(Photo Courtesy of Missouri Athletics)
WACO, Texas – No. 14 Mizzou Softball began its first day of Baylor’s Getterman Classic with an offensive bang and finished with clutch hitting to start its 2014 season with a 2-0 record. The Tigers first defeated UAB by a score of 8-1 before sophomore 2B/OF Emily Crane (Troy, Mo.) hit Mizzou past Iowa in extra innings, 2-1 (8).
The Tigers were led in their 8-1 victory over UAB by standout performances from junior 3B/C Angela Randazzo (Poway, Calif.) , redshirt sophomore SS Sami Fagan (Dunnellon, Fla.) and junior IF Corrin Genovese (East Amherst, N.Y.)., with both Randazzo and Genovese hitting home runs. Randazzo helped Mizzou jump out on the Blazers in the opening frame of the season with a two-run home run over the left field wall, Mizzou’s first long ball of 2014.
Earlier in the top of the first inning, redshirt sophomore OF Taylor Gadbois (Maryville, Mo.) was brought in from 3B by an RBI single from Fagan to start Mizzou’s scoring. The hit to shallow center field was Fagan’s first of her Black & Gold career.
Genovese hit Mizzou’s second home run of the day, a solo shot to left field in the top of the sixth inning to give the Tigers a 6-0 lead. Sophomore OF Sarah Moore (Chino Hills, Calif.) kept the scoring up by hitting an RBI single to bring in freshman IF/OF Kelli Schkade (Albany, Texas), who pinch ran for a walk by junior 1B Kelsea Roth (Yorba Linda, Calif.).
Mizzou took an 8-0 lead into the bottom of the seventh before a long ball drifted out of the park for UAB, setting the final score of 8-1.
Freshman pitcher Tori Finucane (Germantown, Md.) picked up her first collegiate win (1-0) with the effort, throwing 5.0 shutout innings with three strikeouts and three hits allowed.
After an initial home run by Iowa in the initial half-inning of the Tigers’ second game, Mizzou battled for a run against the Hawkeyes without reward until the bottom of the sixth inning. Randazzo had a hand in the action again, singling to left field to bring home Crane, who got on base by drawing a walk.
The 1-1 standoff between the two squads lasted until the bottom of the eighth inning. With the tournament using international tiebreak rules, Gadbois was placed at second base. Crane ripped a two-out single up the middle to bring home Gadbois and secure the win for the Tigers.
Stangel also earned her first collegiate win (1-0), throwing 8.0 innings of one-run softball with four hits scattered throughout the game.
In Mizzou’s opening day of 2014 action, freshman C Kirsten Mack (Riverside, Calif.) and classmate Stangel recorded their first collegiate hits.
Mizzou continues action at the Getterman Classic on Saturday, Feb. 15, with Lipscomb (12:30 p.m.) and Drake (3 p.m.). The Tigers finish the event with No. 16 Baylor on Sunday, Feb. 16, with an 11 a.m. start.
The Tigers’ first home contests of the 2014 season will be against SEC foe Kentucky from March 14-16 at University Field. Season ticket renewals are currently ongoing, along with additional season ticket requests being taken. More information can be found here. Contact the Mizzou Ticket Office by phone at 1-800-CAT-PAWS (573-884-7297 in Mid-Missouri).
