Anderson collects 50th win; Missouri softball splits games in second day of tournament

After a two-win Day 1 of the Mizzou Tournament, Missouri saw a tale of two games on Day 2.

No. 21 Missouri softball (15-6) closed out its home opening weekend Sunday, taking on Nebraska and Wichita State in a double header to close out the Mizzou Tournament. Missouri saw vastly different results as the Tigers went through peaks and valleys.

Missouri drops Sunday opener to Nebraska

Nebraska (8-10) run-ruled the Tigers 10-2 in the first game.

The Cornhuskers looked like a different team from Saturday. After losing 7-1 against Missouri, Nebraska lost 17-5 to Wichita State. However, Sunday was a different story as Missouri couldn’t keep Nebraska off the bases, and the Tigers played from behind the whole game.

The Cornhuskers led off the game with a Tristen Edwards home run off of the Tigers’ Jordan Weber. The Cornhuskers had 12 hits in just five innings, compared to Missouri’s three hits. The lineup struggled to string anything together, striking out seven times.

The notable Tigers were Brooke Wilmes and Cayla Kessinger. Wilmes had two hits and reached base in all three of her at-bats, while Kessinger drove in the only Missouri runs with a two-run home run in the third inning. The two RBI home run put Kessinger at a team-high 21 RBI, already surpassing her career high for a season.

Weber, a freshman, suffered her first collegiate loss against Nebraska. Weber has relied on the strikeout to get batters out, tying the team lead in K’s with 29 coming into the weekend. However, she had none in her two innings pitched. Sophie Dandola came on in relief of Weber but faced similar difficulties, giving up six earned runs. Missouri couldn’t keep the Cornhuskers off the board as Nebraska scored a run in all but one of the five innings Sunday.

Coach Larissa Anderson understands the importance of experience for such a young pitching staff.

“I think they do a real good job the first time through the lineup,” Anderson said. “They’re young. They have never experienced playing at this level. They’re going to have some growing pains and I leave them in there some times to let them learn from that experience.”

Missouri had a chance to avoid the run-rule in the fifth inning. The Tigers had the bases loaded with no outs, however they couldn’t capitalize. The Cornhuskers‘ Olivia Ferrell came on and got the final three outs, stranding the runners and clinching the run-rule victory for Nebraska.

“I think coach put it best,” Kessinger said. “You can’t expect anybody to give you a game. We just need to come out with more energy and I think we’ll be alright.”

Tigers hold off Shockers’ comeback for win

Missouri displayed the energy Kessinger harped on in its final game of the day against Wichita State (8-11). The Tigers won in walk off fashion, defeating the Shockers 5-4.

The Tigers got going early, and it was apparent they wanted to apply pressure for Wichita State pitcher Caitlin Bingham. Missouri had three hits in the first inning, matching its total for the entire game against Nebraska. The Tigers squandered a bases loaded opportunity in the first inning, but it was clear Missouri was seeing the ball well out of Bingham’s hand.

“If they’re going to swing and miss, I want them to swing aggressively,” Anderson said.

Emma Nichols took the circle against Wichita State. Nichols looked to continue her impressive weekend following a win Saturday over Nebraska. Against the Cornhuskers Saturday, Nichols dominated in her six innings pitched, only giving up one run.

Against the Shockers on Sunday, Nichols saw mixed results. She only gave up one hit through four innings, however Wichita State began to see success off Nichols the second time through the lineup. Nichols gave up four runs in her five innings pitched.

Nichols statistical performance may come off as underwhelming, but Anderson spoke highly of how Nichols was able to work the ball in and out of the strike zone.

“The second time through the lineup where she gave up those hits, I felt like she was squeezing it a little bit, trying to aim and lost some of her movement,” Anderson said. “She made some great pitches. She got some key swings and misses. I expect her to continue to do those things.”

The aggressive approach at the plate paid off for Missouri in the third inning. Cayla Kessinger put Missouri on the board with a two-run home run, her second of the doubleheader. Hatti Moore followed Kessinger with a solo home run to right field, making it back-to-back homers for the Tigers.

With her solo home run, Moore took sole possession of the team lead in home runs with seven. Moore had been tied with Jazmyn Rollin, both of which homered against Nebraska on Saturday.

The bombs by Kessinger and Moore is the second time the Tigers have hit back-to-back home runs this season. Emma Raabe and Kendyll Bailey achieved the feat against Baylor Feb 7. Brooke Wilmes also contributed to the Tigers scoring with a solo home run to right field in the fourth inning. This is the fifth game this season that the Tigers had three or more home runs, the most recent coming against in their 11-7 over California Feb. 22.

“One through nine is solid through our whole lineup,” Moore said. “There’s not one person on the team that you don’t feel comfortable going up. We’re all tough outs. It’s just fun to hit with these group of girls.”

The Shockers took a page out Missouri’s playbook, scoring a late run to even the game at four going into the seventh inning.

However, Missouri softball is no stranger to late game heroics. Kessinger continued her big day with the game-winning RBI as Jazmyn Rollin scored from second base. Kessinger went 4-4 with three RBI against Wichita State, extending her hitting streak to ten games. The Tigers move to 5-1 in one run games this year, scoring the go-ahead run in the final two innings of play eight times in their 15 wins this season.

For Anderson, the victory over Wichita State made it 50 wins as head coach for Missouri. She looks forward to adding on to that number.

“I’m so proud,” Anderson said. “I had no idea. It is pretty cool. I’m looking for 50 more. When you’re blessed with great talent, you’re able to win a lot more ball games.”

The Tigers return to action this week as they take on Missouri-Kansas City at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Mizzou Softball Stadium. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+.