If Missouri is to reach its first Women’s College World Series in a decade, the Tigers will have to do what hasn’t been done all season: Beat James Madison twice.
The Dukes moved to 38-1 on the season with a 2-1 victory over the eighth-seeded Tigers in Friday night’s opener of the best-of-three Super Regional series. A stadium record crowd of 2,632 was announced with all attendance restrictions recently lifted, but most of it went home disappointed.
James Madison didn’t have a hit off Mizzou starter Jordan Weber for the first six innings and hadn’t advanced a single runner to second base. But winning pitcher Odicci Alexander started the top of the seventh with an infield single on a soft grounder to shortstop.
"I don't think Jenna Laird realized the speed of Alexander on that ground ball," Mizzou head coach Larissa Anderson said. "She played it very routine rather than coming to get it a little bit faster."
After a strikeout, Madison Naujokas was grazed by a pitch and Lynsey Meeks loaded the bases on another infield single.
Redshirt freshman Emily Phillips pinch hit and blooped one over the head of Jenna Laird and in front of a charging Brooke Wilmes for the game’s first run. A sacrifice fly by the next hitter, Hallie Hall, gave JMU a 2-0 lead.
“We did what we could,” Alexander said. “They weren’t big hits that we had.”
Alexander had cruised through the first six innings, allowing only a single and two walks. But her control left her in the seventh inning. She walked four Tigers, including pinch hitter Alex Honnold to force in Missouri’s first run. That brought leadoff hitter Brooke Wilmes to the plate. Alexander found her form just in time. After falling behind 0-2, Wilmes flied out to left field, ending the Tigers’ comeback bid 60 feet short.
"We felt like the strike zone changed a little bit, but man, CC (Alexander) dug in and we were able to get out of it," JMU coach Loren LaPorte said. "It was just such a team win. I don’t think I’ve ever been a part of a game like that in my life."
The loss dropped the Tigers to 41-16 on the season. They’ll have to win Game 2 Saturday at 6 p.m. to force a winner-take-all game on Sunday.
Neither coach committed to her Saturday starter, but LaPorte the Dukes would get Alexander ready to go.
"From here on out everybody’s going to be available," Anderson said. "It will always be Susie all-staff."
With game one in the books, neither coach is conceding a thing.
"You can't be afraid to fail," Anderson said. "We’re going to fight like crazy tomorrow to make sure that tomorrow’s not the last game of the year."
"We know that this is going to be the hardest weekend we’ve probably ever played," LaPorte said.
"If they beat us at our best then they beat us at our best," Weber said. "But I don't think we played our best tonight."
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