No. 23 Softball Sweeps Opening Day of Panther Invitational Friday

MIAMI – The No. 23 Missouri Softball program (6-2) opened the 2023 Panther Invitational with a pair of victories over Butler (1-7) and Pittsburgh (3-2) Friday at Felsberg Field at the FIU Softball Stadium. The Tigers run-ruled Butler in five innings, 15-0, in the morning before edging Pittsburgh, 5-2, in the night cap. 

The Pittsburgh start time was delayed by over three and a half hours due to rain in the Miami area. 

Mizzou’s Saturday opener against tournament host, FIU, has been moved back an hour to 12:30 p.m., CT.

No. 23 Missouri 15, Butler 0 – 5 Innings 

The Tigers registered a season-best 12 hits as the Tigers crushed Butler, 15-0, in five innings Friday morning.

Missouri blasted three home runs in the contest including back-to-back jacks in the first inning. The Tigers scored five runs in the first, six in the second and four in the fourth. 

Jenna Laird opened the contest with a stand-up triple to left before scoring on a RBI double by Julia Crenshaw. 

First baseman Riley Frizell then knocked a RBI single to provide Mizzou a 2-0 edge before consecutive blasts from Kara Daly and Katie Chester.

For Daly, the Tigers top returning power hitter from 2022, the three-run shot was her first of the season. Chester, a freshman from Liberty, Missouri, posted her first career homer as a Tiger to increase the advantage to 5-0. 

It marked the first time Mizzou had posted consecutive home runs since Hatti Moore and Jenna Laird accomplished the feat against Texas A&M on April 29, 2022.

Crenshaw then mashed a three-run round tripper in the second frame to push the margin to 8-0. Outfielder Maddie Snider commenced the inning with a walk, before stealing second and advancing to third on a groundout. Alex Honnold then walked and stole second to put a pair of Tigers in scoring position ahead of Crenshaw’s at bat. 

For Crenshaw, the home run was her second in as many games and her third of the season. 

Frizell then walked before a Daly base hit and a Kayley Lenger walk loaded the bases. Catcher Megan Moll scored the trio with a double down the left field line to put the Missouri edge at 11-0. 

The Tigers added a four-spot in the fourth to make the score, 15-0. 

Pinch hitter Kelsee Mortimer started the inning with a single before a pair of walks for Daly and Chester. 

Snider then tallied a two-out single to center to score Daly and Mortimer.

Laird capped the scoring for the Tigers with a two RBI base hit up the middle.

In the circle, Jordan Weber, Megan Schumacher, and Jayci Kruse combined for the two-hit shutout. 

Weber earned her first win of the season, registering three strikeouts over three innings. The senior from Lee’s Summit, Missouri, didn’t allow a hit during the outing. 

Schumacher threw one inning in relief, allowing just two hits while posting a strikeout on her 22nd birthday. 

Kruse, a sophomore from Coto de Caza, California, closed out the fifth, notching her first career strikeout in her first appearance of the 2023 season. 

NOTES

• Julia Crenshaw paced the Tigers, batting 3-for-4 (double and home run) with four RBI and two runs. She now has three home runs in 2023 and homered in back-to-back games (UCF and Butler). The three hits for Crenshaw are a personal best.
• Crenshaw is the first Tiger to hit home runs in consecutive game since Brooke Wilmes and Kimberly Wert posted the feat against Kentucky and Saint Louis, April 25-27, 2022. 
• Jenna Laird (2-for-4, run) and Kara Daly (personal-best matching 2-for-2, three runs, walk) each added two hits and two RBI. 
• Kara Daly and Katie Chester both hit their first home runs of the 2023 season. For Chester, it was her first career home run at Mizzou.  
• Julia Crenshaw, Riley Frizell, Katie Chester (personal best) and Maddie Snider each scored twice for the Tigers.
• Maddie Snider registered her first hit of the 2023 season (first in her career). She finished 1-for-2 with two RBI, two runs and a walk. 
• Kelsee Mortimer notched her first hit of the season, she finished 1-for-2 at the dish with a run. 
• Hannah McGivern earned her first career walk as a Tiger. She came on as a pinch hitter and finished the game in left. 
• Kayley Lenger made her first career start in right field. She earned a walk and scored. 
• Jayci Kruse registered her first career strikeout as a Tiger in the final inning. 
• Catcher Megan Moll knocked her second double of the season and finished the contest 1-for-3 with three RBI. 
• Jordan Weber notched her first win of the 2023 season. She is now 1-2 this campaign with 33 career wins. 
• Nine Tigers scored against Butler. 

No. 23 Missouri 5, Pittsburgh 2

In the night cap, Mizzou edged Pittsburgh of the Atlantic Coast Conference, 5-2. Trailing the contest 2-1, the Tigers scored four unanswered runs to secure the win. 

The Panthers took an initial 1-0 lead off a Sarah Seamans RBI double to right in the first. 

Mizzou would then even the game at 1-1 in the bottom half of the inning. Jenna Laird opened with a single and made it to third after a walk to Alex Honnold followed by a stolen base. Laird would then touch home on a Julia Crenshaw RBI groundout. 

Pitt took its final lead of the game in the second, as Cami Compson would score on a wild pitch. 

The Tigers would then pull ahead in the third. Laird once again commenced the rally, singling down the left field line. She would then steal second and advance into scoring position with Honnold, who earned a walk, on a groundout to the second baseman. 

Riley Frizell would then load the bases on a fielder’s choice before Kara Daly’s RBI walk knotted the game at 2-2. 

Katie Chester then singled to left center to plate Honnold for a 3-2 Mizzou edge. 

The Tigers would add a pair of insurance runs in the fourth.

Left fielder Maddie Snider came aboard on an infield hit before scoring via a RBI double from Laird. Laird would move to third on the throw home and scored on the play after an error on the Panthers’ catcher. 

Starter Cierra Harrison allowed two runs on six hits with two strikeouts over 2.2 innings for the no decision. 

Laurin Krings came on in relief and gave up just two hits and two walks with two strikeouts for the victory in 3.2 innings of work. Krings is now 3-0 in 2023 (30-12 in her career at Missouri). 

Taylor Pannell picked up her second career save, making an appearance in the seventh. Pannell allowed just a walk en route to the save.  

NOTES

• Jenna Laird led the Tigers at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a career-best matching three runs, two stolen bases and a RBI. She hit her third double of the season during the game. 
• Katie Chester and Maddie Snider also picked up hits in the win. 
• Besides Jenna Laird, Katie Chester, Julia Crenshaw, and Kara Daly each had a RBI. 
• Alex Honnold earned a career best four walks to go with a run in the win over Pitt.
• Laurin Krings improved to 3-0 in the circle in 2022, pitching just two-hit ball with two walks and two strikeouts over 3.2 innings.
• Taylor Pannell earned her second save of the campaign, allowing just a walk.
• Missouri is currently on a three-game winning streak (its second of the 2023 season). 

UP NEXT

The No. 23 Tigers continue their stay at the Panther Invitational Saturday and Sunday. Mizzou will face tournament host, FIU, Saturday afternoon at 12:30 p.m., CT before the Invitational is seeded for the final two games. The Tigers will face Butler/Pittsburgh/FIU in the final two games of the tournament. Saturday’s final games of the day are No. 2 vs. No. 3 or No. 1 vs. No. 4 at 3 p.m. or 5:30 p.m., CT. Mizzou closes the tournament Sunday at 8:30 a.m., CT. 

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