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FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas’s time at the 2024 SEC Softball Tournament was brief.
Missouri, the fifth seed, secured a 3-1 win over the fourth-seeded Razorbacks Friday morning at Moore Field in Auburn, Ala., after rain had halted the game in the fifth inning on Thursday night.
The game, delayed by thunderstorms at 9:24 p.m. just after Missouri took the lead, resumed at 9 a.m. Friday with the Tigers ahead 2-1 and runners on first and third with no outs.
Arkansas coach Courtney Deifel commented, “I think the situation is not ideal by any means, but both teams are in the same situation. For us, it was a chance to reset. We looked terrible last night. Today, we responded, but we didn’t give ourselves much time to get it done.”
When play resumed, Arkansas pitcher Robyn Herron was ahead 0-2 and struck out a batter with her first pitch. Missouri then executed a double steal, with Jenna Laird stealing home to give the Tigers a 3-1 lead, although Alex Honnold was tagged out in a rundown between first and second base.
The Razorbacks (36-16) had a chance to score in the sixth inning but failed to capitalize with the bases loaded and no outs. Nia Carter led off with a single, Bri Ellis was hit by a pitch, and Cylie Halvorson’s single loaded the bases. Missouri pitcher Marissa McCann then induced an infield fly and struck out Kennedy Miller on a changeup to end an 11-pitch at-bat, narrowly missing a grand slam.
“It’s a game of inches,” Deifel remarked. “If Kennedy’s ball is five inches to the right or a foot to the right, we’re having a different postgame. That’s the game.”
Arkansas went down in order in the seventh inning, resulting in an SEC Tournament quarterfinal exit for the second year in a row. Missouri reliever Taylor Pannell earned her NCAA-leading 14th save.
Missouri (42-14) moved on to face eighth-seeded LSU in the semifinals, after LSU upset SEC champion Tennessee on Thursday.
Missouri initially led 1-0 when Maddie Gallagher hit an RBI double in the first inning. Gammill evened the score with a solo home run in the fourth, but Missouri regained the lead in the fifth due to another Arkansas error.
Kayley Lenger’s infield single and Jenna Laird’s RBI double off the wall gave Missouri a 2-1 lead before the game was paused.
Deifel added, “It’s not ideal, but that’s softball. It’s dealing with weather and things out of your control. We couldn’t recover from the mistakes we made last night.”
Missouri out-hit Arkansas 9-5, with both teams leaving six runners on base. Deifel noted, “We should have been coming into a 1-0 game with runners at first and third with one out. We shot ourselves in the foot.”
Arkansas, known for its defense, struggled to recover from the errors. The Razorbacks will discover their NCAA postseason fate Sunday at 6 p.m. on ESPN2 during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show, with projections indicating they may host a regional for the fourth straight season.
