No. 15/16 Softball Set for Spring Break East Coast Trip

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The No. 15/16 University of Missouri softball team (25-7, 4-5 SEC) will step out of conference play this week as the Tigers will venture to New York, Washington D.C., and Philadelphia for a four-game stint on the East Coast. 

The Tigers will open the trip with a doubleheader against Fordham (12-7-1) and Hofstra (7-16) on Tuesday at Bill Edwards Stadium in Hempstead, New York. Game times are set for 1 p.m., CT (2 p.m., ET) and 3:30 p.m., CT (4:30 p.m., ET).

Missouri will then travel to Fairfax, Virginia, after sightseeing in Washington D.C. to face George Mason (10-20) on Thursday. First pitch is set for George Mason Softball Complex at 3 p.m., CT (4 p.m., ET). 

The Tigers will conclude the road trip on Saturday against Villanova (18-11) in Villanova, Pennsylvania. The game will commence at 9 a.m., CT (10 a.m., ET) from Villanova Softball Complex. 

The games against Fordham, Hofstra and Villanova will all be streamed on FloSoftball ($). The matchup against George Mason will be available on ESPN+.

Mizzou was ranked in all four of Week 6’s polls (Week 7 Polls will come out Tuesday) after first appearing following week one (Feb. 13). The Tigers entered the week #15 in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll, and #16 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll. Mizzou is #12 in the Softball America and #16 (last week) in the D1Softball polls, respectively.

The Tigers head to the East Coast after taking two of three with No. 2/3 LSU March 22-24 at the Mizzou Softball Stadium. 

WEEK SCHEDULE

• #15/16 Missouri vs. Fordham, Tuesday, March 26 at 1 p.m., CT | 2 p.m., ET | Bill Edwards Stadium
• #15/16 Missouri at Hofstra, Tuesday, March 26 at 3:30 p.m., CT | 4:30 p.m., ET | Bill Edwards Stadium
• #15/16 Missouri at George Mason, Thursday, March 28 at 3 p.m., CT | 4 p.m., ET | George Mason Softball Complex
• #15/16 Missouri at Villanova, Saturday, March 30 at 9 a.m., CT | 10 a.m., ET | Villanova Softball Complex

AGAINST FORDHAM AND HOFSTRA

Location: Hempstead, N.Y. (Bill Edwards Stadium)

Live Stats: Fordham | Hofstra

Live Video: FloSoftball 

AT GEORGE MASON

Location: Fairfax, Va. (George Mason Softball Complex)

Live Stats: StatBroadcast

Live Video: ESPN+

AT VILLANOVA

Location: Villanova, Pa. (Villanova Softball Complex)

Live Stats: StatBroadcast

Live Video: FloSoftball

Twitter: @MizzouSoftball

FORDHAM SERIES HISTORY

• Mizzou leads the all-time series with Fordham, 3-0.
• Head coach Larissa Anderson is 2-2 against the Rams in her career.
• Mizzou most recently downed Fordham, 13-3, in six innings (run-rule) at the 2023 NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Florida. 

HOFSTRA SERIES HISTORY

• Mizzou leads the all-time series with Hofstra, 3-1.
• The two teams last met in 2013 at the NCAA Columbia Regional in Missouri. The Tigers took two of three (1-0 win, 10-0 loss, 5-0 win) against the Pride to capture the Regional title.
• Head coach Larissa Anderson joined Mizzou after a 17-year run at Hofstra, including the final four (2015 to 2018) as the head coach. In four seasons at Hofstra, Anderson fashioned a 130-73-1 (.640) record with a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances, two Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) titles and four winning seasons. 
• Anderson is one of a multitude of Tigers with Hofstra ties. Associate Head Coach Sara Marino served as an assistant coach with Anderson at Hofstra from 2017-18 and played for Anderson from 2008-11. 
• Graduate Assistant Jaycee Ruberti earned All-CAA (Colonial Athletic Association) and NFCA All-Region honors in 2021 at Hofstra before transferring to Ohio State.
• Director of Softball Operations Tim Dold is also a Hofstra graduate.

GEORGE MASON SERIES HISTORY

• Mizzou and George Mason will meet for the first time in program history this week in Fairfax, Virginia.

VILLANOVA SERIES HISTORY

• Mizzou leads the all-time series with Villanova, 2-0.
• Head coach Larissa Anderson is 1-0 against the Wildcats.
• The two teams last faced off in 2019 (Feb. 15) with Mizzou prevailing 7-0 at the Citrus Blossom Classic in Orlando, Florida.

EAST COAST TIES

• The 2024 Mizzou roster feature three players from The Empire State in starting senior middle infielders Jenna Laird (East Meadow, New York) and Maddie Gallagher (Port Washington, New York) along with freshman catcher/outfielder Stefania Abruscato (Smithtown, New York).
• Head coach Larissa Anderson who is a Lake George, New York, returns to her former school, Hofstra, along with Associate Head Coach Sara Marino, Director of Softball Operations Tim Dold and Graduate Assistant Jaycee Ruberti.
• Sara Marino hails from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, while Jaycee Ruberti is from Virginia Beach, Virginia. The duo will both return to their home states this weekend in addition to Anderson and the trio of Tiger players. 

LSU RECAP

• The No. 15/16 University of Missouri softball team captured two of three against No. 2/3 LSU to secure the series win. 
• Mizzou opened the series with a 10-9 win, outdueling the visiting Tigers in a game that featured 21 hits (11-10 Mizzou edge).
• Alex Honnold notched a pair of doubles and finished Friday 2-for-4 with a season-best four RBI, two runs and a stolen base.
• Kara Daly added a 2-for-4 outing with two runs and an RBI.
• Katie Chester went 2-for-2 with two RBI.
• In game two, Mizzou captured the series with a 3-2 win. 
• Jenna Laird went 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI.
• Kayley Lenger and Maddie Gallagher both finished 1-for-2 over the second game. 
• Mizzou dropped the game three finale, 4-3.
• Katie Chester blasted her team-leading fourth home run of the season in the finale. The four homers are a career-high after she notched three as a freshman. 
• Katie Chester led Missouri at the plate, notching a home run (1-for-3) with two RBI and a run.
• Freshman Marissa McCann picked up a pair of wins over the weekend series, allowing zero runs on four hits over 6.2 innings (0.00 ERA). She limited LSU hitters to a .174 batting average and posted a strikeout.
• Closer Taylor Pannell earned two saves over three appearances. She surrendered just one hit (no runs) over 3.1 innings with three strikeouts.
• Jenna Laird and Katie Chester paced Mizzou over the three-game series, each batting .375. Alex Honnold hit .300 over the series with four RBI and a .500 slugging percentage.

QUICK HITTERS  

• The Tigers head into their SEC off week with a 25-7 record and 4-5 SEC mark.
• The Tigers 25-7 record to open the season is the best start for Missouri since the Tigers began the 2013 campaign 23-3 en route to a 38-14 finish. Prior to that, the 2011 Tigers commenced the season 27-3 en route to a 53-10 finish.
• Mizzou was ranked in all four of Week 6’s polls (Week 7 Polls will come out Tuesday) after first appearing following week one (Feb. 13). The Tigers entered the week #15 in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll, and #16 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll. Mizzou is also #16 in both the Softball America and D1Softball polls.
• Missouri was ranked ninth (fourth highest SEC school) in last week’s RPI (Ratings Power Index). The Tigers were also seventh for KPI and have a 21-5 road/neutral record.  
• Alex Honnold (.657 slugging percentage, .466 on-base percentage) paces the Tigers at the plate (.394, 28 runs, 24 RBI, 15 doubles, 3 homers) and is one of four Tigers batting over .300. Jenna Laird (.372 batting average, 34 runs, 15 RBI) is second on the team while Katie Chester (.310 with 23 RBI, four home runs and four doubles, .535 slugging percentage) is third. Maddie Gallagher is fourth (.308 with eight doubles, 19 RBI, 19 runs).
• Alex Honnold is first in the SEC (third in the NCAA) with 15 doubles (0.45 doubles/game). Her 44 career doubles rank tied for seventh in Mizzou program history. She also ranks sixth in the SEC for hits (39).
• Kara Daly is currently on a nine-game reached base streak. Jenna Laird has reached base in each of the last six games.
• Kara Daly and Katie Chester pace Mizzou with four home runs in 2024. 
• Alex Honnold has registered a team-best hitting streak of 12 games this season.
• Maddie Gallagher has registered a team-best 15 game reached base streak. 
• Closer Taylor Pannell ranks first in the SEC and leads the nation with six saves in 2024.
• The one-two punch of Laurin Krings and Cierra Harrison have combined for 17 wins in the circle with 8-4 and 9-1 records, respectively. The duo has also gone the distance in the circle 11 times (seven and four complete games, respectively).
• Mya Dodge is six runs away from 100 in her collegiate career.
• Laurin Krings is two wins away from 50 in her career at Mizzou. With 51 wins, she will enter the program’s top 10. Krings is knocking on the doorstep of 500 innings pitched and will become the 11th Mizzou player to reach the milestone.
• Jenna Laird and Alex Honnold each recorded their 100th career RBI in the opener with Illinois on March 13. 
• Kayley Lenger hit .400 over the four-games this past week to lead the Tigers with Katie Chester (.400).

KANSAS RECAP

• The No. 15/16 University of Missouri softball team (23-6, 2-4 SEC) secured a Border Showdown victory over rival Kansas (19-8-1, 4-2 Big 12), 3-2, Wednesday at Arrocha Ballpark.
• Right fielder Kayley Lenger scored a run and went 2-for-3. It marked her third career-best two-hit game of the season. 
• Cierra Harrison, a Lee’s Summit, Missouri, native, improved to 9-1 in 2024 after holding Kansas to no runs on three hits and recording two strikeouts. 
• Madison Walker, a native of Olathe, Kansas, drove in a run, her 13th RBI on the year, and improved her on base streak to four straight games. 
• Laurin Krings notched a trio of strikeouts over two innings of relief work. She surrendered zero runs on two hits out of the pen. 
• Closer Taylor Pannell posted her fourth save in 2024, allowing two runs on two hits with a strikeout. She has now notched a save in each of the last two midweeks with Kansas. 

MCCANN IN THE CIRCLE

• Marissa McCann went 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA over her two appearances this week against No. 2/3 LSU. She pitched 6.2 innings, allowing just four hits and no runs. 
• McCann pitched 2.2 scoreless innings with a strikeout in game one with LSU. She allowed just one hit and four walks. It also marked her first career SEC win.
• McCann then pitched four shutout innings out of the pen, allowing just three hits with a walk for her second-straight win in game two against LSU.
• McCann, a freshman from Surprise, Arizona, has made 10 appearances (four starts) in her freshman season, compiling a 4-1 mark with 19 strikeouts and a save over 31.0 innings. 

CHESTER

• Katie Chester paced Mizzou this week, hitting .400 with four RBI and a run over the Tigers four games. She also notched a .700 slugging percentage (.417 on-base percentage). Over the LSU series, Chester batted .375 with four RBI. 
• She opened the week with a single over her two plate appearances in the win over border rival Kansas. 
• Chester then notched her fourth multi-hit game of the season, finishing 2-for-2 with two RBI in game one with LSU. She ranks second on the team with six multi-RBI games. 
• Chester then belted her team-leading fourth home run of the season in game three with LSU. The four homers are a career-high after she notched three as a freshman. She paced Mizzou at the plate in the final game of the SEC series, notching a home run (1-for-3) with two RBI and a run. 
• The Tigers designated player is hitting .310 in 2024 with 26 starts (29 games) after making 40 starts as a true freshman.

HEY HONNOLD!!    

• Alex Honnold is leading the way for Mizzou at the plate so far this season, posting a .394 average (12th in the SEC), with a career-best 15 doubles (.45 doubles per game, first in SEC), 39 hits (sixth in SEC), 28 runs and three home runs. Honnold has recorded a .657 slugging percentage, as well as a .466 on-base percentage (14th in the SEC) so far during 2024. 
• Over the LSU series, Honnold hit .300 with two doubles, two runs, four RBI and a .500 slugging percentage. 
• She notched a pair of doubles in the opener with LSU and finished 2-for-4 with a season-best four RBI, two runs and a stolen base. It marked her second multi-double game of the season and the fourth of her career. She last notched two doubles against Central Florida on Feb. 23, 2024.
• The senior from West Des Moines, Iowa, ranks seventh all-time in Mizzou program history with 44 career doubles.
• Honnold also compiled an RBI double in the midweek at Kansas on Wednesday. 
• She paces the team with Jenna Laird with 12 multi-hit games this season. 
• Honnold has registered a team-best hitting streak of 12 games this season along with a 14-game reached base streak. 

OUR LEADOFF HITTER

• Jenna Laird is second on Mizzou with a .372 batting average this season. 
• The leadoff hitter from East Meadow, New York, paces the Tigers with 12 stolen bases (fifth in the SEC, 0.43 stolen bases/game) and 1.07 runs per game (sixth in the SEC, 34 runs). 
• She most recently led Mizzou against LSU, hitting .375 (.545 on-base percentage) with three hits, three runs and an RBI over the series. 
• Laird is currently on a six-game reached base streak. 
• She went 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI in game two of the series with LSU. 
• Laird ranks ninth in the SEC with 35 hits. She also has a .487 on-base percentage, good for 20th in the SEC. 
• Laird is featured heavily over Mizzou’s career record book. She is fifth for batting average (.356), ninth for at bats (677), sixth for hits (241), eighth for doubles (42), 11th for triples (8), sixth for runs (176) and ninth for stolen bases (76).
• Laird and Alex Honnold each recorded their 100th career RBI in the opener with Illinois on March 13.

OUR PITCHING STAFF 

• The one-two punch of Laurin Krings and Cierra Harrison have combined for 17 wins in the circle with 8-4 and 9-1 records, respectively. The duo has also gone the distance in the circle 11 times (seven and four complete games, respectively).
• Harrison picked up her team-high ninth win of the campaign March 20 over Kansas. She has notched 52 strikeouts in 2024. 
• Harrison has pitched 65.2 innings in 2024, including her first career no-hitter over Texas A&M-Commerce on Feb. 16 in Denton, Texas. 
• Harrison has thrown three complete-game shutouts (four complete games). She limited No. 25/25 Auburn to no runs on five hits with nine strikeouts in her 2024 SEC debut on March 9.
• Krings did not allow a hit to the first 12 Auburn batters she faced, recording four strikeouts in that span during the SEC opener on March 8.
• She also notched her 500th strikeout in her career over the victory.
• With the win, Krings totaled her eighth win of the season (8-5) with her seventh complete game.
• She paces Mizzou with 69 strikeouts over 80.1 innings. 
• Lilly Whitten (3-0), Marissa McCann (4-1) and Taylor Pannell (1-0, six saves) have also picked up wins for Mizzou in 2024. 
• Pannell, a lefthander from Lee’s Summit, Missouri, has picked up six saves in the closer role for Mizzou, which paces the SEC and the NCAA.

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 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. 

FOLLOW THE TIGERS

• For all the latest on Mizzou Softball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team @MizzouSoftball (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook).