Missouri softball falls to Duke in opening game of NCAA Columbia Super Regional

Advantage, Blue Devils.

No. 7 national seed Missouri softball fell 6-3 to No. 10 Duke in its opening game of the NCAA Columbia Super Regional on Friday afternoon at Mizzou Softball Stadium, putting the Tigers one defeat away from the end of their season.

With the game tied at 3 apiece entering the fifth inning after the teams traded the lead to start the game, Duke designated player Aminah Vega drove home the go-ahead run, scoring star right fielder Claire Davidson from first base with an RBI-double to left center.

Duke tacked on another as first baseman Gisele Tapia singled, and as the Tigers tried to catch her out at first pinch runner Aleyah Terrell rounded third for home. It took a challenge from the Duke dugout and review, but she was ultimately ruled safe to give the visitors a two-run lead.

Laurin Krings went 4.2 innings, allowing five runs, all earned, on seven hits and two walks. MU freshman Marissa McCann relieved her in the circle, and allowed the Blue Devils to tack on an insurance run in the seventh.

But most of the damage had already been done.

Duke second baseman Francesca Frelick put the Blue Devils on the scoreboard, drilling a 1-2 pitch just inside the left-field foul pole for a two-run home run. The visitors' leadoff hitter D’Auna Jennings, two at-bats later, drove home left fielder Amiah Burgess from first with a line-drive triple ripped right up the center and all the way off the outfield wall.

Meanwhile, all of Missouri's offensive production came in the opening couple of innings.

Missouri leadoff hitter Jenna Laird cut into that lead in the bottom half of the second with an RBI-double up the right-field line in the bottom of the second. Laird stole third and then made it home —narrowly beating out a tag — after second baseman Maddie Gallagher’s RBI-groundout. Gallagher drove in two runs, also singling home Alex Honnold in the first for the game’s opening run.

Duke starter Jala Wright (1.21 ERA, 19-1) exited the game after just 1.2 innings, as she had already been tagged for four hits, three earned runs, three walks and a wild pitch. Cassidy Curd entered for Duke in relief, and kept Missouri off the scoreboard the remainder of the way.

While Curd went to work, the Blue Devils’ offense repaid the favor.

That puts one foot in the door of the Women’s College World Series for Duke.

Missouri (47-17) and Duke (51-6) will return to the pitch at noon Saturday for the second game of the super-regional series. A Missouri super-regional record 3,806 people attended Friday’s loss, and Saturday’s game has sold out, per MU athletics.

Mizzou survived four games with elimination on the line in the regional round.

Now, against the No. 10 national seed, it’ll need two more to stay alive.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Missouri softball falls to Duke in opening game of super regional