The no. 14 Tigers welcome in no. 18 Mississippi State while honoring five seniors in their final home series
A week ago, Missouri softball coach Anderson presented an interesting take on her team, saying, “When we start to put it all together at the same time. I think we’re going to be really, really special to watch. I think the most impressive thing about this team is that when you look at our stats and our numbers, nothing stands out to you. Nothing at all, like it’s actually pretty boring, but we win. And that’s probably the most important thing, like we are winning without having the flashy numbers… The focus on the team is TEAM comes first, winning trumps everything.”
Mizzou (35-13, 8-10 Southeastern Conference) hasn’t put it all together quite yet, and we are kind of in do-or-die mode. I don’t mean that to sound dramatic, as the Tigers are firmly in the NCAA tournament, but hosting is a priority, and ideally you want to get into a hosting Supers situation. In order to force their way into the hosting Supers convo, the Tigers have got to put together a very strong last two weeks. Can they do it? As Mr. Big would say (I’m currently rewatching SATC for the first time in a while), “Abso-f*%^$#@-lutely.” Will they do it? Well, peaking at the right time is a key of Larissa Anderson teams, so I think so.
Both Brandon and I predicted a two games-to-one series victory for Mizzou in their recent UGA series, and unfortunately, they left Athens with just one W. There were some positives to be found in last weekend’s slate to be certain, but ultimately the Tigers, especially in Game 3 when they stranded 11 runners on base, failed to capitalize and really show off their skills. With just two series remaining, the latter of which is on the road at South Carolina, the Tigers need a good performance this weekend to wrap up their home slate. Mississippi State, this weekend’s opponent, is one game ahead of Missouri in the SEC standings, currently sitting at 9-9.
BATTER UP.
How to Watch:
WHEN: Saturday, April 27 @ 8pm | Sunday, April 28 @ 5pm | Monday, April 29 @ 6pm
WHERE: Mizzou Softball Stadium | Columbia, Mo.
TV/STREAMING: SEC Network
STATS: Live on StatBroadcast— Saturday | Sunday | Monday
HISTORY: Mizzou leads the all-time series with State, 12-9. Per MUTigers.com, they last faced off in last season’s SEC Tournament, where Mizzou won 3-1. Their last regular season meeting was in 2022, where MS State took the series two games to one (9-2, 2-0). Mizzou took the finale — see, they CAN win finales! — 8-5 in extras.
Senior Weekend Specifics/Giveaways:
Weekend Giveaways/Special Events:
- Saturday: Faculty/Staff Appreciation Day / Gold tees giveaway
- Sunday: Senior Day ceremony / Black tees giveaway
- Monday: Truman sliding bobblehead (!!!) giveaway
Senior Honorees:
- Maddie Gallagher: The South Carolina transfer, in her second full season with the Tigers, has come on strong her senior season. She’s a career .290 hitter at Missouri, amassing 21 runs and 51 hits in 76 games.
- Alex Honnold: The Iowa native and former All-American will leave a huge hole both literally and figuratively in the lineup and in the field. One of Missouri’s most consistent players in recent memory, Honnold will likely end her Tigers’ career with an average north of .300 to go along with 20+ home runs, 49+ doubles and 114+ RBI. The sure-handed center fielder has just three career errors as well.
- Jenna Laird: The former SEC Freshman of the Year and Gold Glover has been penciled into the leadoff spot for years, and there will be few Tigers like her. A New York native and one of Anderson’s most highly regarded players/people, Laird is a career .351 hitter who has amassed 186 runs, 256 hits, 43 doubles, and 113 RBI to go with 77 stolen bases in her four years.
- Chantice Phillips: The Kansas City native has never been a lineup staple in her four years in the black and gold, accumulating only 184 at-bats in her career, but Channy P makes the most of it when she gets into the lineup, and can always be counted on for enthusiasm and entertainment in the dugout.
- Laurin Krings: Out of Loveland, Colorado, Krings is in her first year as MU’s ace after spending three years as the de facto no. 2. Krings has two career no-hitters, against North Texas in April 2023, and against Bethune-Cookman in February 2022. Krings also recorded a perfect game against Bradley. Specs has a career ERA of 3.02, with 50 wins, 35 complete games, and 13 shutouts in 527 innings pitched. She’s held opponents to a .251 batting average, and tallied 546 career strikeouts.
Our Seniors #OwnIt #MIZ pic.twitter.com/mtl6Alhc7K
— Mizzou Softball (@MizzouSoftball) April 26, 2024
2023 RECORD: 35-26 (7-17 SEC)
2024 RECORD: 35-13 (8-10 SEC)
RANKING: #14 (ESPN.com/USA Softball), #14 (USA Today/NFCA), #14 (D1 Softball), #13 (Softball America), #9 (current RPI)
VS RANKED FOES: #13/16 Utah (W 4-3) | #5/7 Clemson (W 4-1) | #22 Baylor (L 5-4) | #25 Auburn (W 5-2, W 5-0, L 4-0) | @ E8/9 Tennessee (L 9-0 in 5in, L 8-2, L 4-0) | #2/3 LSU (W 10-9, W 3-2, L 4-3) | @ #19 Arkansas (L 5-2, W 12-3 in 5in, L 4-1) | #9 Florida (W 6-3, W 5-2, L 3-1) | @ #9 Georgia (W 4-2, L 4-2, L 4-2)
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
SEC-Only Offensive Stats
SEC-Only Pitching Stats
PITCHING NOTES:
- In SEC play, Mizzou has given up 22 home runs, which is the third most in the league, behind only Mississippi State (23) and Auburn (29). Looking back to the league series so far presents an uncomfortable picture. The pitching staff has allowed a whopping 29 runs off of home runs, including two grand slams. AUB: 2 R on 2 HR | at TENN: 9 R on 7 HR | LSU: 4 R on 3 HR | at ARK: 5 R on 4 HR | UF: 7 R on 3 HR | UGA: 2 R on 1 HR. This will be interesting to watch this weekend, as Mizzou doesn’t hit many home runs (32 overall, 11 in SEC), but Mississippi State also prone to giving them up.
- Krings had an epiphany over the weekend, and I really liked what I saw from her. In her 9.1 innings pitched across two games, she allowed just 5 hits, 2 earned runs and 3 walks while fanning 8 of the 39 batters faced. It was veteran Krings, and it was awesome to see. AND she earned her 50th career win.
- Taylor Pannell’s 10 saves — five shy of tying the NCAA record — leads the SEC and the nation. She’s got four in SEC play and currently holds the best ERA in the conference at 0.72.
BATTING NOTES
- What a difference a weekend makes, Alex Honnold! The senior from Iowa, who came into the Georgia series hitting a paltry .227 in SEC play, is now hitting .308 thanks to a 6-10 weekend, with two runs scored, a walk, a double, and a strikeout. Getting this version of Alex back is crucial for the Tigers’ goals this postseason. With her 20th double this weekend, she now sits atop the single season doubles record board in Missouri history, and is tied for sixth with 49 career doubles.
- Freshman Abby Hay is the reigning SEC Player of the Week after her performance against Georgia. She batted .750 over the weekend, racking up more than one hit and at least one extra-base hit in all three games! On Friday Hay hit her first career triple, and followed with a double in Game 2, and her second home run of the season in Game 3.
- Kara Daly has had a pretty forgettable season thus far. She’s struggling at the plate and striking out A LOT. However, the Daly we’ve come to know over the years showed up in Game 3, so hopefully it’s a sign that times are changing. In the Georgia finale, she was 2-3 with a double, home run (her sixth of the season), RBI and run scored.
GENERAL NOTES
- The Tigers’ 35-13 record is the best start for Missouri since the 2013 season that ultimately ended with a 38-14 finish. The Tigers have now matched their win total from last season, and surpassed their seven conference wins from 2023.
- Defensively, the Tigers have a .962 fielding percentage in SEC play, which is 12th in the league. Unfortunately, the UGA series didn’t do much to help the stats as errors by Daly, Laird and Gallagher led to several unearned runs. Kara Daly currently leads the team with eight errors (.843 FLD%), followed by normally stellar gloved Jenna Laird, who has five (.924 FLD%).
- Hay, Stefania Abruscato, and Marissa McCann, make up a fiery freshmen trio, who have earned four SEC Player of the Week honors between them.
Let’s take a look at Mizzou’s opponent, shall we?
2023 RECORD: 28-25 (7-16 SEC)
2024 RECORD: 30-13 (7th, SEC) | 8-4 on road
COMMON OPPONENTS: #8 Clemson (W 6-3) | #13 Utah (W 10-2, 6in) | UCF (W 2-1) | Cal State Fullerton (W 4-2) | @ #18 Arkansas (W 6-3, L 0-3, W 15-7 in 5in) | #10 Florida (W 13-12, L 5-8, L 6-7) | S. Alabama (L 0-2)
VS. RANKED FOES: #23 Louisiana (W 9-1 in 6in, W 2-1) | #8 Clemson (W 6-3) | #13 Utah (W 10-2, 6in) | #1 Oklahoma (L 3-9) | #13 Texas A&M (L 0-9 in 5in, L 5-8, W 6-5) | @ #18 Arkansas (W 6-3, L 0-3, W 15-7 in 5in) | #10 Florida (W 13-12, L 5-8, L 6-7) | @ #22 South Carolina (W 6-0, W 4-0, L 1-3)
RANKINGS: #18 (ESPN/USA Softball), #18 (USA Today/NFCA), 17 (D1 Softball), #17 (S. America), #25 (RPI)
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
SEC-Only Offense
SEC-Only Pitching
NOTES:
- Per HailState.com, the Bulldogs are 17-10 in day games and 13-4 in night games this season. They are 2-8 when scoring 0-2 runs and 5-4 when scoring 3-5 runs. When allowing just 0-2 runs, they are 24-2, but 4-4 when allowing 3-5 runs.
- If they have the lead after 4 innings, they’re 26-1 on the season, but if they’re trailing, they’re 2-10. In a tie game after 4, they’re 2-3. Don’t give State the lead in the later innings, as they are 13-1 and 14-1 when leading after 5 or 6.
- They’re currently on their worst losing streak of the season, which sits at two, and coming off an unfortunate home loss — hey, we’ve been there, too— to Samford (17-27) in the midweek. They also lost to South Alabama to close
- In an inning-by-inning breakdown, State amasses the most runs in the fourth inning (68), followed by the first inning (65) and the second inning (61). When scoring in the first inning, they are 20-3, but when an opponent scores first, they are 6-9. Hold State to 0, 1, or 3 runs? They’re 0-9 this season. Hold them to two runs? They’re 2-1. Four runs? They’re 3-0. Five runs? It’s a tossup; they’re 2-2.
- On the opposite end of the spectrum, Bulldog pitchers have given up the most runs in the fourth inning (28), followed by the first inning (23) and the sixth inning (22). They are pretty stingy in the second and third innings, only giving up 16 & 15 runs, respectively.
- State has a very competent offense, with six of seven lineup regulars hitting over .307/.412/.357 over the course of the season. They are led by Madisyn Kennedy (.367/.908/.484, 22 R, 36 H, 15 HR, 52 RBI), Ella Wesolowski (.363/.529/.420, 18 R, 37 H), and Sierra Sacco (.350/.450/.509, 48 R, 42 H, 18 RBI). Their .287 BA in SEC play is second, but their pitching is the worst at 4.92.
- Their reserves are also quite good, with two more .330+ hitters who have 30+ AB in Aquana Brownlee (.353/.431/.469, 18 H, 15 RBI in 51 AB) and Riley Hull (.333/.433/.487, 16 R, 10 H in 30 AB).
- On the pitching side, it looks like MS State relies on two starters, Josey Marron (2.95 ERA, 8 CG, 85 H, 42 ER, 23 BB, 76 K, 24 XBH) in 99.2 IP, and Aspen Wesley (3.63 ERA, 8 CG, 65 H, 46 ER, 31 BB, 94 K, 30 XBH) in 88.2 IP. They also utilize the services of three relievers pretty regularly, with each amassing between 20-35 innings. Of them, Lexi Sosa (1.63 ERA, 30 H, 8 ER, 18 K, .231 OppBA in 34.1 IP) and Matalasi Faapito (2.44 ERA, 28 H, 10 ER, 10 BB, 31 K, .241 OppBA in 28.2 IP) are tops.
Overall Team Comparisons:
Predictions:
Karen: Give me a sweep for the seniors, who are playing their last regular season series in the super friendly confines of Mizzou Softball Stadium. I predict Laird has a ridiculous series with multiple hits in each game, and the two-headed monster of Jenna-Alex will be too much for the Bulldogs to handle. Give me a Channy P web gem and a homer for good measure (she’s got two this season, and one more would break her single-season high) and a Specs-tacularpitching performance in at least one game. Not a senior, but I also think Kara Daly keeps up what she started in Game 3 in Athens, and gets back on the right track with an error-free and hit-filled series.
Brandon: Sitting one full game behind Mississippi State in the SEC standings, Missouri is in dire need of a series win against the Bulldogs. That won’t come easy against Mississippi State, which is 6-3 on the road in conference play, winning each series two games to one. Ironically, the Tigers hold a 6-3 record at home, setting the stage for an exciting matchup. My belief is that MU will hold on to win the series (two games to one). As for my bold player prediction, I think that Jenna Laird will hit her first home run since 2022.
WEATHER UPDATE:
A rainy, stormy weekend is expected, potentially impacting this weekend’s games. The skies will give way to sunshine and clouds on Saturday, and at the moment, the 8 p.m. Saturday game looks to be in the clear. Sunday’s 5 p.m. first pitch, however, faces the possibility of postponement or delay with rainfall expected throughout most of the day. The series finale at 6 p.m. Monday is expected to feature clear skies as well. As of Friday evening, the games are to be played as scheduled, per the athletic department.
Projected Saturday first pitch conditions: 75 degrees, partly cloudy and a stray shower or thunderstorm possible