Story by Barbara Maningat
View this article on KBIA Sports Extra
Power hitting pushed No. 12 Missouri softball to close out an undefeated record at the DeMarini Invitational with its fifth and sixth straight run-rule victories against Alcorn State, 9-0, and Northern Illinois, 8-0. Against the Alcorn State Braves, Kelsi Jones joined Lindsey Ubrun as the second Mizzou player to record at least two home runs in one game. Corrin Genovese hit her second home run of the season against the Braves. Princess Krebs continued the home run trend with one against the Northern Illinois Huskies.
Missouri v. Alcorn State
Genovese started strong in the first, with a home run to give Missouri the 1-0 lead. A Genovese triple in the second scored Jones and Rachel Hay. Kayla Kingsley took her home with a base hit.
Clutch pitching by freshman Bailey Erwin stranded two Braves on base and kept the score at 4-0 at the top of the third. Jones then added the sixth run with her first homer of the day.
In the fourth inning, Jones delivered with a powerful grand slam sending Mackenzie Sykes, Kelsea Roth and Angela Randazzo home. Erwin sealed the shutout in the fifth after striking out a batter with two threatening Braves on base.
Jones also drove in five runs, the most RBIs recorded by a single Tiger in one game this season. Genovese went 2-for-2 with two runs and a career-high three RBIs. The shutout win improved Erwin to a 4-0, with three strikeouts and only four hits.
Missouri v. Northern Illinois
The Tigers and the Huskies put runners on base in the first two innings but did not light up the scoreboard until the bottom of the fourth. The Huskies came close to recording a run when Huskie Jennifer Barnette hit a single with players on first and second. Hudson got the out when the runner tried to run for home, preventing a Tiger deficit. In the bottom of the second, the Tigers struggled to hit players home, leaving six batters stranded.
The game changer came when Krebs hit a line drive to center that put her on base with one out. Mackenzie Sykes then hit a fly ball into right field recording her first career triple, which scored Krebs. Sykes scored after a wild pitch, putting Missouri on the board 2-0.
The Tigers found momentum and batted in six more players in the fifth off of five hits. Defensive errors contributed to three Tiger runs to lead off the inning. Kelsea Roth drew a walk and ran home after Hudson hit a double. A base hit by Angela Randazzo sent Hudson running for third, but Huskie catcher Erika Oswald missed the attempted out at third with a wide throw into left field that helped Hudson contribute a 5-0 cushion.
And then Krebs capitalized. She scored Muller off her first home run of the season. Sykes got on base and advanced to third by the time Ashley Fleming batted her in with a line drive to center.
Krebs finished 3-for-3 with a homer, two runs and two RBIs. This win gave Kristin Nottelmann a 5-2 record with six strikeouts and only three hits.
Missouri softball will head to Fayetteville on Wednesday to face Arkansas at 1 p.m. The Tigers face their first Big 12 competition when they host Kansas in a three game series starting on Friday at 6 p.m.
Information from MU Athletics was used in this report.
Barbara Maningat 