Backs against the wall, Mizzou softball answers the bell again

In its 65th game of the season, Mizzou softball relied on what brought it to this point. The Tigers rode the right arm of Laurin Krings, the left arm of Taylor Pannell and a handful of timely base hits to a 3-1 win over Duke in the second game of the Super Regional series on Saturday to set up a do-or-die game three on Sunday.

“Playing on Sunday. That’s what we set out to do,” head coach Larissa Anderson said. “So unbelievably proud of the performance. Just gutsy. Fought like crazy the whole way through.”

A day after stranding seven runners in the first four innings of a 6-3 loss, Missouri didn’t leave a single runner on base. The Tigers had just four hits, but got three of them consecutively in the top of the fourth to score all three of their runs.

Alex Honnold started the rally with an infield single. It was the first baserunner for either team after Krings and Duke’s Jala Wright had retired the first 19 batters. Maddie Gallagher followed Honnold with a single to center and first baseman Abby Hay lined a base hit to right. Honnold scored on the play and as the throw bounced away from the catcher Gallagher followed her home. Hay advanced all the way to third on the play and then scored when Julia Crenshaw grounded out to shortstop on a ball deflected by pitcher Cassidy Curd.

“Alex did a good job and started off just getting on base any way she can,” Hay said. “It wasn’t the best swing, but it got the job done. And I think just whenever one of our senior leaders gets a hit like that (we) get fired up to get them in any way we can."

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The Tigers had just one more baserunner all day when Madison Walker singled to lead off the fifth inning. She was erased on a double play.

Mizzou held the 3-0 lead into the bottom of the 5th when Duke’s Francesca Frelick hit her second home run of the series, a solo shot to left. That came on the last pitch Krings threw and Anderson turned the game over to her bullpen.

Middle reliever Marissa McCann got Jada Baker to ground out to end the Duke fifth, but walked Amiah Burgess and missed with her first pitch to D’Auna Jennings to start the sixth. Anderson used the quick hook to turn to Pannell to get the final six outs.

“They scored five runs yesterday with two outs so it's changing the momentum and changing something so they don't feel that they have that consistency,” Anderson said. “And it could have turned out differently, but it's just trying to do whatever we can to control that momentum a little bit.”

After a walk to Claire Davidson, an error on Hay at first base loaded the bases. The lead and the season nearly disappeared when Ana Gold launched a ball some 260 feet down the left field line for a would-be go-ahead grand slam. But it drifted a few feet foul and Pannell struck out Gold on the next pitch.

“I was just very thankful that it went foul,” Pennell said. “I took at that as I need to make the next pitch a little better.”

After the strikeout, Pannell got Kelly Torres to pop out to Jenna Laird to hold the lead at 3-1. Duke went down in order in the 7th, a called third strike past pinch-hitter Sarah Goddard providing punctuation on Pannell’s 15th save of the season. That ties the Division One single season record for saves.

“I think it's really special to be able to do this at home in front of our crowd,” Pannell said. “I just knew that I had to empty the tank give it everything for this team. They got me this far and I was gonna do whatever it takes to get this win.”

The win was Missouri’s fifth straight when facing elimination in the NCAA Tournament. Including the SEC Tournament, the Tigers are now 8-1 in games that would send them home.

“We love each other,” Hay said. “And we just don’t want to go down yet.”

The Missouri win sets up a 66th game at a time yet to be announced on Sunday. The winner will advance to the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City starting Wednesday. The loser will go home and look toward next season. Mizzou looks for its first trip to the WCWS since 2011; Duke, whose program started just seven years ago, is seeking its first World Series bid.

"Sometimes you need a little bit of luck and I don’t feel like we had that today,” Duke head coach Marissa Young said. “Hopefully tomorrow we get better execution and luck’s on our side.”

“We’re very grateful to be playing another day,” Pannell said. “Tomorrow we’re going to play with no regrets. We’re working toward the World Series and this team wants it more than anybody.”