Starting pitcher Jordan Weber tossed an eight-inning complete game to lead Mizzou to a 3-2 win over Alabama, Friday night in Tuscaloosa. (Photo courtesy: Mizzou Athletics)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
| Alabama | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
W: Jordan Weber (13-5) L: Montana Fouts (20-5)
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
The No. 23-ranked University of Missouri women’s softball team picked up a huge Southeastern Conference victory and extended its current winning streak to eight games in a row, Friday night, when it defeated No. 8-ranked Alabama, 3-2, in an eight-inning thriller at Rhoads Stadium in Tuscaloosa.
Missouri’s Kendyll Bailey drew a bases-loaded walk in the top of the eighth to give the Tigers the lead. Then starting pitcher Jordan Weber finished off the complete-game victory, by getting a soft ground ball to first for the final out of the game, after Alabama had put the tying run on, following a two-out Mizzou error.
Weber, who is now 13-5 on the season, matched her career-high by going eight innings, and only allowed the Tide two runs on five hits, while striking out seven, walking just one.
Mizzou grabbed the lead in the top of the first, when cleanup hitter Kimberly Wert bashed her 16th home run of the season — a two-run shot with two outs — off Alabama ace Montana Fouts. The homer was also the 60th of Wert’s career, extending her Mizzou all-time leading mark.
The Tide tied the game with a pair of solo homers, one in the first and another in the fourth, which set the stage for the dramatic finish.
Mizzou’s Jenna Laird got a one-out infield single, then moved to second on a line-drive hit by Brooke Wilmes. Both players moved up a base, following a wild pitch by Fouts.
Casidy Chaumont grounded out to third to make it two outs, and Alabama elected to intentionally walk Wert, who has been one of the hottest hitters in the SEC over the last couple of weeks. That brought Bailey to the plate, for her fourth at-bat of the night, after going hitless in her first three.
Fouts (20-5), who finished the night with 14 strikeouts, tried to get Bailey to chase a number of pitches just off the plate. But the Mizzou grad student senior wouldn’t bite, and was able to take a run-scoring ball four on a pitch that was low and out of the strike zone.
An announced crowd of 3,940 saw the Tigers take Game 1 of the series over the Tide, which lifted Mizzou’s overall record this season to 33-17. Missouri also moved to 12-9 in SEC play, which puts them in fourth place in the league standings, one -half game behind Tennessee.
Alabama fell to 39-10 on the year, and remained in second place in SEC play with a 14-8 record.
The two teams will play Game 2 of their three-game set on Saturday at Rhoads Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 12:30 p.m.
The series finale will be played on Sunday at 1 p.m., and is will be televised live on ESPNU.