The No. 17 Missouri softball team opened the Missouri Breast Cancer Awareness Tournament with a 5-0 win over SEMO on Friday afternoon. Redshirt sophomore Chelsea Thomas, two days off of a perfect game, took a no hitter into the sixth inning before giving up a single.
The Tigers scored a pair of runs in the top of the first inning to jump out to the early lead. Senior Rhea Taylor started things off by drawing a walk, stealing second and advancing to third on a wild pitch. She’d score on an illegal pitch.
Sophomore Jenna Marston scored the second run of the inning on a double steal, with Nicole Hudson stealing second on the play.
Thomas set down the first seven batters she faced before an error allowed the first Redhawk base runner of the game. Before that error, Thomas had retired the last 33 batters she faced dating back to the sixth inning against Alabama last weekend.
Thomas entered the sixth inning with a no hitter still intact before SEMO’s leadoff hitter singled to start the inning. She struck out the next two batters before allowing a two out single to give SEMO their best scoring opportunity of the day, but Thomas struck out Carmen Fowler to end the threat.
Missouri tacked on three insurance runs in the top of the seventh to push their lead to 5-0. Taylor legged out an infield single and stole second to start off the frame, and later scored on a fielder’s choice RBI from Marston.
Two batters later, Hudson singled through the right side, allowing Marston to come home and score. Hudson advanced to second on a wild pitch and touched home on an RBI single by Lindsey Muller.
Marston, Hudson, and Muller each collected one hit apiece and also drove in a run. Taylor also singled, scored twice and stole two bases.
Marston added a stolen base and a run. The Tigers struck out just once and walked seven times.
Thomas is now 2-2 on the season after throwing a complete game shutout, as she struck out 10 batters and walked just one while allowing three hits. Her ERA currently stands at 0.72 and opponents are hitting just .122 against her.
The Tigers are now 8-3 on the season.
Mizzou continues the Missouri Breast Cancer Awareness Tournament tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. against Saint Louis.
