No. 14/15 Softball Headed to Denton, Texas, for 2024 Tracy Beard College Classic

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The #14/15 University of Missouri softball program (5-0) will continue its 2024 season this weekend at the Tracy Beard College Classic in Denton, Texas.

The Tigers will open the first day of play Friday facing Texas A&M – Commerce at 11 a.m., CT and play five games over the weekend at Lovelace Stadium. Mizzou will also face South Dakota State at 4 p.m., CT to conclude the first day of the Classic.

The second day of play will start with another matchup against South Dakota State at 11 a.m., CT followed by a meeting with host, North Texas, at 1:30 p.m., CT on Saturday. 

Mizzou will close the tournament facing North Texas for a second time at 11 a.m., CT on Sunday.

Mizzou was also ranked for the first time in 2024 on Tuesday, appearing in all four polls. The Tigers enter the second week of the season #14 in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll, and #15 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll (receiving votes in the preseason poll). Mizzou also came in at #13 and #11 in the Softball America and D1Softball polls, respectively. 

The Tigers last started the season 5-0 in 2020, when they commenced the campaign 9-0 after last winning the NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic title.

Freshmen Nathalie Touchet (pitcher) and Adi Koller (infielder) both return to their home state of Texas this weekend. Touchet is from Aledo, while Koller hails from Texarkana.

SCHEDULE

• Missouri vs. Texas A&M – Commerce, Friday Feb. 16 at 11 a.m., CT 
• #14/15 Missouri  vs. South Dakota State, Friday Feb. 16 at 4 p.m., CT 
• #14/15 Missouri  vs. South Dakota State, Saturday Feb. 17 at 11 a.m., CT 
• #14/15 Missouri  vs. North Texas, Saturday Feb. 17 at 1:30 p.m., CT 
• #14/15 Missouri  vs. North Texas, Sunday Feb. 18 at 11 a.m., CT 

2024 TRACY BEARD COLLEGE CLASSIC
Location: Denton, Texas (Lovelace Stadium)

Live Stats: Texas A&M – Commerce (FRI) | South Dakota State (FRI)

South Dakota State (SAT) | North Texas (SAT)

North Texas (SUN)

Twitter: @MizzouSoftball
Notes: Missouri

SERIES HISTORY

• Missouri’s game against Texas A&M – Commerce will be the first meeting between the two teams.
• Missouri leads the all-time series with South Dakota State, 3-0. 
• The Tigers last took on the Jackrabbits at the Dot Richardson Invite in 2015, where Missouri defeated South Dakota State, 13-0.
• Missouri leads the all-time series with North Texas, 7-1. Larissa Anderson is 3-0 against the Mean Green in her career.
• The Tiger last took on the Mean Green in 2023, where Missouri swept the series in Columbia, Missouri, April 21-23. 

2024 NFCA DIVISION I LEADOFF CLASSIC RECAP

• Missouri secured the Classic title with a perfect 5-0 mark.
• Missouri picked up two top-25 wins over the 2024 NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic Championship including a 4-1 victory over No. 5/7 Clemson in the finale.
• The Tigers also posted two run-rule wins over the Classic.
• Kara Daly led the Tigers with a .467 batting average (1.067 slugging percentage) including two home runs and five RBI.
• Alex Honnold hit .438 with seven RBI and one homer. She currently is on a three-game hitting streak.
• Maddie Gallagher had four hits for a .364 batting average (.545 slugging percentage) and one RBI.
• Katie Chester knocked four RBI and one round tripper on a .357 batting average.
• Leadoff hitter Jenna Laird hit three extra base hits including a triple with four RBI and a .357 batting average. She currently is on a five-game reached base streak.
• Laurin Krings went 3-0 in the circle, going the distance in all three games. She posted 20 strikeouts over 19.0 innings.
• Cierra Harrison made one start over the Classic, but finished 2-0, not allowing a run over 8.0 innings. 

LARISSA ANDERSON 300 CAREER WINS 

• Head coach Larissa Anderson surpassed 300 career wins with a 4-3 victory over No. 13/16 Utah on Feb. 9. 
• She now boasts a 304-170-1 career mark. In her sixth season at Mizzou, Anderson holds a 174-97 record with the Tigers.

KRINGS NAMED D1SOFTBALL PITCHER OF THE WEEK

• Senior Laurin Krings was named the D1Softball Pitcher of the Week, the publication announced Tuesday.
• Krings, a Loveland, Colorado, native, led Missouri in the circle this past weekend, registering three complete-game wins (3-0) to go with 20 strikeouts over 19.0 innings with a 1.47 ERA. 
• Helping Mizzou capture a pair of top-20 wins as Mizzou secured the 2024 NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic Championship, Krings was named to the All-Tournament Team.
• Krings registered a complete-game win over #13/16 Utah (Feb. 9), allowing just three runs on seven hits with four strikeouts. 
• She then notched 10 strikeouts while just allowing one run on four hits in the run-rule win over Liberty (Feb. 10). 
• Krings capped the weekend, going the distance once again, allowing just one unearned run while collecting six strikeouts in the victory over #5/7 Clemson (Feb. 11).

RANKED WINS

• Mizzou picked up two ranked wins over #13/16 Utah and #5/7 Clemson at the 2024 NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic.
• The Tigers opened the campaign with a 4-3 win over #13/16 Utah on Feb. 9. Missouri pulled ahead with two runs in the seventh and held off the Utes in the bottom half of the frame. 
• Jenna Laird concluded the game, 2-for-4 at the plate with a double, run and RBI.  
• In the finale, Mizzou scored a trio of runs in the first en route to a 4-1 win over #5/7 Clemson on Feb. 11. 
• Laird and Alex Honnold paced the Tigers at the plate, both going 2-for-3 with a run. Honnold also tallied two RBI.

RUN-RULE WINS

• Mizzou picked up two run-rule wins in back-to-back games over NC State and Liberty at the 2024 NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic.
• Cierra Harrison shutout NC State, 13-0 in the night cap on Feb. 9. Madison Walker paced the Tigers at the plate, going 2-for-3 with 3 RBI and a run. She blasted her first career home run in the third. 
• The Tigers followed up that performance with a 10-1 win over Liberty on Feb. 10 on MLB Network. Alex Honnold went 2-for-2 in the contest with a home run, double, walk, and four RBIs.

ON THE DALY 

• Kara Daly paced Mizzou at the plate this past weekend, batting .467 (1.067 slugging percentage) at the 2024 NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic.
• Daly belted two homers (2-for-4) against South Alabama in the come from behind victory on Feb. 10, totaling four RBI.
• She also went 2-for-4 in the opener with No. 13/16 Utah (Feb. 9), knocking a triple. 
• She’s currently on a five-game hitting streak, posting a hit in each of the Classic games. 

HEY HONNOLD!!

• Alex Honnold registered two hits in each of the final three 2024 NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic games. She’s currently batting .438 with 7 RBI, two doubles and a homer. 
• Honnold posted an RBI double in the opener with No. 13/16 Utah (Feb. 9). 
• She also chipped in a four RBI outing with a double and a homer in the run-rule win over Liberty (Feb. 10). 
• Honnold also compiled two RBI in the finale against No. 5/7 Clemson. 

MIZZOU DEBUTS

• Eight players made their Mizzou debuts this past weekend at the 2024 NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic. 
• Freshman Madison Walker and junior Mya Dodge both appeared in the starting lineup every game of the Classic, playing first and right field, respectively. 
• Walker went 2-for-3 against NC State (Feb. 9), belting her first career collegiate homer run to go with three RBI.
• Dodge added her first career home run as a Tiger against Liberty (Feb. 10) with two RBI. 
• Sophomore Kayley Lenger notched her first collegiate hit, a two-run double against NC State (Feb. 9). 
• Freshman Marissa McCann who grew up in Columbia, Missouri, made her first collegiate start in the circle against South Alabama (Feb. 10), picking up five strikeouts after she made her Tigers debut, closing out the final inning of the run-rule shutout win over NC State (Feb. 9). 
• Freshmen Adi Koller (RBI triple), Abby Hay (RBI single), Stefania Abruscato (base hit), Claire Cahalan and Danielle Blackstun also made their Mizzou debuts. 

2023 RECAP 

• Mizzou enters the 2024 season on the heels of its 16th-straight NCAA Tournament appearance. 
• 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  

• Missouri next treks to Cathedral City, California, for the 2024 Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic Feb. 22-24. The Tigers will face San Diego State, Wisconsin, Central Florida, California State Fullerton, and Baylor over the tournament.