Needing three outs to extend its season another game, the Missouri softball team blew a three-run lead in the seventh inning at No. 2 Michigan and lost Sunday’s NCAA super regional game 5-4, ending the Tigers’ season and perhaps Ehren Earleywine’s decade as Mizzou’s coach.
“We’re heartbroken, obviously,” Earleywine told reporters after the game in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Freshman Rylee Pierce’s three-run home run in the sixth inning put the Tigers ahead 4-1 as Michigan’s bullpen strategy backfired in the inning, but Mizzou (42-16) couldn’t close out the top remaining seed on the path to the Women’s College World Series.