The Tennessee Lady Volunteers lost their final regular-season softball game to Missouri, 4-3, according to a May 2 announcement. The game took place at Missouri Softball Stadium.
This result concludes the regular season for Tennessee with a record of 42 wins and 9 losses overall, and a conference record of 16-8 in the Southeastern Conference. The loss may impact their seeding in the upcoming postseason tournament.
Tennessee scored first in the opening inning when Ella Dodge walked and Gabby Leach hit an RBI double. Elsa Morrison extended the lead with a solo home run in the fourth inning. However, Missouri responded by scoring on a wild pitch and tying the game with a solo home run from Abby Hay in the fifth.
In the sixth inning, Tennessee regained a one-run lead after Sophia Knight singled to bring home Zoie Shuler. Missouri answered back in their half of the sixth by capitalizing on two errors from Tennessee’s defense; Abby Carr singled and two runs scored as a result of another defensive mistake, giving Missouri its first lead at 4-3.
Pitcher Erin Nuwer started for Tennessee and allowed one run over three innings. Sage Mardjetko pitched two innings out of relief, allowing one run on one hit with four strikeouts. Karlyn Pickens finished out of the bullpen but allowed two unearned runs and took her seventh loss of the season.
With this defeat, Tennessee will now prepare for postseason play as they await their seeding for the Southeastern Conference Tournament scheduled to begin Tuesday, May 5 at John Cropp Stadium in Lexington.
