Mizzou’s Chantice Phillips celebrates with teammates following her two-run homer in Sunday’s game against Alabama. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #13 Alabama | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| Mizzou | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 10 | 2 |
Paige Dale
Staff Writer
COLUMBIA, MO — After a pair of rough outings Friday and Saturday against No. 13-ranked Alabama, in which it didn’t score a single run, the University of Missouri women’s softball team found its stroke in a big way on Sunday.
The Tigers banged out 10 hits and scored 11 runs in what proved to be an 11-3 five-inning run-rule win over the Crimson Tide, Sunday afternoon at the Mizzou Softball Field.
Junior leftfielder Chantice Phillips was the hitting star of the day for Missouri. She was 3-for-4 at the plate, with a two-run home run and a two-run double.
The Tigers had gone all weekend without scoring a run against the Tide. That included a seven-inning game on Friday and a nine-inning game on Saturday.
Then on Sunday, it wasn’t until the third inning that Mizzou finally got its bats going. And they had to so do, already trailing 3-0.
But in the bottom of the third, Alex Honnold put together a brilliant at-bat and drew a walk. Julia Crenshaw followed by reaching on an error.
That brought Kara Daly to the plate, and she drilled a double to right field to put the Tigers on the board. Crenshaw advanced all the way to third, and scored on a ground out by Maddie Gallagher.
Katie Chester tied the score with a double to left that scored Daly. But the big blow of the inning was Phillips’ monster home run to left-center — her second of the season — that gave Mizzou a 5-3 lead.
After 18-plus innings of not scoring any runs, Phillips’ blast set off a massive celebration at home plate for the entire Mizzou team.
But the Tigers weren’t done.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Payton Jackson led off by getting hit by a pitch, then advanced to third on a hit by Honnold. Jackson then scored on a wild pitch, while Honnold, who had stolen second, moved up to third. She then scored on an infield hit by Crenshaw that made the score 7-3 Mizzou.
In the fifth inning, Phillips doubled in two runs, Jackson singled her home, and Crenshaw singled in a run to put the Tigers up 11-3 and end the game.
Laurin Krings (8-8) got the win for the Tigers. She came in in relief, after starting pitcher Jordan Weber gave up the first three runs to Alabama.
The victory raised Mizzou’s overall record to 22-16 and 2-10 in SEC play. It also ended a seven-game conference losing streak.
The Tigers will look to keep their momentum going next weekend, when they’ll travel to Baton Rouge, for a three-game set against LSU. Those games will be played on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, with Thursday’s contest scheduled to be televised on SEC Network.
Mizzou’s next home game will come Wednesday, April 12, when the Tigers will host Lindenwood at 5:30 p.m.
| 2023 Missouri Tigers Upcoming Women’s Softball Schedule |
| Thu., April 6 — at No. 20 LSU* — 5 pm (SEC Network) |
| Fri., April 7 — at No. 20 LSU* — 6 pm |
| Sat., April 8 — at No. 20 LSU* — 1 pm |
| Wed., April 12 — vs. Lindenwood — 5:30 pm |
| Sat., April 15 — vs. Mississippi* — 2 pm |
| Sun., April 16 — vs. Mississippi* — 3 pm (SEC Network) |
| Mon., April 17 — vs. Mississippi* — 6 pm (SEC Network) |
| * – Denotes Southeastern Conference game |
| All Mizzou home games will be played at Mizzou Softball Field. |