Mizzou sophomore Cierra Harrison picked up her team-best 13th win in the circle in Sunday’s win over Mississippi State. (Photo: Terrance Williams)

NCAA Softball	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
#18 Mississippi State (30-16)	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	6	0
#14 Missouri (37-13)	1	0	0	3	0	0	X	4	6	1

WP: Cierra Harrison – MIZ (13-3) LP: Josey Marron (9-8) SV: Taylor Pannell – MIZ (11)

Paige Dale
Staff Writer

COLUMBIA, MO — The University of Missouri softball team earned its third straight series win by taking Game 2 of its series against Mississippi State on Sunday, 4-1.

Missouri (37-13, 10-10) has now won two of three in each of its last three SEC series. The Tigers will have a chance to go for a sweep over the Bulldogs on Monday, when the team meet in a 6 p.m. contest at the Mizzou Softball Stadium.

On Senior Day, senior shortstop Jenna Laird set the pace offensively for the Tigers, finishing 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.

Sophomore Katie Chester delivered the big blow of the day, when she came in to pinch hit in the fourth inning and line a single to center that scored two to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead.

Sophomore starting pitcher Cierra Harrison collected her 13th win of the season, going 5.1 innings, allowing zero earned runs (one run), and surrendering just one extra-base hit, and three in total.

Harrison would get to work early Sunday. After the leadoff batter knocked a double, she coaxed three quick outs, including a strikeout to exit the top of the first unscathed.

The Tigers then pushed one across in the bottom of the frame, as Laird scored thanks to an RBI groundout from freshman Abby Hay, putting MU up 1-0.

In the bottom of the fourth, a pinch hit double from Chester brought a pair of Tigers home, increasing Mizzou’s lead to three. Chester, a Liberty, Mo., native, picked up her 27th RBI of the season.

Laird then brought home another on a single, as the home squad took a 4-0 lead.

Harrison, a Lee’s Summit native, continued to dominate in the circle for MU, getting 14-straight outs after the leadoff double, not allowing a baserunner until the fifth inning.

In the sixth, MSU managed to push one across on an RBI single from Ella Wesolowski, but freshman Marissa McCann escaped a bases loaded jam to limit the damage and preserve a 4-1 lead.

With the three-run advantage in hand, sophomore closer Taylor Pannell entered the game in the seventh to close it out. Pannell fanned a pair en route to her NCAA-leading 11th save of the season.

Mizzou is now 27-1 on the year when it holds its opponent to two runs or less.

Monday’s series finale will be televised live on the SEC Network and Mizzou head coach Larissa Anderson will be mic’d up throughout the game.

SCORING SUMMARY

Logo	Team	Inning	Play Description	MSU	MIZ
	MIZ	1st	Hay grounded out to 3b, RBI (0-1); Honnold advanced to third; Laird scored.	0	1
	MIZ	4th	Chester singled to center field, 2 RBI (0-1); Crenshaw scored; Cahalan scored.	0	3
	MIZ	4th	Laird singled to left field, RBI (3-1); Blackstun scored.	0	4
	MSU	6th	E.Wesolowski singled to second base, RBI (0-2); R. Hull advanced to second; K. Sells advanced to third; S. Sacco scored, unearned.	1	4

MISSOURI TIGERS 2024 WOMEN’S SOFTBALL SCHEDULE

Date	Time	At	Opponent	Location	TV
April 29, 2024 (Monday)	6 p.m.	Home	#18 Mississippi State	Mizzou Softball Stadium
May 3, 2024 (Friday)	5 p.m.	Away	#23 South Carolina	Columbia, S.C.
May 4, 2024 (Saturday)	5 p.m.	Away	#23 South Carolina	Columbia, S.C.
May 5, 2024 (Sunday)	2 p.m.	Away	#23 South Carolina	Columbia, S.C.
May 7, 2024 (Tuesday)	TBA	Neutral	SEC Tournament	Auburn, Ala.