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It was a quick turnaround for Mizzou following its run rule victory over Illinois-Chicago. Less than 24 hours later, the Tigers faced Northern Iowa in the second game of their regional.

The Panthers were a tougher matchup than the Tigers’ last opponent, but behind another great pitching performance and a late offensive surge, Mizzou advanced to the regional final with a 4-0 victory. Northern Iowa will await the winner of the Iowa State-UIC game, with the winner playing Mizzou on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.

Starting pitcher Laurin Krings (10-3) was outstanding for the Tigers. The freshman not only tied her season high in strikeouts with 10 but came one out away from the Tigers’ first postseason no hitter since 2011.

“Krings, I mean phenomenal outing,” said coach Larrissa Anderson. “Disappointed we didn’t get the no-no. I mean, she just threw so great, but it happens. I mean, she’s a freshman and she’s gonna have more opportunities, but just overall great team effort all the way through.”

On the other side, Kailyn Packard (22-7) pitched 6.1 innings, striking out six Tigers before being replaced by Hailey Sanders.

“I thought that was just a great pitching outing by both teams,” said Anderson. “She threw an unbelievable game against us and she really kept us off balance.”

Kimberly Wert broke a 0-0 tie in the top of the 4th inning with a solo shot to left field. The Tigers extended their lead in the top of the 6th inning when Brooke Wilmes homered for the second time in the regional. The senior's 10th home run makes her the fourth Tiger this season to hit double digit homers. Kendyll Bailey increased the Tigers lead in the top of the 7th as her two-RBI single delighted the home crowd, making it a 4-0 game.

Tomorrow’s game will be an elimination game for the Tigers. A win will send the Tigers to their first NCAA Super Regional since 2016. Anderson wants to keep it going, especially for the seniors.

“We talk about how many quality seniors we have within our program, and were playing for them,” said Anderson. “We want to play so that we have tomorrow and then you know we take care of business tomorrow and we want to play for the Super Regional and every single game the seasons on the line and we're playing to make sure that our seniors can continue this season and we can keep playing together.”