The Morning Commute for Thursday, May 9
Welcome to the Morning Commute.
Today, we’re talking more on Mizzou Softball’s SEC Tournament win over Ole Miss.
“Survive and advance” is a common phrase in a single-elimination postseason. That’s what Mizzou Softball needed to do to open SEC Tournament play on Wednesday vs Ole Miss in order to further improve their NCAA Tournament resume.
The Tigers did just that in a 3-1 victory over the Rebels, advancing to the Quarterfinal round to play No. 4 seed Arkansas later today around 1:00 p.m. CST.
1-0.#OwnIt #MIZ | #SECSB pic.twitter.com/jAEjJD226L
— Mizzou Softball (@MizzouSoftball) May 8, 2024
“Getting hot at the right time” is another common phrase, and Mizzou has absolutely done that as well. The Tigers have won four in a row and six out of their last seven games at the most important time of the year.
Is that enough to get them a No. 8 national seed? We won’t know officially until Sunday. What we do know is that Mizzou controls their own destiny.
That destiny continues coming up later today in the Quarterfinals vs Arkansas.
From the win over Ole Miss, Taylor Pannell is in the record books with a single-season program record 13th save of the year — and is also closing in on the NCAA record in that category.
RECORD: #Mizzou softball’s Taylor Pannell set the program’s single-season saves record today, earning her 13th save of the year.
Pannell surpassed former MU pitcher Kacey Marshall’s 1994 record of 12 saves. She is two shy of the NCAA single-season record of 15. @RockMNation pic.twitter.com/sD8kQzfOuk
— Brandon Haynes (@BrandonHaynes_) May 9, 2024
(Stay tuned for Karen and Brandon’s full recap of the win over Ole Miss here on Rock M Nation coming up later today)
Yesterday at Rock M and Rock M+
My latest for @RockMNation in a new morning post called The Morning Commute:
The game doesn’t care. #Mizzou Softball’s postseason journey starts now. https://t.co/hXaeMozSzj
— Karen S (@karensteger) May 8, 2024
“The love between this staff and this team is palpable. You see it in the dugout, in their silly videos, in their jubilant celebrations… everywhere. Anderson calls this her most favorite team of her 25-year career. The vibes are — I’ll say it again — immaculate”
That’s quite the takeaway here from Larissa Anderson, but it makes sense. This team’s chemistry seems to be off the charts.
“What It All Means: College football teams need the highly ranked blue chip prospects on their roster to make any sort of consistent movement in the win column, for sure, but staffs also need to round out their depth charts with high upside guys who need time to develop. Hopkins fits that bill perfectly: he has enough natural talent that can be perfected and a frame that can be developed into a deadly defensive weapon, and there’s plenty of time for both since he’s coming onto a team with a ton of athletic talent already established at his position. If he’s willing to wait to get playing time this will be a perfect match for both team and player.”
Hopkins could turn out to be an underrated in-state get for this Mizzou Football program.
#Mizzou softball’s quest for a first-ever SEC Tournament title begins today.
The fifth-seeded Tigers face 13th-seeded Ole Miss at ~ 1 p.m. with elimination on the line. Learn more about the matchup with @RockMNation:https://t.co/bvf1zdhSQz
— Brandon Haynes (@BrandonHaynes_) May 8, 2024
“Facing a daunting path that will require four wins in as many days against a quartet of teams in the undisputed best conference in softball, the Tigers have the cards stacked against them. However, MU has its eyes set on making history.”
- Over at Rock M+, Matt Harris posted a Quick Look at the Returning SEC Production from the Post-Portal Deadline — and Mizzou Hoops sits at 8th in the new 16-team SEC.
Did my first cursory tallying of returning production around the SEC, and #Mizzou — for now — sits at No. 8.
Florida sits at the top with relative stability. Coaching changes hit Vandy, Arky, and Kentucky. And two old Big 12 rivals doing more than cosmetic work. pic.twitter.com/v4webEVyDg
— Matt Harris (@MattJHarris85) May 8, 2024
“Put simply, this is the deepest cut I’ve seen in five years of tracking returning output.”
Plus, the latest edition of Dive Cuts with Sam Snelling and Matt Harris discussing transfer portal options and the 2025 recruiting class.
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