Walk off in extra innings advances Missouri to Super Regionals
Missouri needed back-to-back wins on Sunday to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive, which is exactly what they did in dramatic fashion to close out the Columbia Regional at home. Defeating Omaha 1-0 in extra innings thanks to a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth from true freshman Madison Walker to secure their spot in the Supers.
The Tigers defeated Omaha 5-1 earlier in the day to force a win-or-go-home matchup to close out the Regional. A game that wound up being a defensive matchup that finally saw its scoring seal broken in dramatic fashion.
Check out Walker’s series-winning, walk-off hit below.
Walk-off plays always make the highlights, but there’s no doubt the Tigers couldn’t have done it without pitcher Laurin Krings. Who made her fourth straight start on Sunday and pitched for the entirety of the Columbia Regional Final. Striking out a career-high 15 batters and allowing just four hits in her complete nine-inning performance. Racking up 18 total strikeouts on Sunday in her 16 innings pitched versus Omaha during the double header.
The Tigers return to the Super Regional for the first time since 2021, doing so in extraordinary fashion after becoming just the 11th team in NCAA history to advance out of their regional after losing their first game. With Kriggs leading the way and starting in each of Missouri’s four-straight wins to secure her 16th win of the season.
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“What was the gutsiest moment for this team?” Mizzou head coach Larissa Anderson asked following the team’s second win of the Regional over Washington on Saturday. “It was definitely Laurin Krings coming out there. I mean extremely, extremely difficult to throw six innings and then be in the locker room for 45 minutes and then come out, have to warm up again, and then threw another five innings Extremely difficult to do mentally, physically and for her to just gut herself and will herself to be able to do what she did was extremely impressive.”
The No. 7 seed Tigers will now host the Super Regionals, setting the table for a potentially electric pitching matchup between Krings and ACC Pitcher of the Year Jala Wright. As Missouri hosts the No. 10 seed Duke Blue Devils in a three-game series that begins on May 23 at Mizzou Softball Stadium.