It was a home opener to remember for Missouri Tigers softball as they defeated St. Thomas 13-0 in front of a packed Mizzou Softball Stadium on Friday afternoon. Although the sun didn’t come out to play, the Tigers certainly did, as both the offense and defense put up staggering numbers in a blowout win over the Tommies.
The Tigers were able to get on the board early as Kimberly Wert drove home Brooke Wilmes in the first inning with the winning run, albeit the first of many. The Tigers would go on to score five more in the second inning, including home runs from Wilmes and third baseman Kara Daly. Missouri would combine for 16 hits in just four innings, crushing the Tommie pitching in the process. In total, St. Thomas would use three pitchers to combine for 103 pitches in the game.
Casidy Chaumont and Jenna Laird provided strong bats on the day as both provided multiple extra-base hits, including a home run from Chaumont in the bottom of the third. Chaumont also showcased her skills in the outfield once again, as she chased down a ball in deep foul territory and made a diving catch. Chaumont’s defensive mastery continues to be an energetic part of Missouri’s early season.
The Missouri defense has provided multiple highlights in the first few weeks of the season.
“We really just try to defend the pitchers as well as we can," Chaumont said. "We want to get them that ‘no-no’ if possible. Anything in the air, infield or outfield, on the ground too, we’re going for it. We’re trying to get those outs and back them up as much as we can.”
The Tigers cracked open the scoring early, but the dominance came on both ends in this game. Jordan Weber, a junior in-state pitcher who has quickly turned into Missouri’s ace, provided early dominance for the Tigers. Through her three innings, St. Thomas was incapable of even putting a runner on base. Weber would earn the win for the Tigers in the game but was eventually replaced by Megan Schumacher in the fourth inning in order to distribute the wealth of pitching in a blowout.
Schumacher pitched for three batters, forced three outs, and was then replaced by Jayci Kruse, who got the last three outs in the fifth inning. With a chance to secure a perfect game, Kruse was able to force four ground balls in the infield. Though three runners were able to reach bases in the fifth, the initial came on a fielding error and the rest came via fielder’s choices, meaning that the trio of Tigers had completed a combined no-hit effort.
The no-hitter was the second of the season, with the only other bid coming in a game against Bethune-Cookman where Laurin Krings pitched all seven innings without allowing any Wildcats to get a hit. The Tommies, from St. Paul, Minn., had three batters hitting north of .340 entering the game, but were incapable of putting any damage on the Tigers as Missouri steamrolled its way to a blowout run rule win.
Missouri’s cast of pitchers features no players further than their third year of eligibility, listed as juniors while also still maintaining a “COVID year.”
“It’s real exciting for the program. Thinking about it, last year, they were really only freshmen,” head coach Larissa Anderson said. “It’s great that they are able to grow and learn with a veteran defense, but at the same time, those pitchers are really taking ownership of their game. They’re so mature in understanding what they need to do in order to be successful.”
The Tigers are back in action on Saturday morning as they face the Bradley Braves in the first game of a doubleheader at 10 a.m. Bradley, now 8-7, is coming off of a narrow 3-1 victory over St. Thomas just before Mizzou challenged the Tommies.
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