Badgers beat Mizzou, put Tigers on brink of softball season extinction

EUGENE, Ore. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) – Winning an NCAA regional on the road got a lot harder for the Missouri softball team Friday.

The No. 2 seed Tigers lost their first-round game to Wisconsin 7-2, meaning Ehren Earleywine’s team faces elimination Saturday in Eugene, Ore. After hosting regional play each of the last eight years, Mizzou (29-27) knew it faced a major challenge with host Oregon in the four-team regional, but first up, the Badgers from the Big Ten. Wisconsin’s Kaitlyn Menz held the Tigers to just three singles in her complete-game outing and retired the final 11 batters she faced.

On Saturday, Mizzou faces the loser of Friday’s late game between Oregon and Illinois-Chicago at approximately 6:30 p.m. central time.

The Badgers broke it open in the fifth on Kelly Welsh’s RBI single and a two-run single by Brooke Wyderski, all charged to starter Cheyenne Baxter, who was lifted for Parker Conrad in the inning. Wisconsin (34-15) added two runs in the seventh on two RBI doubles.