No. 11 Missouri softball suffered an unprecedented defeat, losing to in-state opponent Southeast Missouri 1-0. 

The two teams started slow offensively, with no runs in the first three innings. The visitors pushed senior infielder Abigail Rickermann to third base in the third, but senior pitcher Laurin Krings was able to escape the inning with a strikeout.

SEMO broke the scoreless tie with a run by senior infielder Zoe Schulte in the fourth inning. The inning started after an error from freshman infielder Abby Hay. In an attempt to tag out a runner, the ball slipped out of Hay’s glove. After a sacrifice bunt and a flyout, sophomore outfielder Brittany Affolter brought Schulte home with a double. This marked the first extra base hit of the season for Affolter, despite 70 times at the plate prior to the game. Krings finished the inning and her game with one run allowed while striking out four. 

Two-time SEC Freshman of the Week Marissa McCann took over in the circle, pitching the final three innings for Missouri. By the end of the game, McCann held Southeast Missouri scoreless, allowing only one hit and striking out five batters.

The Missouri offense was at a simmer the entire game, with only three hits total. This included a stretch of 14-straight outs to finish the final four innings. It marked the fourth time the Tigers have been shut out this season and the first by an unranked team. 

“When we get caught in between pitches and speeds, we’re not on time for anything,” head coach Larissa Anderson said after the game. “That’s exactly what happened today. We weren’t on time for hard and we weren’t on time for soft.”

A large part of this had to do with the efficiency of Southeast Missouri senior pitcher Paytience Holman. The focus for Holman was on the strike zone, throwing 54 strikes on 90 pitches. 

When Missouri made contact with the ball, many resulted in flyouts into the outfield. Brisk winds blowing inward kept balls in the park and prevented any opportunities for home runs or extra base hits. 

“I think some of those flyouts today would have been home runs on a regular day with no wind,” senior shortstop Jenna Laird said.

The strongest offensive performance came from Laird, with a single and a walk during her three at-bats.

No. 11 Missouri hopes to get its offense back on track in a three-game rivalry showdown on the road against No. 19 Arkansas from April 5-7.

Edited by Grace Ainger | gainger@themaneater.com

Copy Edited by Briana Iordan | biordan@themaneater.comEdited by Genevieve Smith | gsmith@themaneater.com