No. 14/15 Softball Sweeps Opening Day of Tracy Beard College Classic

DENTON, Texas – The No. 14/15 University of Missouri softball program (7-0) swept its opening day of the 2024 Tracy Beard College Classic Friday at Lovelace Stadium to move to 7-0 to start the 2024 campaign.

Mizzou’s 7-0 start is its best opening to a season since 2020, when the Tigers won nine straight to commence the year.

Game one saw Cierra Harrison pitch the 47th no-hitter in Mizzou softball history, as the Tigers defeated Texas A&M-Commerce (4-4), 1-0,

In game two, four different Tigers collected RBIs en route to a 4-3 victory over South Dakota State (4-3).

No. 14/15 Mizzou 1, Texas A&M-Commerce 0

Cierra Harrison registered her first career no-hitter as Mizzou opened North Texas’ Tracy Beard College Classic with a 1-0 victory over Texas A&M-Commerce.

The no-hitter marked the first for Mizzou since the 2023 series opener with North Texas on April 21, 2023, where senior Laurin Krings compiled the feat. 

In that 2023 no-hitter, catcher Julia Crenshaw also was the battery mate and provided the game-winning run on a homer. Crenshaw tallied an RBI sacrifice fly Friday to propel Mizzou past Texas A&M-Commerce.

Harrison’s no-hitter Friday featured her first career seven-inning shutout, and matched a career-high eight strikeouts, a mark she had previously reached twice.

The no-hitter was also the 47th in Mizzou program history.

On the offensive side, Missouri jumped ahead early in the first as senior Jenna Laird drew a leadoff walk and advanced to third with a pair of stolen bases, setting up Crenshaw’s RBI sacrifice fly to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead they would not relinquish.

Laird finished with a career-best tying three stolen bases.

Harrison retired seven-straight batters to open the game including four consecutive strikeouts before allowing a walk in the third inning. She then wrapped the frame with a fielder’s choice and a foul out.

Harrison continued to deal, retiring 11-straight batters to head into the seventh. After Harrison hit a Lion with a pitch, Crenshaw rifled a strike to second to catch Ashlynn Griffith stealing. 

Harrison then concluded the contest with a groundout before her eighth strikeout of the day. 

Texas A&M-Commerce’s Julia Sanchez also posted a no-hitter, with her only blemish being Crenshaw’s RBI sacrifice fly. 

NOTES

• Cierra Harrison tossed the 47th no-hitter in Mizzou program history.
• Cierra Harrison‘s performance marked the first no-hitter by a Tigers pitcher since April 21, 2023, when Laurin Krings blanked North Texas to open the series in Columbia, Missouri.
• Cierra Harrison completed the first seven-inning shutout of her career after previously shutting out Lindenwood in a 9-0, five-inning run-rule win on April 12, 2023.
• Cierra Harrison matched a career-high eight strikeouts. It marked the third time in her career she had posted the mark. 
• Jenna Laird touched home for the eighth time this season.
• Jenna Laird has now scored at least once in each game this season.
• Jenna Laird’s three stolen bases matched a career high. She has now stolen three bases, three times in her career at Mizzou. 
• Mizzou last had a baserunner record a trio of stolen bases on March 22, 2023, when Alex Honnold had four against Drake. 
• Julia Crenshaw recorded her second RBI of the season.
• Julia Crenshaw has caught each of the last two Mizzou no-hitters and knocked in the game-winning run of each. 

No. 14/15 Mizzou 4, South Dakota State 3

Mizzou opened game two with back-to-back singles from Jenna Laird and Alex Honnold. RBIs from Julia Crenshaw (sacrifice fly) and Madison Walker would bring both in to score, giving the Tigers an early 2-0 advantage.

South Dakota State would begin to cut into the Tiger lead, using an RBI single in the first and another in the third to tie the game at two after three frames.

MU would quickly regain the lead, capitalizing on its opponent’s mistakes to load the bases with a fielding error and a pair of walks. Kayley Lenger, in her second collegiate start, would use a hit-by-pitch to record an RBI, before a fielder’s choice would score another, putting Mizzou back in the driver’s seat, 4-2.

In the bottom of the fourth, Laurin Krings would face a jam early, with two Jackrabbits on and no outs. The senior from Loveland, Colorado, then coaxed three outs from the next three batters to escape the inning with the lead intact.

SDSU then scratched across another in the bottom of the sixth with Nathalie Touchet in the circle, but runners on first and third with two outs wouldn’t be too much for the freshman in her collegiate debut, as she sat down the Jackrabbits’ Cheyanne Masterson to move to the seventh with Mizzou leading, 4-3. 

Taylor Pannell then came in for the seventh to close out the game with a one-run lead. The Tiger pitching staff came up clutch again, as Pannell struck out the last two batters with the game-tying run in scoring position, securing the 4-3 Tiger victory.

NOTES

• Alex Honnold paced the Tigers at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a double, a run and a stolen base. It marked her team-leading fourth multi-hit game of the season. 

• Julia Crenshaw recorded her third RBI of the season in the first inning, notching her second-straight game with an RBI sacrifice fly. She finished 1-for-2 with a double.

• Laurin Krings collected her fourth win of the season. She pitched 5.0 innings, allowing two runs on five hits with a trio of strikeouts. 

• Senior Laurin Krings is now 4-0 with 1.75 ERA in 2024. 

• Jenna Laird went 1-for-3 with a RBI, run and a walk. 

• Madison Walker chipped in an RBI base hit (1-for-3)

• Closer Taylor Pannell recorded her first save of the 2024 season. She registered two strikeouts in the seventh inning. 

• Stefania Abruscato picked up a walk in her first collegiate start, hitting eighth and playing left field. 

• Nathalie Touchet, a freshman from Aledo, Texas, made her Mizzou debut in her home state, coming on in relief of Laurin Krings. Touchet allowed just one run on two hits. 

• Right fielder Kayley Lenger made her first start of the season (second career start). She finished with an RBI. 

• Mizzou’s 7-0 start is its best opening to a season since 2020, when the Tigers won nine straight to commence the year.

UP NEXT

The Tracy Beard College Classic continues from Denton, Texas, Saturday, as Mizzou takes on South Dakota State at 11 a.m., CT and North Texas at 1:30 p.m., CT.

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