COLUMBIA, Mo. — A motivated Missouri softball program finds itself in the same invigorating, yet uncomfortable, spot it did a week ago — on the brink of elimination.
The No. 7 seed Tigers, who are hosting the Columbia Super Regional for the second time in four seasons, struggled late in a 6-3 loss to No. 10 Duke, the Atlantic Coast Conference champion, on Friday afternoon at Mizzou Softball Stadium.
The defeat put Missouri (47-17) one loss away from the end of its season and makes the path to its first Women’s College World Series since 2011 a challenging one.
“Duke won more pitches than we did,†Missouri coach Larissa Anderson said. “We had our opportunities; we left eight on base. I think that hurt us early on in the game, and Duke continued to get better and better over the course of the game.â€
The Tigers have lost in each of their past five Super Regional appearances.
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On a day when ACC pitcher of the year Jala Wright stepped in the circle, it was sophomore reliever Cassidy Curd who stole the show for Duke (51-6). The southpaw earned the win with a dominant relief effort, holding Missouri hitless over the final 5â…“ innings.
Curd (12-3) faced three batters over the minimum in her impressive performance, totaling eight strikeouts and allowing just one walk. Her effort vaulted the Blue Devils to their first Super Regional win, and they are now one win away from their first Women’s College World Series appearance.
“My goal for today was to come in with no fear,†Curd said. “I think a lot of (my comfort) has to do with faith and confidence in my defense. I know that if there’s anywhere I fall short … I have eight phenomenal people to back me up. I’m really allowed to play free.â€
A double from Aminah Vega, which scored ACC player of the year Claire Davidson in the top of the fifth inning, represented the go-ahead hit for Duke, which snapped a 3-all deadlock. The Blue Devils jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the second inning before Missouri stormed back to tie it with a two-run outburst of its own in the bottom half of the frame.
The Tigers, who scored three runs across the first two innings but recorded zero hits across the game’s final five frames, will need to win two consecutive games to keep its season alive. Game 2 of the best-of-three series is at noon Saturday and will air on ESPN, and if necessary, Game 3 is scheduled for an undetermined start time Sunday.
“Again, just like last week, (Anderson) came in and said, ‘We’ve been here before,’ †Missouri shortstop Jenna Laird said. “We’re set on playing two more games — (Saturday) and Sunday — and I think the whole entire team believes that.â€
After losing its first game of the Columbia Regional last weekend, the Tigers rattled off four victories in two days to advance. Hoping to avoid a similar fate, the hosts turned to the pitcher who got them through the four-game stretch in the opening game of Super Regional — Laurin Krings.
The senior right-hander navigated through 4⅔ innings against the Blue Devils’ potent lineup, giving up five runs on seven hits while striking out two. A three-run second inning and a two-run fifth blocked Krings (16-9) of a dominant encore in front of a stadium record 3,806 fans.
“I thought she threw OK, well enough to be able to win,†Anderson said. “Her changeup was a little up in the zone, which is why they were able to make contact with it. … I think that Duke did a really good job eliminating her drop and rise, and they were able to sit on her curveball.â€
Missouri recorded just four hits in the loss, all of which came in the opening two innings, and mustered just one base runner from the fourth inning on — a one-out leadoff walk to senior Alex Honnold in the seventh.
The top three hitters in the Tigers’ lineup — Jenna Laird (1-for-4), Alex Honnold (1-for-2) and Maddie Gallagher (1-for-3) — combined to go 3-for-10, while the rest of the lineup went 1-for-17. Anderson said the bottom half of the lineup missed on several suitable pitches and added Missouri’s lineup needs to have better intent in the batter’s box.
Entering Colombia with a lineup that featured six players hitting above .300 this season, the Blue Devils maintained that offensive momentum. Seven different players recorded at least one hit, with leadoff hitter D’Auna Jennings leading the charge with a 2-for-4 performance.
“Everyday somebody different is showing up and stepping up in a big moment,†Duke coach Marissa Young said. “We are not about one individual player …They really play collectively for each other.â€
Duke, which scored five of its six runs with two outs, had to rally from behind early on after Missouri opened the scoring in the first inning. After Honnold reached second on an infield single and errant throw, Gallagher drilled an RBI single through the right side to make it 1-0.
The Blue Devils, who went down quietly in the first frame, responded in the top of the second on a two-run home run down the left-field line by second baseman Francesca Frelick. They added on from there, as Jennings lofted an RBI triple into deep center field that extended the visitors’ lead to 3-1 just two batters later.
“They scored first, but I know our team is really good about not getting down on ourselves,†Frelick said. “I think we had all the confidence in the world that we were going to get those runs back.â€
The Tigers answered with a two-run inning in the bottom half of the second, as a run-scoring double from Laird and an RBI groundout from Gallagher knotted the contest at 3-all. However, they did not record a hit after Laird’s extra-base hit.
Duke snapped the 3-3 tie in the fifth, when Davidson laced a single into center field ahead of Vega’s go-ahead double. Duke senior Gisele Tapia ended Krings’ outing with an RBI infield single, which scored pinch runner Aleyah Terrell from second base, to give the Blue Devils 5-3 lead.
Marissa McCann relieved Krings, keeping Missouri within striking distance with 2â…“ innings of one-run ball with two hits. Her lone earned run came across on a defensive lapse from the Tigers in the seventh inning, when Jennings came home to score before junior Ana Gold was tagged out at second on a double-steal attempt.
“Make better pitches with two strikes. Shut the door once we get two outs. We’ve got to control the momentum,†Anderson said about the keys to keeping the season alive. “(Offensively), we have to be in an attack mode, and when we’re in attack mode, we’re extremely tough.â€