Missouri hit a pair of solo home runs in the eighth inning Saturday at Mizzou Stadium to defeat the No. 12 Arkansas softball team and force a rubber match.
After the Razorbacks (38-15, 14-9 SEC) grabbed a 3-2 lead in the top of the eighth on a sacrifice fly by Rylin Hedgecock, the Tigers found an answer against Arkansas ace Chenise Delce.
Nine-hole hitter Maddie Snider located a pitch high in the zone and lifted a home run over the wall in right center to tie the game. It was the Columbia, Mo., native’s second homer of the season.
Two batters later, Missouri third baseman Kara Daly drilled the first pitch she saw well beyond the left-field wall. Her two-out home run gave the Tigers a 4-3 win.
It is the seventh victory for Missouri (32-23, 6-17) over a top-25 opponent, and the result snapped a three-game winning streak for the Razorbacks.
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Arkansas went ahead 2-0 in the second inning when Cylie Halvorson and Kristina Foreman hit back-to-back solo home runs.
Tigers right-hander Laurin Krings bounced back and held the Razorbacks off the scoreboard over the next five innings. She went 7 2/3 innings and gave up 3 runs on 5 hits with 5 strikeouts.
Hannah Camenzind started for Arkansas and kept Mizzou off the scoreboard until the fifth inning, when she had an error on a fielder’s choice. Camenzind’s throw to third base went past the glove of Hannah Gammill and allowed pinch runner Hannah McGivern to score.
In the next a-bat, Snider hit a sacrifice fly to left field that tied the game 2-2. Neither team scored over the final two innings, forcing extras.
Camenzind started but was not part of the win-loss decision. She threw 4 2/3 innings and allowed 2 runs on 4 hits.
Reagan Johnson led off the eighth inning by slapping her second base hit of the game up the middle. She advanced to second base due to a wild pitch the next at-bat, then moved to third on a foul out by Raigan Kramer.
Hedgecock sent Johnson home with a two-strike sacrifice fly in the next at-bat.
Missouri handed Delce her seventh loss with its two home runs in the eighth. Delce pitched three innings, and the home runs were all the hits she allowed.
Arkansas will seek its 12th consecutive road series victory Sunday. Game 3 is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. on SEC Network-Plus.