No. 12/12 Softball Set for Wednesday Midweek at Kansas City

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The No. 12/12 University of Missouri softball team (17-2) heads to Kansas City for a midweek matchup Wednesday with the Roos. First pitch is set for 4 p.m., CT at the Kansas City Royals Urban Youth Academy, 1622 East 17th Terrace in Kansas City, Missouri.

The first Tigers’ midweek of the season will be streamed on Midco Sports Plus ($). The game is also free and open to the public in Kansas City.

Mizzou then returns to Columbia, for its 2024 home opening/SEC opening weekend series against No. 25/25 Auburn Friday through Sunday at the Mizzou Softball Stadium. The three-game series will be available on SEC Network+. 

The 17-2 start to the 2024 season is the best start for Missouri since the Tigers opened the 2013 campaign 22-2 en route to a 38-14 finish. 

Mizzou is ranked in all four polls heading into the weekend after first appearing following week one (Feb. 13). The Tigers enter the fifth week of the season #12 in both the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll, and ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll. Mizzou is also #13 and #14 in the Softball America and D1Softball polls, respectively.

WEEK SCHEDULE

• #12/12 Missouri at Kansas City, Wednesday, March 6 at 4 p.m., CT | Kansas City Royals Urban Youth Academy
• #12/12 Missouri vs. #25/25 Auburn, Friday, March 8 at 4 p.m., CT | Mizzou Softball Complex
• #12/12 Missouri vs. #25/25 Auburn, Saturday, March 9 at 2 p.m., CT | Mizzou Softball Complex
• #12/12 Missouri vs. #25/25 Auburn, Sunday, March 10 at 12 p.m., CT | Mizzou Softball Complex

KANSAS CITY
Location: Kansas City, Kan. | Kansas City Royals Urban Youth Academy (1622 East 17th Terrace in Kansas City, Mo.)

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Twitter: @MizzouSoftball
Notes: Missouri

SERIES HISTORY: KANSAS CITY

• Missouri leads the all-time series with Kansas City, 54-1. 
• Head coach Larissa Anderson is 4-0 against the Roos.
• The Tigers and Kansas City last faced in Mizzou’s 2023 home opener on March 8, with Missouri downing the Roos, 11-5. 

SERIES HISTORY: AUBURN

• Auburn holds a slight lead in the all-time series with Mizzou, 12-11.
• The Auburn Tigers took all three meetings over the 2023 series (March 25-27, 2023) in Auburn, Alabama, (4-0, 2-1, 2-1 Auburn).
• Missouri last beat Auburn, 1-0, at the 2022 SEC Tournament on May 11, 2022.

TIGERS IN KC

• Wednesday’s game against Kansas City will be a homecoming for six Tigers on the 2024 Missouri softball squad. 
• Kayley Lenger (Liberty, Missouri), Taylor Pannell (Lee’s Summit, Missouri), Chantice Phillips (Kansas City, Missouri), Cierra Harrison (Lee’s Summit, Missouri), Katie Chester (Liberty, Missouri) and Madison Walker (Olathe, Kansas) call the Kansas City area home.

2024 BIG RED INVITATIONAL RECAP

• Missouri finished its weekend in Nebraska with a perfect record, going 4-0 at the Big Red Invitational in Lincoln, Nebraska.
• With the victories, the Tigers improved to 17-2 on the season. 
• Mizzou opened the tournament against host-team Nebraska, taking down the Cornhuskers 10-6 behind a season-best 13 hits (March 2). The Tigers went on to claim another 5-1 victory over Nebraska on March 3. 
• Against Wichita State, the Tigers picked up their fourth run-rule win (13-3) of the season with a season-best matching 13 runs on 12 hits on March 2. 
• Missouri went on to take game two over the Shockers, 8-2, on March 3. 
• Kayley Lenger paced Mizzou batting .800 with a .923 on-base percentage and 1.200 slugging percentage. She knocked two doubles over the weekend with four funs. Lenger, the Tigers nine-hole hitter, also earned four walks and was hit by four pitches. She ranks second in the SEC for hit by pitch per game (0.40) and sixth in the league for on-base percentage (.553) in 2024.
• Leadoff hitter Jenna Laird hit .357 over the weekend while Kara Daly added four hits (.308) with four RBI. Laird is one RBI away from 100 in her career at Mizzou.
• Mya Dodge is six runs away from 100 in her collegiate career.

4-FOR-4 TIGERS    

• Catcher Julia Crenshaw led the way against Wichita State, posting a career-best 4-for-4 day at the plate with a season-high four RBI to go along with three runs (career high) and a stolen base on March 2. 
• Crenshaw paces Mizzou with five multi-RBI games in 2024.
• She finished the weekend, batting .438 with seven RBI and five runs.
• Crenshaw ranks third in the SEC for sacrifice flies (3) and seventh for doubles (5). 
• Katie Chester also went a career-best 4-for-4 in the Tiger’s win over Wichita on March 3, boasting a trio of RBI and a double (second in 2024).
• The contest marked Chester’s second multi-hit game of the season and fourth multi-RBI game in 2024.
• She hit .500 over the Invitational with six RBI. 
• With the performances of Crenshaw and Chester in Nebraska, four Tigers in total have gone 4-for-4 so far during the 2024 campaign, along with Alex Honnold and Kara Daly. 

HEY HONNOLD!!    

• Alex Honnold batted .462 (.769 slugging percentage and .588 on-base percentage) with seven runs, six hits, four RBI and two extra base hits over the 2024 Big Red Invitational to extend her hitting streak to 11 games. 
• Honnold registered a hit in each of the four tournament games this past weekend in Lincoln, Nebraska. Honnold also scored two or more runs in all but one game this weekend.
• She went 2-for-4 on Saturday against Nebraska, tallying two runs, two RBI, a double and a walk (March 2).
• Honnold also notched her second home run of the season, bringing her career total to 18, in Missouri’s victory over Wichita on March 3.
• She ranks 11th in the SEC with a .419 batting average. Honnold also leads the conference with nine doubles (eighth in the NCAA, 0.47 doubles/game).
• Honnold has also tallied 26 hits which ranks sixth in the league (44th in NCAA).
• Honnold is four RBI away from 100 in her career at Mizzou.

MCCANN EARNS FIRST CAREER SAVE

• Freshman Marissa McCann picked up her first career save to help secure the Tigers’ win over Nebraska on March 2.
• The Surprise, Arizona, native, threw two shutout innings with one strikeout and one walk.
• She also pitched 4.1 innings in the second meeting with Wichita State on March 3, picking up the win as she scattered one run on three hits to go with a strikeout. With the win, McCann improved to 2-0 in the circle after making her third career start. 
• McCann led the Tigers at the 2024 Big Red Invitational, allowing just one run on three hits over 6.1 innings for a win and a save. She also compiled four strikeouts with a 1.11 ERA.

PHILLIPS WITH THE LONG BALL 

• Chantice Phillips led the Tigers at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two runs, an RBI, and a home run in Missouri’s first victory over Nebraska on March 2. 
• The senior from Kansas City, Missouri, notched a career-best three hits for the second time in her career. She previously posted the mark on April 2, 2023, against Alabama. 
• For Phillips, the blast marked her first home run of the season (third career homer). 
• The left fielder started in all four contests over the Big Red Invitational, hitting .308 (.615 slugging percentage).

KRINGS ON A TEAR 

• Senior ace Laurin Krings notched a complete-game victory in the circle, limiting the Cornhuskers to one run on five hits March 3.
• Krings secured her team-leading sixth complete game of the season, fanning four with a pair of walks. She also improved to 7-2 in 2024.
• Krings ranks fifth in the SEC for wins and innings pitches (51.2) this season. 
• The senior from Loveland, Colorado, is now three strikeouts away from 500 in her career. She ranks eighth in school history for strikeouts.

GALLAGHER HOT AT THE PLATE

• Maddie Gallagher extended her reached base streak to 13 games, batting .444 with four runs and three RBI over the Big Red Invitational. 
• Gallagher went 2-for-2 in Mizzou’s matchup with Wichita on March 2, notching a season-high three RBI.
• The senior also knocked back-to-back doubles against Nebraska (March 2) and Wichita State (March 3). 
• The second baseman from Port Washington, New York, is batting .357 this season with 14 runs, 10 RBI and five doubles. 
• She ranks seventh in the SEC with .550 on-base percentage and five doubles. 

CIERRA IN THE CIRCLE

• Cierra Harrison helped propel Missouri to a win over Nebraska on March 2, while improving to 5-0 in 2024.
• Against the Cornhuskers, Harrison pitched 4.1 innings, allowing six runs on six hits to go with three strikeouts and a pair of walks.
• The sophomore then picked up her first career save in the victory over Wichita State on March 3, closing out the final 2.2 innings, scattering a run on one hit with three strikeouts. 
• With the trio of Ks, the Lee’s Summit, Missouri, native, officially compiled 100 career-strikeouts during her time as a Tiger.
• She ranks 13th in the SEC with a 1.51 ERA and ninth in the conference with 3.59 hits allowed per seven innings. 

2023 RECAP 

• Mizzou made its 16th-straight NCAA Tournament appearance in 2023.
• The Tigers finished the 2023 season with a 35-26 mark, including a 7-17 in SEC play. With its 2023 record, Missouri has registered 35 wins in four of the last five seasons (2020 COVID-19 shortened season was the only time the Tigers didn’t meet the threshold in that span).
• During the 2023 campaign, Missouri totaled 51 home runs, while logging 75 doubles to go with 310 runs as a team. 
• On the dirt, Mizzou tallied a .978 fielding percentage. The clip ranks second in program history, after the Tigers’ surpassed their previous .976 fielding percentage from 2022. 

LOOKING AHEAD  

• Mizzou next welcomes #25/25 Auburn to Columbia, Missouri, for its 2024 home opening/SEC opening weekend. 
• Missouri then heads to Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, for a doubleheader against Illinois on March 13. The doubleheader will commence at at 1 p.m., CT. The Tigers will then continue their road trip, traveling to Knoxville, Tennessee, for a three-game series against the Vols (March 15-17).