Duke beats Mizzou 6-3, puts Tigers up against elimination again
An expected pitcher’s duel turned into an offensive explosion between Mizzou and Duke on Friday afternoon. Missed opportunities and leaky defense sunk the Tigers in a 6-3 loss to the Blue Devils in game one of the Super Regional series between the two.
Laurin Krings, fresh off one of the most dominant weekends in program history to get Mizzou through the regional round, gave up five runs on seven hits in 4 2/3 for the Tigers and took the loss. It was the first Super Regional win in program history for Duke, which started playing softball just seven years ago.
“I thought she threw okay. Well enough to be able to win,” Mizzou head coach Larissa Anderson said. “I think that Duke did a really good job eliminating her drop and her rise and they were able to sit on her curveball.”
Missouri struck first, taking a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on two singles sandwiched around a throwing error. But after a walk and a wild pitch, the Tigers failed to add more when Madison Walker grounded into a fielder’s choice.
The Blue Devils took a 3-1 lead in the second thanks to a two-run home run from Francesca Frelick and an RBI triple by D’Auna Jennings. The Tigers evened it up in the bottom of the frame thanks to an RBI double and some daring base running from Jenna Laird, who scored the tying run on a soft ground ball to second by Maddie Gallagher.
That chased Duke ace Jala Wright, who came in 19-1 on the season, from the game after just an inning and two-thirds and 56 pitches. But Cassidy Curd got a popup to shortstop by Julia Crenshaw and left two more Mizzou runners on to end the inning.
Duke head coach Marissa Young said she made the pitching change because the strike zone on Friday “wasn’t in Jala’s favor.”
“Cass is a totally different look,” Young said. “You can tell that Mizzou had prepared down and Cass is really, really good throwing up in the zone and getting swings and misses.”
“I think we just had extreme intent against Jala. We were hunting balls at the thighs,” Mizzou second baseman Gallagher said. “We thought we were going to get Jala the whole game, but we were prepared for everybody. The switch made sense for Duke."
On the day, Mizzou was just 2-10 with runners on base and stranded seven. The Tigers had only one scoring chance after Curd relieved Wright in the second. An error and a hit batter put two on with one out for the Tigers in the third inning, but pinch hitter Katie Chester flied out to left and Laird struck out. Curd retired the next 11 and held Mizzou at bay long enough for Duke’s offense to finally break through.
The decisive blow came in the top of the fifth when Aminah Vega drove in Claire Davidson with a double to left center. Two batters later, Gisele Tapia beat out a ground ball to second for an infield single and pinch runner Aleyah Terrell scored from second to give the Blue Devils an insurance run. They added their final run on a double steal in the sixth inning
Anderson referenced some defensive lapses and Duke scoring five of its six runs with two outs as problems for the Tigers. Curd didn’t need the help. She pitched the final five and a third without giving up a hit. The only baserunners she allowed cane on an error, a hit batter and a walk.
The loss put Mizzou’s backs against the wall for a second straight weekend. Last Friday, the Tigers lost their regional opener 1-0 to Omaha before coming back to win four straight. This time, they’ll have to win just two. Missouri is 7-1 in tournament elimination games over the last two weeks.
“Last weekend when we lost first game we had our mind set on playing four more games,” Laird said. “We’re set on playing two more games tomorrow and Sunday.”
“Duke played a much better game than we did,” Anderson said. “This isn’t unfamiliar territory. They know what they need to do. It’s really just evaluating how can we be the better team tomorrow?”
First pitch of game two is Saturday at noon Central.
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