Mizzou’s Casidy Chaumont had two hits, two RBIs, and scored two runs in the Tigers’ 11-6 win over Texas A&M, Sunday afternoon in Columbia, Mo. (Photo: Nathan Assata)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas A&M | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 2 |
| Mizzou | 0 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | X | 11 | 7 | 0 |
W: Megan Schumacher (6-2) L: Makinzy Herzog (9-6)
by Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
The University of Missouri women’s softball team enjoyed the final day of its 2022 Senior Weekend, by closing out a three-game sweep over Southeastern Conference foe, Texas A&M, with an 11-6 win, Sunday afternoon at the Mizzou Softball Stadium.
The Tigers used their explosive offense to bombard the Aggie pitching staff all weekend.
First, Mizzou hit four home runs, including a walkoff two-run shot in the bottom of the eighth inning, to win 7-5 on Friday. Then on Saturday, the Tigers hit two more home runs and nearly run-ruled the Aggies twice, before eventually winning 7-2, in a nationally televised game on the SEC Network.
But those two games were just the lead-in for Sunday’s Senior Day romp, which Mizzou won 11-6, in large part, to an eight-run fourth inning, that helped the Tigers turn a 3-1 deficit into a 9-3 lead.
Fifth-year graduate senior Casidy Chaumont was the hitting star of the day. She had two hits, two RBIs, and scored two runs to power the Tiger offense. And it was her two-run smash single, in the third inning, that gave Mizzou its first lead.
Another huge play came just moments after Chaumont’s single, when A&M pitcher Makinzy Herzog tossed a wild pitch that allowed Mizzou’s Alex Honnold to score from third. Then, after a wild throw to the plate, Chaumont raced home to score as well, to put the Tigers up 7-3.
A bases loaded walk gave Missouri its 9-3 lead, but A&M answered back with three runs in the fourth to make the game close again.
Fortunately, the Tigers weren’t done scoring, as they got two more runs in the bottom of the fourth, on a two-run single by Emma Raabe, to go back ahead 11-6.
Mizzou pitchers Megan Schumacher and Laurin Krings were able to keep the Aggies scoreless the rest of the day, to close out the win. Schumacher (6-2) pitched 2 2/3 innings to get the win, while Krings got the final two outs of the game to get the save.
The win lifted Mizzou’s overall record to 32-17, and also gave them an 11-9 record in SEC play. That mark has the Tigers in fourth place in the conference standings with just one weekend left before the SEC tournament in Gainesville, Fla., in two weeks.
Remaining in fourth place (or possibly moving higher) would be key for the Tigers, because the top four seeds in the SEC Tournament get an automatic bye into the tournament quarterfinals.
But to remain in fourth place, Mizzou will have to get at least two wins this coming weekend, when it travels to Tuscaloosa, to play defending SEC champion and current NCAA No. 6 Alabama.
The Tigers are a half-game ahead of Florida, which is in fifth place. But if Mizzou loses twice against Alabama, it would fall to 12-11 in conference play, which would put them a half-game behind Florida, which is 13-11 and has already concluded its conference season.
The three games against Alabama will be played on Friday (6 p.m.), Saturday (12:30 p.m.), and Sunday (1 p.m.), with the final game set to be televised on ESPNU.
The SEC Tournament will be played May 10-14, with the first three rounds scheduled to be televised the SEC Network, and the semifinals and championship game set for ESPN2.