When Mizzou softball met No. 22/20 LSU on Thursday, it struggled. A 9-1 loss in six innings seemingly set the tone for how the second game of the series would play out, as Missouri’s offense failed to find a rhythm, and the Tigers fell 16-4 Friday in Columbia.

Mizzou’s pair of Abbys struck gold in the first inning; Abby Hay singled, while Abby Carr hit a two-run homer, and the Tigers jumped out to an early 3-0 lead. This, however, would be the highlight of MU’s offense Friday.

Despite initial success, Missouri had major defensive problems, with a detrimental miscommunication between Madison Uptegrove and Claire Cahalan in the second that cost the Tigers a base. 

Addy Waits made a miscue in the third inning, throwing to second base instead of first and allowing LSU runners to make it on base. Sophie Smith made a misjudgment in the seventh, choosing to throw to first instead of tagging the runner then throwing home.

Missouri couldn’t voice a response to LSU pitcher Cece Cellura and struggled with timing. Mizzou briefly got around the pitcher in the fifth, and Uptegrove advanced all the way to third base. She then took advantage of a wild pitch to score.

This didn’t shake LSU, as it proceeded to add nine runs to the score. Kylee Edwards’ triple in the seventh made her the first LSU softball player in program history to achieve a cycle.

“We gave in to ‘hard,’” Missouri coach Larissa Anderson said. “Yesterday was hard, and today was hard, and we just gave in a little bit. I want them to be proud of the product that they put on the field and compete.”

Missouri’s Marissa McCann pitched 3.1 innings, allowing seven hits, six runs and a homer. Carr then took the mound to try to stop the bleeding for 1.2 innings. Nathalie Touchet entered the circle in the sixth, but LSU got around her as well.

Rylee Michalak was brought in briefly in the seventh before Courtney Donahue finished the inning off. Mizzou’s pitchers recorded 11 total walks with 16 runs allowed, the most since 2016.

“You’re not going to win any ball game having 11 walks,” Anderson said. “We’ve got to control the strike zone better, (and) we’ve got to be more competitive. We can’t give up as many free bases.”

Mizzou will seek redemption, closing out the series at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Mizzou Softball Stadium.