FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Offense has been a weakness for Mississippi State softball since the start of Southeastern Conference play.
Coming into Tuesday night’s SEC tournament first round game against Missouri, the Bulldogs were hitting just .201 in conference games with a .654 OPS.
Those struggles carried over into the postseason as Mississippi State managed two hits and scored just one run, getting knocked out of the SEC tournament with a 3-1 loss.
The Bulldogs (28-25) and Tigers (34-23) were locked in a pitcher’s duel early on, with a pair of unbeaten starters on the mound in Reis Beuerlein and Laurin Krings.
Missouri got on the board first in the top of the second inning with an RBI double from Maddie Snider and a defensive lapse from the Bulldogs. A fielding error from second baseman Shea Moreno gave the Tigers life with two outs, and Snider made them pay for it.
Mississippi State was quick to respond with the long ball in the bottom of the fourth inning as Nadia Barbary snapped a 14-game homerless drought with a solo shot down the left field line.
The Bulldogs had trouble against Krings, who was dealing in the circle. She pitched a complete game, but pitched to contact, striking out three and allowing three baserunners overall from two hits and a walk.
Meanwhile, Missouri’s offense found ways to get on, recording seven hits in the win, and benefitted from Mississippi State defensive mistakes to retake the lead for good in the top of the fifth.
Jenna Laird stretched a single into an extra base, advancing on a throwing error from Bulldogs right fielder Saleyna Daniel.
Laird came home one batter later as Alex Honnold doubled her home. An insurance run in the seventh built up a two-run lead for Krings, who retired Mississippi State in order in the bottom-half to improve to 12-0 on the season.
It now becomes a waiting game to see if the Bulldogs sneak into the NCAA tournament, but with a 7-16 record in conference play, finding a way in will be tough.
The NCAA tournament selection show takes place at 7 p.m. Sunday.
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