When a team is on its third pitcher of a game by the second inning, more often than not it is looking at a sizable run deficit. Saturday was no exception for Missouri.

The defensive script had flipped from Friday’s Game 1 victory, with the Tigers’ pitching having no answer to Georgia’s hitting from the very first at-bat. They didn’t go quietly, but fell 14-10 in the second game of the series.

Laurin Krings, Saturday’s starter, has struggled in the circle as of late for Missouri. She has given up at least two runs in each of her past four appearances, pitching five innings or fewer in all of them. Three of those occasions she gave up seven or more hits as well.

She kept the hit count low Saturday, only giving up three. That was because she was only on the field for a single out. Krings walked two and gave up a pair of RBI singles before Jaiden Fields crushed a three-run homer to center, which made it 5-0 and ended Krings’ afternoon. Three solo homers off of Megan Schumacher later, and the Bulldogs left the first inning with an 8-0 lead.

If those were the only runs UGA scored, Missouri would have won. The Tigers battled back over the next few innings, starting with a one-out solo homer from Kendyll Bailey in the top of the second. After an error allowed Abby George to score and a home run from Emma Raabe the next inning, the lead was down to five.

George once again was a thorn in the side of Georgia. She was 2 for 3 with a walk, scoring each of the three times she got on base.

UGA’s lead was put back to eight at 11-3 after Jayda Kearney doubled in a pair and scored on a wild pitch by Sophie Dandola in the third. She had taken over for Schumacher after the first inning.

Missouri fought back once again, taking advantage of another error to score three more in the fourth. Kimberly Wert added her ninth home run of the season as part of it, a two-run shot to make it 11-6.

The fourth and final Tiger pitcher of the day took the circle after Dandola hit Sara Mosley to start the bottom of the fourth.

Emma Nichols came in for the remainder of the game, giving up an RBI sac fly and another homer, the fifth of the day for UGA. This one was hit by star first baseman Lacey Fincher, who the Tigers had kept under control in the first game. She went 2-4 with three RBI in the second matchup.

That Fincher homer turned out to be the last score of the day, extending UGA’s lead to the four-run lead it would end with. Missouri had cut the score to 12-10 on another glut of unearned runs stemming from Bulldog errors. They had five of them for the second straight day, something Missouri will hope continues Sunday during the series finale.