Mizzou softball fails to find offense in loss to Arkansas

Arkansas jumped out to an early lead, scoring three runs in the first inning. While they added an insurance run in the fourth, they never needed it. Mizzou softball scored no runs, falling in the series opener 4-0.

The Mizzou offense struggled all game, finishing with only four hits while hitting 1-11 with runners on base. By comparison, Arkansas had seven hits and was 5-15 with runners on. Addy Waits reached base twice with a pair of walks from the leadoff spot, but was the only Tiger with a pair of WHIP-increasing at-bats as the rest of the team struggled against Arkansas pitcher Payton Burnham.

Marissa McCann was the Tigers’ starter, going 3.1 innings while allowing six hits and four runs. In relief, Courtney Donahue and Abby Carr combined for 2.2 and no runs.

Here’s how the game looked from a play-by-play perspective:

The Abbys (Carr & Hay) had the only offense in the top of the first, recording back-to-back singles with two outs. But the rally came to a close after the Tigers’ second strikeout of the inning. Arkansas capitalized on its early offense, drawing back-to-back walks before a pair of singles to give the Hogs a 1-0 lead and the bases loaded with no outs. The Razorbacks added two more runs after a pair of deep flyouts allowed the runners to advance an extra base. McCann escaped the inning with her first strikeout of the day.

Mizzou had a quiet offensive inning in the second with three consecutive outs. But McCann bounced back in the bottom of the inning by forcing three quick outs of her own.

The Tiger offense added two baserunners in the third with the help of a walk from Waits and an infield single from Stefania Abruscato. But the rally came to a close after a strikeout and lineout. Arkansas singled once in the inning, but otherwise it was another quiet offensive showing as McCann settled in.

Sidney Forrester led off the fourth with a single before the inning came to a close with three consecutive groundouts for Mizzou. Arkansas added to its lead with another run in the inning, started by three-straight baserunners to load the bases with one out. This perilous situation led to McCann being pulled in favor of Courtney Donahue. In relief, she escaped the inning with a pair of groundouts, but one run did score as the Hogs went up 4-0.