KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The 15th-ranked Lady Vol softball team fell, 5-3, to No. 16 Missouri Sunday afternoon at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium in Tennessee’s regular season finale.

The long ball was the order of the day as every run scored by both teams came via the home run.

Tennessee (39-12, 12-11 SEC) took the early lead in the bottom of the first thanks to an Amanda Ayala solo home run to center. The blast was her ninth of the season.

In the second, Missouri (37-14, 15-9 SEC) tied the game off a Cayla Kessinger solo shot to center. Following a scoreless third inning, Ally Shipman smoked a home run over the wall in center to break the deadlock and give UT a, 2-1, lead.

In the fifth, the Tigers used three home runs to jump back in front and take a, 5-1, lead. Emma Raabe hit a leadoff homer to left, tying the game at, 2-2. After a foul out and fly out, Brooke Wilmes singled to bring up Jenna Laird. Laird then smacked a two-run homer to center to increase the Missouri lead.

With the next at-bat, Hatti Moore popped a solo shot to left to post Mizzou’s fifth run on the board.

In the bottom half of the fifth, Ivy Davis rocketed a solo homer to right center, scoring UT’s third run of the day and creating the game’s final margin at, 5-3.

Tennessee made a late push in the seventh as it loaded the bases with two-out, but Missouri was able to get Ayala to hit into a ground out to end the game.

Ashley Rogers threw a complete game for the Lady Vols in the loss, allowing five runs on seven hits, while walking two and striking out six. The Athens, Tennessee, native is now 23-8 on the year.

Jordan Weber started the game for Mizzou Sunday, but tossed just one inning before Megan Schumacher came on in relief. Schumacher finished the game, pitching six innings and surrendering two runs on four hits, while walking two and striking out two.

Schumacher picked up the win and improved to 10-3.

UP NEXT
Tennessee will be the No. 7 seed in the SEC Tournament, which starts Tuesday night in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The Lady Vols will play 10th-seeded Texas A&M on Wednesday.

Box Score | Overall Stats | SEC Stats | UT vs. Missouri Series Stats

-UT Athletics