Missouri wrapped up its final home series of the season, defeating Mississippi State in the series 2-1 in predictable fashion. The Tigers won the first two games before losing the final game with the exact same formula as the previous four home series.

Missouri shut out Mississippi State 4-0 in the opening game. 

It started in the circle, with senior Laurin Krings pitching all seven innings. Krings allowed only three hits while striking out five batters on 73 pitches. The senior did not allow a runner to advance past second base all game. This marked Krings’ eighth complete game of the season and the first one since March 8 against Auburn.

“It was just trusting my spin,” Krings said after the game. “It’s been a lot of work and just knowing my defense has my back.”

Offensively, Missouri scored two runs in the first inning. The first two base runners were senior Alex Honnold after being hit by a pitch and senior Maddie Gallagher with a single to left field. 

Freshman Abby Hay brought Honnold home with another single into left field. An error on the play allowed Gallagher to come home and Hay to advance to third. 

“Our joke is that I’m kind of like Lightning McQueen,” Hay said after the game. “Just unhooking the trailer and trying to get to third.”

Hay finished the day with two hits and two RBI as Missouri’s top contributor. One of these at-bats came in the fifth inning, scoring senior Jenna Laird on a failed fielder’s choice as Mississippi State attempted to throw home. 

As just a freshman, Hay now has the third-highest batting average on the team at .339. She was also named the SEC Player of the Week after batting .636 in four games the week before.

“[I] put my head down and worked and it’s paying off now,” Hay said.

The fourth and final run came in the sixth inning, as Laird doubled to shallow center field, scoring senior Chantice Phillips from second.

Krings closed out the game with three straight outs to win the series opener.

Missouri clinched the series win with a 4-1 victory in game two. The Tigers started the offensive train with a pair of singles from Laird and Honnold in the first inning. Laird came around to score after sacrificial outs from Gallagher and Hay. 

Missouri held the one run lead heading into the fourth inning after shutout pitching from sophomore Cierra Harrison.

After allowing a leadoff double to start the game, Harrison retired the next 12 batters in a row to keep Mississippi State at bay. 

Missouri extended the lead with three more runs in the bottom of the fourth. With runners on second, third and one out, sophomore Katie Chester was brought in to pinch hit for senior Phillips. The decision paid off, as Chester singled to center field, scoring both runs. After another sacrifice out, Laird scored freshman pinch runner Danielle Blackstun with a single to left field.

Harrison ran into some trouble in the sixth, loading the bases with one out. As a result, freshman Marissa McCann was brought out in relief. Harrison finished the day pitching 5.1 innings, striking out two batters while allowing three hits.

After a flyout for the second out, the Bulldogs scored their first run of the weekend with an infield single. McCann escaped the inning after a groundout, limiting the damage on the scoreboard to one. 

With a three-run lead, sophomore pitcher Taylor Pannell entered the game to pitch the seventh inning for Missouri. Pannell allowed runners to reach second and third, but a pair of strikeouts secured the series win for Missouri. That secured Pannell’s eleventh save of the season, leading the NCAA in that category.

The Tigers’ success halted on Sunday, leading up until the final inning. Missouri led 2-0 entering the seventh, but Mississippi State rallied with three runs to steal the win.

Krings pitched the first six innings scoreless, before allowing two hits and the first run to cross with two outs in the seventh inning. This run broke 13.2 innings of scoreless pitching from Krings against Mississippi State.

Head coach Larissa Anderson made the switch from Krings to Pannell with a runner on first. Pannell struggled after walking the first batter, as a double from sophomore Nadia Barbary snuck under the glove of Honnold in center field to score a pair of runs.

“It looked like a timing thing,” Anderson said after the game. “Pannell wasn’t at her best.”

In the bottom of the seventh, Missouri struck out three times in a row, failing to sweep and falling to 0-7 in the third game of every SEC series so far. The Tigers mustered three hits in the game, leading to two runs. 

“Every loss looks the same,” Anderson said. “When we get beat, we have very minimal hits (…) we got to find a way to be more competitive and make better adjustments.”

The first came on a double from Laird in the first inning, eventually scoring on a sacrifice fly to center field from Gallagher. The second came in the third inning with two outs and a runner on first, as Gallagher singled to left field. No runs came about after Hay flied out to end the inning.

The final hit came in the sixth inning, as Alex Honnold hit a home run to straight away center field giving Missouri a temporary 2-0 lead. This marked the fifth home run for Honnold this season and the second in SEC play. 

While the end result was not perfect, the Tigers walked away with their fifth SEC series win. Missouri finished their regular season undefeated in the SEC series at home. 

Copy edited by Sterling Sewell | ssewell@themaneater.com 

Edited by Emily Skidmore | eskidmore@themaneater.com