tiger lineup, by walking three batters and giving up no hits in three innings of shutout pitching.

The Tigers face Tennessee for their last series of the regular season. The first game will take place in Knoxville, Tennessee, on Friday at 5 p.m.

_Edited by Kyle Pinnell | kpinnell@themaneater.com_