Coming off of a one-win weekend against No. 11 Tennessee, the Bulldog ladies sought to find themselves in the NCAA top-25 softball rankings ahead of their matchup with the Missouri Tigers this past weekend. 
Friday evening, Kenley Hawk toed the rubber for the Bulldogs. While she put another win under her belt, the starter ran into a bit of trouble in a sixth inning jam. Annie Willis came to her aid, striking out three batters to end the inning. 
“That was huge,” coach Samantha Ricketts said on behalf of Willis. “Coming into the game, bases loaded with no outs. That was big time.” 
Offensively, Mia Davidson homered, yet again. After Friday, Davidson was tied for 7th in the NCAA softball home-run record at 85 bombs. Her homer came in the bottom of the third, and was the tying run for the Bulldogs, bringing the score to an even 2-2.
MSU scored seven more runs, making the final score 9-2 over Missouri. The loss brought Mizzou’s conference record to 3-6-0 after Friday.
Saturday’s game quickly became a game for Paige Cook, a junior from Cornelia, Georgia. Cook has arguably been the most clutch hitter for the Bulldogs when she has runners in scoring position, and added to that argument during play. Her two-run homer in the first inning held up the entire game. 
“We enjoy the close games, and we enjoy the comeback games like yesterday. We enjoy just going out there and being able to compete together, so it was fun to see them do that in a tight game today,” coach Ricketts said. 
Willis, the starter, allowed just one hit in her 5 innings pitched. MSU pitching was able to hold off the Tigers, making Saturday’s final score 2-0, MSU. 
Nusz Park hosted a thriller for Sunday’s game. The Bulldogs moved into the day with a chance at a momentum-building SEC sweep. 
Missouri scored first, or so we thought. After review, the runner was called out at home. That was not the only call to Birmingham on Sunday, though. In the top of the sixth inning, Mizzou made an illegal substitution that Ricketts was able to catch. Therefore, the run scored by the sub was removed. 
Standing at a 5-5 ballgame, the Bulldogs and Tigers moved into extra innings. MSU was defeated after giving up both a home-run and an inside-the-park home-run. Missouri avoided the sweep, and walked away with a 8-5 win over MSU. 
After the series victory, MSU now sits at 7-5 in the conference and 26-14 overall, placing them at fifth in the SEC standings for the moment.
MSU will continue SEC play and hope to find themselves in the rankings as they go to face Alabama on Thursday, April 14.