Missouri (33-23, 7-17) has an opportunity to advance in the SEC Tournament on Tuesday night against Mississippi State, as the two worst teams in conference play vie for the chance to play fifth-seeded Alabama on Wednesday evening. After their worst season since joining the SEC, the Tigers’ hopes for an NCAA playoff bid rest almost solely on winning the conference championship this week in Fayetteville, Ark.
After the Tigers’ disappointing series against Ole Miss in the middle of April and with just two SEC series remaining, head coach Larissa Anderson knew that her team had its backs against the wall and would have to dig deep to finish the season strong.
Anderson figured they needed to win every game remaining in their schedule, including their series against top-25 teams in Arkansas and Texas A&M.
Missouri finished the season 7-3, sweeping North Texas and then going .500 in their final six SEC games.
The Tigers could do little to slow down the Aggies in their three-game series, as the usually consistent Laurin Krings couldn’t get past the fourth inning in either of her two starts and the bullpen struggled to keep the A&M offense at bay.
The Tigers’ ace took a pair of losses to go with 12 runs on 12 hits against the Aggies. Fielding miscues and errors proved to be the biggest anchor on Krings’ performance, as just five of her 12 runs were earned.
Jordan Weber prevented a series sweep with a stellar outing, pushing Missouri to its only win of the series with 6 ⅓ innings while allowing just one unearned run. It was a key win against a talented opponent, but it may only have maintained the illusion of hope for an NCAA tournament bid.
The Tigers are coming into the conference tournament following an upset of No. 12 Arkansas last weekend, when sophomore third baseman Kara Daly delivered two game-winning home runs to clinch the series victory to end the regular season.
Outside of Daly’s heroics, the Tigers got steady outings from Krings both as a starter and reliever in their two wins, as she finished the weekend with 9 ⅓ innings pitched while allowing five earned runs and striking out six.
Mississippi State (28-24, 7-16) comes into the tournament opener with a close-fought series loss against Auburn and a sweep of Kentucky. The Bulldogs have generally been one of the stingiest opponents in the SEC this season. Much of their success comes from their pitching depth and its ability to keep them in close games despite having one of the worst offenses in the conference.
The Tigers are set to face off against the Bulldogs at 6:30 p.m. in Fayetteville. The tournament will be televised by the SEC Network.
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