COLUMBIA, Mo. - Mizzou used power and quality pitching to cruise past Mississippi State with a 10-2 victory to take two out of three and win the weekend series. Sophomore pitcher Tori Finucane (Germantown, Md.) got the start for the Tigers and kept the Bulldogs' offense at bay while the Tiger bats provided plenty of run support.
The Tigers offense jumped on top of Mississippi State ace Alexis Silkwood early with the first three Mizzou batters reaching base. Silkwood then faltered allowing two runs to cross the plate after a walk and a hit-by-pitch. Sophomore catcher Kirsten Mack (Riverside, Calif.) broke the game open with a grand slam to dead center to give Mizzou a 6-0 lead after the first inning.
Finucane made her second start of the weekend in the circle and was calm, cool and collected with her offense giving her a six-run cushion. Her final line was 5.0 IP allowing two unearned runs on three hits and four walks while striking out one. She moves to 14-6 on the year following her fifth complete game.
In the third inning, senior designated player Angela Randazzo (Poway, Calif.) joined Mack with a trip of her own to #BombCity, smacking a solo shot to left field. The home run gave Mizzou a 7-0 lead and 48 home runs for the team on the season. With the duo of Mack and Randazzo both hitting home runs. the Tigers have now hit multiple long balls in the same game in 17 of their 36 games and are 13-4 in those games.
Mississippi State threatened in the top of the fifth inning when two runners reached after a Finucane walk and an error in left field. MSU's Caroline Seitz took advantage of the runners in scoring position and laced a two run single to right center to put the Bulldogs on the board and pull within five, 7-2.
The Tigers answered right back in the bottom half of the fifth inning. With two runners on base, sophomore IF Natalie Fleming (Silex, Mo.) came through with some late-game heroics. She stepped up and crushed a ball to deep center over the scoreboard for the three-run home run to give Mizzou a walk-off 10-2 victory.
The Tigers are back in action on Wednesday, April 15 when they travel to Western Illinois for a midweek doubleheader with games at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. CT. For all the latest on Mizzou Softball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter @MizzouSoftball.