Missouri held off Arkansas for a 3-1 win in the SEC Softball Tournament on Friday. The Tigers led 2-1 as action resumed in the fifth inning Friday morning, after the game was halted Thursday night due to bad weather.
While Missouri ultimately advanced with a win, it wasn’t easy. Reliever Marissa McCann got the Tigers out of a bases loaded, no outs jam in the sixth inning, before Mizzou eventually moved on.
McCann spoke with the SEC Network following the win about the pressure situation she faced in the sixth.
“I just knew that coming in, [Cierra Harrison] had pitched such a great game. I had to work hard for her and the team,” McCann told Alyssa Lang. “We had to work on our mindset coming back into the game, so I couldn’t let my team down. I had to get it done for them, because they worked so hard.”
Missouri had to show up early and ready to play in order to advance. Action resumed at 10 a.m. E.T., 9. a.m. C.T. Friday morning.
McCann said that coach Larissa Anderson started preparation for Friday right immediately after Thursday’s play ended.
“When we got on the bus, coach was like, ‘OK guys, we eat dinner, you go to your rooms, you go to bed, we wake up, and we have to pick up the same energy. We have to find it,'” McCann recalled. “And that’s what the team did today.”
Harrison earned the win, improving to 14-3 on the year. Taylor Pannell relieved McCann in the seventh inning and earned her 14th save of the season.
At the plate, Jenna Laird led the way, going 2-for-4 with a double, two runs and an RBI.
Now the Tigers advance to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament. It will be Tigers vs. Tigers later on Friday as Missouri will face LSU, with a spot in the SEC Championship Game on the line.
McCann said that getting back in the right mindset is pivotal if Missouri is going to win its second game of the day on Friday.
“I think we’re going back to the hotel, so I’m sure we’ll cool down, get some food, and then coach will have us make sure we get our mindsets back to where we are right now,” she explained.
Elsewhere in the SEC Softball Tournament, Florida will face Georgia and Texas A&M will take on South Carolina in other quarterfinals action on Friday.
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