COLUMBIA, Mo. — The premise was a battle of the aces: two ranked Southeastern Conference softball teams opening up league play with a focus on the pitchers.
In No. 12 Missouri’s home opener, it faced No. 25 Auburn’s Maddie Penta, one of the nation's best pitchers, who entered the game with a 0.60 ERA, 86 strikeouts and 58 innings and just three home runs allowed all season — plus a streak of four consecutive shutouts that included a Feb. 29 perfect game.
By her standards, Mizzou rocked her. The black-and-gold Tigers put the most homers, hits and earned runs past Penta of any team yet this year.