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COLUMBIA, Mo. – The No. 24/21 University of Missouri Softball program heads to Cathedral City, California, this weekend to compete in the 2023 Mary Nutter Cathedral City Collegiate Classic. The Tigers will compete in five games over the three-day tournament held at Big League Dreams.
Mizzou will open the Classic Thursday when they face Cal Poly at 2:30 p.m., CT followed by BYU at 5 p.m., CT. The Tigers then face Oregon State Friday (5:30 p.m., CT) before wrapping the tourney Saturday against No. 22/24 Oregon (2:30 p.m., CT) and Long Beach State (7:30 p.m., CT).
Friday and Sunday’s games will be played on Yankee Stadium at Big League Dreams while Saturday’s contest will be at Fenway Park.
The Tigers are currently ranked in four polls including No. 24 by USA Today/NFCA, No. 21 by ESPN/USA Softball, No. 23 by Softball America, and No. 25 by D1 Softball.
Sophomore pitcher Jayci Kruse returns to her home state of California to compete in the Classic. Kruse, a right hander from Coto de Caza, California, played at Santa Margarita Catholic High School and with the OC Batbusters club team. Coto de Caza, California, is just over two hours west of Cathedral City, California.
Mary Nutter Cathedral City Collegiate Classic
• Location: Cathedral City, California (Big League Dreams)
• Tournament Central Page
Schedule
· No. 24/21 Missouri vs. Cal Poly, Thursday, Feb. 23, 2:30 p.m., CT – Yankee Stadium
· No. 24/21 Missouri vs. BYU, Thursday, Feb. 23, 5 p.m., CT – Yankee Stadium
· No. 24/21 Missouri vs. Oregon State, Friday, Feb. 24, 5:30 p.m., CT – Fenway Park
· No. 24/21 Missouri vs. No. 22/24 Oregon, Saturday, Feb. 25, 5 p.m., CT – Yankee Stadium
· No. 24/21 Missouri vs. Long Beach State, Saturday, Feb. 25, 7:30 p.m., CT – Yankee Stadium
FOLLOW THE TIGERS
Video: FloSoftball ($)
Live Stats: Cal Poly | BYU | Oregon State | Oregon | Long Beach State
Twitter: @MizzouSoftball
Notes: Missouri
Series History
· Missouri leads the all-time series with Cal Poly, 1-0.
· BYU leads the all-time series with the Tigers, 2-1.
· Oregon State has a 5-1 edge in the all-time series with Missouri.
· Mizzou and Oregon are tied at 8-8 in the all-time series between the two institutions.
· The Tigers hold a slight 3-2 lead in the all-time series with Long Beach State.
Head Coach Larissa Anderson on Playing in the Mary Nutter Cathedral City Collegiate Classic
“First, playing in the Mary Nutter tournament is a tremendous tribute to one of the greatest pioneers of college softball. But secondly, playing in this unique, competitive venue against a variety of highly competitive and nationally ranked teams. Teams that we normally wouldn’t get a chance to play otherwise, creates lasting memories for our players, families and fans.”
Last Time at the Mary Nutter Cathedral City Collegiate Classic
Missouri last competed at the Mary Nutter Cathedral City Collegiate Classic in 2022, going 4-1 including wins over then No. 9/11 Oregon (6-2), Texas Tech (2-1), San Diego State (7-6 in eight innings), and then No. 5 Washington (10-0 in five innings). The Tigers only dropped a 7-5 decision to then No. 6 UCLA.
Honnold Named SEC Co-Player of the Week
Alex Honnold was named the SEC Co-Player of the Week on Monday.
Honnold registered a .643 batting average, 1.357 slugging percentage and a .762 on-base percentage as the Tigers went 6-0 this past week in Florida.
The West Des Moines, Iowa, centerfielder, was 9-for-14 at the dish, compiling 10 RBI, nine runs, four doubles, and two home runs over the six games. She also earned six walks including four against Pittsburgh on Feb. 17 and was 4-for-5 on stolen base attempts.
Honnold opened the week, batting 2-for-2 at No. 20 UCF on Feb. 15 with a double and a homer to go with a career-best matching four RBI and three runs.
She also added a 3-for-3 performance against FIU on Feb. 18 with a double and three RBI.
Honnold concluded the Panther Invitational with a season-best matching 3-for-4 day at the plate in the Championship Final against Pittsburgh on Feb. 19. She hit a pair of doubles and a homer with three RBI in the victory.
For Honnold, the SEC Player of the Week laurel is the first in her career at Mizzou. She is batting .480 with a 1.000 slugging percentage and a .650 on-base percentage in 2023.
Florida Recap
Missouri opened the 2023 campaign with a 9-2 mark in the Sunshine State. The Tigers posted a 3-2 mark at the NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic and are currently on a six-game win streak after a midweek win over then No. 20 UCF on Feb. 15 in Orlando before capturing the Panther Invitational Championship in Miami with a 5-0 mark.
The 9-2 start matches the 2021 campaign where the Tigers commenced 14-2.
Julia Crenshaw and Alex Honnold each powered home runs in Mizzou’s win over UCF, combining for seven RBI and four hits. Crenshaw finished the week with a .333 to go with nine RBI, two round trippers and a .778 slugging percentage. She homered in consecutive games at UCF and then against Butler (Feb. 17).
Our Leadoff Hitter
Junior shortstop Jenna Laird leads the Tigers at the plate with a .487 batting average and .667 slugging percentage. On the basepaths, she is 10-for-10 on stolen base attempts.
In Florida this past week, Laird hit .476 with seven RBI to go with a .667 slugging clip and .522 on-base percentage. She had two or more hits at UCF, against Butler twice, and against Pittsburgh (three hits).
No-Hitter for Weber
Senior Jordan Weber picked up her first no-hitter of the season as the Tigers run-ruled FIU, 8-0, in five innings on Feb. 18. Weber allowed just two walks to go with a season-best four strikeouts for her third career no-hitter at Missouri (second individual no-hitter).
She also no-hit Butler through three innings with three strikeouts for the win on Feb. 17.
Weber is 2-2 in the circle in 2023 and went 2-0 this past week with a 0.00 ERA and seven strikeouts.
In the Circle
Besides Jordan Weber, Laurin Krings went 3-0 this past week in Florida while Cierra Harrison added a win. Taylor Pannell earned her first two career saves at Mizzou this past week.
Krings picked up the win over then No. 20 UCF, allowing three earned runs on seven hits with a trio of strikeouts. She also came out of the pen for the win over Pittsburgh on on Feb. 17 (two hits with two strikeouts) and notched a complete-game victory in the Panther Invitational Championship Final over Pittsburgh on Feb. 18 (four runs on eight hits with three strikeouts).
Harrison pitched a career-best five innings with a personal-best eight strikeouts in the win over Butler (Feb. 18) to improve to 3-0 in 2023. She also pitched in relief at UCF and started against Pittsburgh (Feb. 17).
Pannell closed out the UCF game with four pitches for the save before recording the final two outs against Pittsburgh (Feb. 17).
Jayci Kruse, a sophomore from Coto de Caza, California, picked up her first career strikeout as a Tiger, pitching an inning in relief against Butler on Feb. 17. Megan Schumacher also threw one inning in relief in that game, allowing just two hits while posting a strikeout on her 22nd birthday.
Back-to-Back Jacks
Kara Daly and Katie Chester knocked consecutive home runs in Missouri’s 15-0 win over Butler on Feb. 17.
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.
Daly hit .278 this past week followed by Chester at .250.
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.
Snider Makes Six Starts in the Outfield in Florida
Maddie Snider, a sophomore from Columbia, Missouri (Rock Bridge High School) made her first six starts of the season in the outfield this past week in Florida.
Snider was third on the team this past week with a .476 batting average with six runs and five RBI. She registered her first career hit against Butler (Feb. 17) and posted a career-best two hits twice against Butler (Feb. 18, 2-for-2, 3 RBI) and Pittsburgh (Feb. 19).
She notched a hit in every Panther Invitational game this past weekend.
Frizell Knocks First Home Run in 2023
First baseman Riley Frizell belted her first homer of the season with a solo shot to center against FIU on Feb. 18. She finished that contest 2-for-3 with 3 RBI, two runs and a double (first in her career) to go with a round tripper.
Frizell also had two hits against Butler (Feb. 18). She wrapped the week hitting .333 with four RBI and a .556 slugging percentage.
2023 Preseason SEC Poll
Missouri Softball program was selected to finish eighth in the Southeastern Conference in 2023, the league announced Jan. 26. The Tigers received 63 points in the annual preseason poll voted on by the conference’s 13 head coaches.
Jenna Laird Preseason Accolades
Missouri Softball junior shortstop Jenna Laird has been named to five 2023 preseason lists ahead of the season. She was named to the 2023 Preseason All-SEC Team on Feb. 2, to the Top 50 Watch List for the 2023 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year on Jan. 25 and has also been named to D1Softball’s Preseason D100 Players, Extra Inning Softball’s Extra Elite 100 College Player Rankings and Softball America’s 2023 Preseason Top 100.
Laird led the Tigers in 2022 for batting average (.338), doubles (11), triples (3), runs scored (44) and stolen bases (22) as she garnered 2022 NFCA Third Team All-Region honors.
The East Meadow, New York, native, was named to the 2022 SEC All-Tournament Team after she led the Tigers to the Championship Final, batting .500 over the four games. She was also selected to the 2022 All-SEC Second Team after posting a hitting line of .291/.519/.341 in conference play.
In the field, Laird was tabbed a 2022 Rawlings Gold Glove recipient for her play at shortstop. She posted a .975 fielding percentage, turning 10 double plays in total over 163 chances.
Newcomers
The 2023 roster features five freshmen in infielder Katie Chester, righthanded pitcher Cierra Harrison, righthanded pitcher Lilly Whitten, lefthanded pitcher Taylor Pannell and first baseman/utility player Kayley Lenger.
Junior outfielder Payton Jackson and junior infielder Maddie Gallagher both transferred to Mizzou ahead of the 2023 campaign.
Jackson, a Missouri City, Texas, native, started in all 46 games at Texas Tech in 2022 and led the Red Raiders in batting average (.336), OPS (1.032), triples (3), extra base hits (19), total bases (73), walks (22) and slugging percentage (.598).
Gallagher, a Port Washington, New York, native, competed in 97 games (82 starts) over two seasons at South Carolina. In 2022, she started and played in all 56 games, mostly at second base for the Gamecocks. Gallagher hit .292 and was tied for second on the team with 47 hits. She led the team with four triples.
2022 Recap
Mizzou enters the 2023 season after they hosted an NCAA Regional for the second-consecutive year and made the SEC Tournament Championship game for the second time in program history. In 2023, the Tigers look to stretch their run of 15-straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
Missouri posted a 38-22 mark in 2022 including a 12-11 record in the SEC. The Tigers concluded the season seventh in the SEC during the regular season.
In SEC play, the Tigers posted three-game sweeps of South Carolina (4/1-4/3), No. 9/12 Kentucky (4/23-25) and Texas A&M (4/29-5/1). The Tigers have taken each of the last six games and eight of the last nine meetings against South Carolina. Missouri’s sweep of Kentucky in 2022 was the Tigers first since 2019 when Mizzou won all three games in Lexington, Kentucky, during Larissa Anderson‘s first season at the helm.
The Tigers totaled 86 home runs in 2022 which ranks second all-time in program history behind 91 homers, set in 2021.In the field, Missouri recorded a .976 fielding percentage which ranks tied for second behind 2021’s .979 clip.
Looking Ahead
Following the Mary Nutter Cathedral City Collegiate Classic, Missouri will trek to Oklahoma for the Oklahoma State/Tulsa Invitational in Stillwater and Tulsa, March 3-5. The Tigers will face Maine, Tulsa, and No. 4/4 Oklahoma State at the Classic.
