No. 13 Missouri (38-13, 14-10 SEC) welcomed the No. 1 Florida Gators (49-5, 18-5 SEC) to Columbia last weekend and was able to sneak away with an extra-inning, walk-off win last Sunday afternoon.
The Tigers put up quite the fight in the other two games of the series, losing in the seventh inning in the first and putting the tying run at the plate after being down eight runs in the sixth. Mizzou was apt to deal with the SEC Pitcher of the Year, senior Lauren Haeger.
“I think our hitters did amazing against (Haeger),” junior outfielder Taylor Gadbois said. “I don’t know how many times I would go to the bench to get a drink and have to run back out for another home run.”
Haeger had been instrumental to the success of the Gators this season, going 23-0, the first pitcher to reach that mark in NCAA history. Although she did not take a loss this series, Missouri was able to jump on her early in games and knock her out.
Despite an impressive performance in the weekend series, the team’s RPI rating dropped one spot from No. 8 to No. 9. Even though the Tigers are one of the top teams in the country, they are dead in the middle of SEC standings.
Mizzou will open the SEC tournament in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, against Mississippi State on May 6. The Bulldogs put up a solid series at University Field earlier this season, taking one of the three games from Missouri.
If the Tigers can win their first game, they will play another set of Tigers, Auburn, which came to Columbia earlier this season and won two games around the time Mizzou had hit a little bit of a slump.
Considering the SEC has nine of the top 25 teams in the RPI rankings, which is by far the most of any conference, the road does not get easier for Mizzou past the two first games.
The SEC tournament will not be an easy competition, but last weekend’s outing gave Missouri coach Ehren Earleywine hope for the tournament.
“I don’t know if we’re as good as Florida, but we’re damn close,” Earleywine said. “To me, that translates into, ‘We’re good enough to get to the College World Series.’”
The last two weekends of the season gave the Tigers the idea that they can beat anyone in the country on any given night.
Despite being one of the top teams in the country, Mizzou may not receive the recognition that the RPI poll says it deserves. The Tigers have the most losses of any top-10 team in the rankings, which is a difficult factor to overlook when deciding the seeding for the NCAA tournament.
Although they had a slow stretch in conference play, the Tigers seem to have hit their stride at the right time. Junior outfielder Emily Crane emphasized mid-season that “this is when it’s most important to be at your best.”
The two series against Louisiana State and Florida have seen the team at its best. They may have suffered some disappointing losses, but the team has fought hard over the last few weeks and been able to improve from its downturn of form from the middle of the season.
If the Tigers manage to play at the level that they have been, they will have a good chance to host a regional. If given the chance to host a regional, Earleywine will have a good chance at getting this team right where he wants it — the WCWS.
