No. 12/13 Softball Sweeps Tuesday Doubleheader to Open East Coast Trip

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y.  – The No. 12/13 University of Missouri softball (27-7, 4-5 SEC) team earned a pair of wins over Fordham (12-8-1) and Hofstra (7-17) Tuesday at Bill Edwards Stadium to commence the Tigers East Coast Trip.

Powered by a season-high eight-run second inning and two home runs off the bat of junior Mya Dodge, Missouri routed the Rams, 20-0, in the first game (five-inning run-rule win) of the day.

Strong pitching dominated the second game against the Hofstra Pride, as senior Laurin Krings and freshman Marissa McCann combined to go for nine innings allowing just one run on four hits. Freshman Stefania Abruscato drove in the game-winning run to propel Mizzou to a 2-1 victory.

Senior middle infielders Jenna Laird (East Meadow) and Maddie Gallagher (Port Washington, New York) along with Abruscato (Smithtown) all played in their home state Tuesday.

Head coach Larissa Anderson who is a Lake George, New York, native, returned to Hofstra, Tuesday along with Associate Head Coach Sara Marino, Director of Softball Operations Tim Dold and Graduate Assistant Jaycee Ruberti who all have ties to the Hofstra.

Anderson joined Mizzou after a 17-year run at Hofstra, including the final four (2015 to 2018) as the head coach. Marino served as an assistant coach with Anderson at Hofstra from 2017-18 and played for Anderson from 2008-11. Ruberti earned All-CAA (Colonial Athletic Association) and NFCA All-Region honors in 2021 at Hofstra before transferring to Ohio State. Dold is a Hofstra graduate.

No. 12/13 Missouri 20, Fordham 0

Following a hitless first inning, Missouri’s offense opened up an eight-run lead in the top of the second.

Katie Chester and Kara Daly both reached to start the inning, then Julia Crenshaw reached on a fielder’s choice before Mya Dodge blasted a three-run shot over the left field wall.

Three-straight singles from Stefania Abruscato, Kayley Lenger and Jenna Laird added another run for Missouri.

A fielding error plated two more for the Tigers, before Maddie Gallagher singled to bring in Mizzou’s seventh run of the inning. Another error capped off an eight-run frame for MU.

The eight-run second inning is Mizzou’s highest scoring inning of the season.

Sophomore pitcher Cierra Harrison continued to deal for Mizzou, striking out four of the first five batters she faced en route to three scoreless innings out of the gate.

Missouri’s offense added to their tally in the fourth as Daly launched her fifth long ball of the season, scoring two more.

Crenshaw and Dodge singles, paired with Lenger reaching on a walk, setup Laird to drive in a pair with a base hit, making the lead 12-0.

The Tigers then drew three straight walks on the new Fordham pitcher to plate two more, extending the lead to 14-0.

Dodge connected on her second home run of the day in the fifth, a two-run blast bringing Crenshaw home to make it 16-0.

Abby Hay later hit a bases-clearing double to score three more before Daly and Madison Walker hit back-to-back singles to score Mizzou’s 20th run of the game.

Cierra Harrison pitched 4.2 innings, striking out six and allowing only one hit for the victory. She retired 13 straight batters before surrendering her lone hit in the fifth.

Lilly Whitten then came on for the final out in the fifth, inducing a popup to second.

NOTES

• Missouri’s eight-run second inning marked the highest in an inning for the Tigers this season.
• The 20-run output is the most in a single game this year for MU, and the most since March 7, 2021, against Louisiana-Monroe.
• Mizzou’s 15 hits marked the most since March 4, 2022, against St. Thomas.
• Mya Dodge (3-for-3) recorded her first multi-hit game of the season, and first game with two home runs in a Mizzou uniform.
• Mya Dodge‘s five RBI performance marked her second multi-RBI game this season, and a new Mizzou career-high.
• Mya Dodge also set a season-high with three runs scored.
• Abby Hay (1-for-1) contributed a career-high four RBI in the contest with her first career double.
• Stefania Abruscato (2-for-4) set a new career-high with two hits and two runs scored.
• Kara Daly’s two-run homer was good for her sixth multi-RBI game and her team-leading fifth home run on the year.
• Kara Daly (2-for-4) pushed her reached base streak to 10 games.
• Jenna Laird (2-for-3) tied a season-high with three RBI to go with three runs. She notched her team-leading 13th multi-hit game this season.
• Jenna Laird also extended her reached base streak to seven games.
• Jenna Laird scored three times, tying a season high reached twice previously.
• Maddie Gallagher (1-for-3) also registered her sixth multi-RBI game of the season with two. She also scored twice.
• Julia Crenshaw (1-for-3, walk) tied a season best with three runs scored.
• Cierra Harrison went 4.2 innings, striking out six and allowing only one hit for the victory.
• Cierra Harrison retired 13 straight batters before surrendering her lone hit in the fifth.
• With the win, Cierra Harrison improved to 10-1 in 2024. Her 10 wins are a new career best after she notched eight in 2023.
• Lilly Whitten came on for the final out in the fifth, inducing a popup to second. It marked her fifth appearance in 2024.
• Mizzou leads the all-time series over Fordham 4-0.
• Head coach Larissa Anderson is now 3-2 against the Rams in her career.

No. 12/13 Missouri 2, Hofstra 1 (Nine Innings)

After being held without a hit through the first 2.2 innings, Mizzou used a quick offensive run to get on the board first, thanks to an Alex Honnold triple and Maddie Gallagher RBI single.

Senior pitcher Laurin Krings worked her way out of trouble in the bottom of the third, after allowing consecutive singles to open the inning, Krings retired the next three in order, including a pair of strikeouts to strand two Hofstra runners.

Krings and freshman Marissa McCann combined to retire 10 straight Pride batters from the third through sixth innings, before leadoff hitter Becca Vaillancourt hit a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth, tying things at one entering the seventh.

Stefania Abruscato drew a two-out walk for MU, and freshman pinch runner Claire Cahalan stole second to get a Tiger in scoring position, but Mizzou was unable to break the tie in the top of the seventh.

Mizzou again had a runner in scoring position with two outs in the eighth but failed to capitalize.

The Tigers finally broke the tie in the ninth as Kara Daly drew a leadoff walk, was moved to second, then third by the next two batters and was brought home by Abruscato, a Smithtown, New York, native, with an RBI single.

McCann closed out a strong five innings of work by retiring the Pride with a lone walk to provide the Tigers a 2-1 extra innings victory.

NOTES

• Maddie Gallagher drove in her 22nd run of the year with her third inning RBI single. She finished 1-for-4.
• Stefania Abruscato drove in the game-winning run in the ninth. She finished 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.
• Marissa McCann tied a career-high with five strikeouts over five innings of work.
• Marissa McCann allowed just one run on one hit with a walk for her fifth win of the season (5-1 in 2024).
• Marissa McCann, the reigning SEC Freshman of the Week, has now posted three straight wins. She has allowed one run on five hits over 11.2 innings during that span.
• Kara Daly saw her reached base streak grow to 11 games with a ninth inning walk. She also scored a run Tuesday.
• Laurin Krings surpassed 500 career innings pitched in the contest, throwing 4.0 innings Tuesday. She is the 11th Mizzou pitcher in program history to reach the threshold.
• Laurin Krings allowed no runs on three hits over 4.0 innings. She also notched three strikeouts.
• Alex Honnold (1-for-3) hit her second triple of the year. She also scored in the contest.
• Jenna Laird extended her reached base streak to eight games.
• Mya Dodge (1-for-3) has now posted a hit in three-straight games.
• Mizzou now holds a 4-1 all-time record with Hofstra.
• Head coach Larissa Anderson faced her former school for the first time at Mizzou. She joined Missouri after a 17-year run at Hofstra, including the final four (2015 to 2018) as the head coach.

LOOKING AHEAD 

• Mizzou continues its East Coast Spring Break Trip following its stay in New York Tuesday. Missouri faces George Mason (10-20) on Thursday in Fairfax, Virginia, before wrapping the trip Saturday against Villanova (18-11) in Villanova, Pennsylvania.
• Mizzou next returns home to host Southeast Missouri in midweek action at the Mizzou Softball Stadium on April 3. Games are set for 4 p.m., CT and 6:30 p.m., CT in the doubleheader.
• The Tigers then resume SEC play with a weekend series at Arkansas April 5-7. 

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