Rice, Tigers blank Nebraska-Omaha

COLUMBIA, Mo. - After Lauren Rice threw seven innings of one-hit softball for Missouri in Wednesday's midweek game against Nebraska-Omaha, the hard-throwing freshman said it was the most comfortable she's felt in the circle as a Tiger.

Rice gave up a single in the first inning and walked the leadoff batter in the second, but set down 18 straight Mavericks to close out a 6-0 win for Missouri (22-21, 4-11 SEC) at Mizzou Softball Stadium. Rice struck out four and was efficient, needing just 76 pitches to get through seven innings.

It was the second straight quality start for Rice, who threw a complete game against No. 5 Georgia on Saturday and allowed seven hits in the 5-1 win. But first baseman Rylee Pierce said after Wednesday's game she thought Rice was having some trouble locating her pitches and didn't look comfortable despite working a one-hit game.

"The fact that she was able to pitch without being super comfortable and still throw a one-hitter, that tells you she stuck to her plan and didn't deviate from it when she wasn't feeling great," said Pierce, who finished 3-for-3 with two doubles, a walk and three RBI. "You're only going to feel super comfortable when you're in the circle and in the batter's box, 5, 10 percent of the time. Being able to pitch or hit when you're uncomfortable is key for any team."

The Tigers, who have struggled to hit in clutch situations with runners in scoring position, plated their first four runs of the game with two out.

Pierce led off the first inning with a walk but was doubled off after Cayla Kessinger's bunt skied into the glove of Demi Dobbs at third.

However, Amanda Sanchez followed with a single to right and Kolby Romaine homered to left on a 2-0 count, her fifth of the year and a new season-high for the junior.

In the second inning, Regan Nash reached base on an infield hit and stole second, then after a flyout moved up on a fielder's choice and came home on an infield single by Pierce.

In the fourth, Callie Martin was hit by a pitch and then scored from first on a two-out double by Pierce that hit the base of the wall in left-center field.

Brooke Wilmes and Pierce both doubled in the sixth to give Rice insurance runs she didn't really need.

Pierce, who hit leadoff for the first time this season and has the second-highest on-base percentage (.463) of Missouri's regular hitters, said striking out with two out and the bases loaded against Georgia helped motivate her against Nebraska-Omaha.

"One of the big things we've been focusing on is hitting with runners in scoring position no matter how many outs, and especially our two-out hitting hasn't been very good this year," Nash said. "We're finally trying to initiate and get the runs in, we've struggled with that all year, but we're practicing it and getting it done."

Missouri will have to make the most of those opportunities this weekend when Auburn comes to town. No. 11 Auburn (36-8, 9-6 SEC) has the lowest ERA in the conference at 0.92 overall and 1.14 in conference play, and SEC opponents are batting .222 against Auburn this season.

Kaylee Carlson leads the SEC in innings pitched at 137 and is second with an ERA of 0.66, and the team's secondary starter Makayla Martin has a 1.13 ERA in 105 innings.

Game 1 of the three-game series is at 6:30 p.m. Friday. Saturday's game is set to start at 2 p.m. with the final game to start at noon Sunday.

Missouri is currently tied with Mississippi at 4-11 in conference play, with Kentucky (3-8) and Mississippi State (4-8) not far behind. The team with the worst conference record does not make the SEC Tournament, which Missouri hosts this year.