Taylor Pannell (78) celebrates with teammates after getting the final out in Saturday’s Missouri win over No. 1 Oklahoma. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
NCAA Softball
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#1 Oklahoma (28-1, 7-1)
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Mizzou (18-14, 1-4)
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WP: Cierra Harrison – MIZ (7-4) LP: Isabella Smith – OU (7-1) SV: Taylor Pannell – MIZ (1)
Paige Dale Staff Writer
COLUMBIA, MO — The University of Missouri women’s softball team picked up its biggest win of the season and handed No. 1-ranked Oklahoma its first loss of the season on Saturday, when the Tigers defeated the Sooners, 3-1, in a Southeastern Conference game at the Mizzou Softball Stadium.
Oklahoma, the four-time defending NCAA champion, had won 31 straight games, including all 28 it had played this season — until Saturday when Missouri put an end to that streak.
The Tigers picked up the historic win in front of the largest crowd to ever watch a Mizzou home softball game — 4,146 fans showed up, surpassing the previous Mizzou Softball Stadium record of 4,021, which was set last May when Missouri played Duke in the NCAA Tournament Super-Regionals.
With the sellout crowd buzzing throughout, Mizzou got a brilliant dual pitching effort from starter Cierra Harrison and reliever Taylor Pannell. Harrison pitched four innings and didn’t give up any runs, while allowing just three hits and three walks. The junior from Lee’s Summit also struck out three to contain OU’s powerful bats.
Pannell, last season’s NCAA leader in saves, picked up her first save of this season by going the final three innings and only allowing one run on two hits, with two walks and three strikeouts.
Mizzou players celebrate Madison Walker’s solo home run in the bottom of the first inning of Saturday’s SEC women’s softball game against No. 1 Oklahoma. (Photo courtesy: MU Athletics)
Mizzou’s offense was led by sophomore Madison Walker and senior Taylor Ebbs, who both smacked solo home runs in the game.
Walker’s blast, which came in the bottom of the first inning, was her team-leading 13th of the season and gave Missouri a quick 1-0 lead. The Tigers added a second run on a two-out RBI double by fellow sophomore Stefania Abruscato, which scored Ebbs, who had singled with two outs, following Walker’s home run.
Then in the third inning, Ebbs — the transfer from Kentucky — led off with her fifth homer of the season to put Mizzou up 3-0.
With Harrison and Pannell dominating in the circle, those three runs proved to be more than enough for Missouri to put an end to OU’s run at a perfect season.
The Missouri Tigers celebrate on the field, after getting the final out in Saturday’s historic win over No. 1 Oklahoma. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
The Sooners are now 28-1, while Mizzou is 18-14. The win was also Mizzou’s first conference win of the season.
The teams will play their rubber game of their series on Sunday.
First pitch at the Mizzou Softball Stadium is slated for 12 p.m., and the game will be streamed live on SEC Network+.
