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COLUMBIA, Mo. – The University of Missouri softball program (34-24) will head to Norman, Oklahoma, to compete in the 2023 NCAA Norman Regional this weekend at Marita Hynes Field.
Mizzou will open the 2023 NCAA Tournament against California (33-19-1) on Friday. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m., CT. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN+ with Jenn Hildreth and Carol Bruggerman on the call.
With a victory over California, Missouri will face the winner of top overall seed and two-time defending National Champion, Oklahoma, and Hofstra in the first of three games Saturday at 2 p.m., CT, while Friday’s losing teams will face off in an elimination game for game two (4:30 p.m.) of Saturday’s tripleheader.
The loser of Saturday’s first game will take on the winner of the day’s second game in an elimination game later Saturday night (7:30 p.m.). The winner of Saturday’s final game will take on the winner of the day’s first game on Sunday (1 p.m.) with an if-necessary rematch scheduled for later on Sunday.
Missouri ranks first in the SEC for fielding percentage (0.977, 13th in NCAA), as well as second in stolen bases (102, 21st in the NCAA). Additionally, the Tigers are second for triples per game (0.28).
Missouri (34-24)
vs. California (33-19-1)
Date: Friday, May 19, 2023
Stadium: Marita Hynes Field
Location: Norman, Okla.
Game Time: 6:30 p.m., CT
All-Time Series: California has a 5-3 edge in the all-time series with Mizzou.
Last Meeting: Mizzou 11, California 7 | Feb. 22, 2020 | Cathedral City, Calif. | Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic
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Series History
- California holds a slight 5-3 edge in the all-time series with Mizzou.
- Missouri has won each of the last two meetings between the two institutions in 2016 and 2020.
- In 2020 (Feb. 22), the Tigers jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first two innings of play but entered the top of the seventh tied 7-7 with the Golden Bears. The Tigers responded with a four-run seventh punctuated by a Kimberly Wert three-run homer followed by a RBI single from Megan Moll to secure the win at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, California.
- In 2016 (March 4), Mizzou overcame California, 6-5, in eight innings at the Judi Garman Tournament in Fullerton, California.
- Head coach Larissa Anderson is 1-0 against California in her career.
NCAA Tournament History
Missouri will compete in its 16th-straight NCAA Tournament (26 total Regional appearances) this weekend.
The Tigers are 53-30 at Regionals and have captured NCAA Regional Championships in 1983, 1991, 1994, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016 (postseason appearance vacated due to NCAA sanctions), and 2021.
Missouri last captured a NCAA Regional title on the road in 2008 in Iowa City, Iowa, with wins over Iowa (3-2 and 5-4) and Long Beach State (5-3).
The Tigers will look to reach the Women’s College World Series for the seventh time in program history. Mizzou’s last appearance came in 2011 when the Tigers were the ninth overall seed.
Transfers Payton Jackson (Texas Tech) and Maddie Gallagher (South Carolina) will compete in their first career Regionals this weekend.
Head coach Larissa Anderson will coach in her sixth Regional (fourth at Mizzou, two at Hofstra). On the coaching staff at Hofstra, Anderson also made eight Regional appearances.
Missouri Against the Rest of the NCAA Norman Regional Field
• Oklahoma
The Sooners have a 48-40 lead in the all-time series between the two schools. Head coach Larissa Anderson is 0-2 in her career against Oklahoma.
Mizzou last competed in the Norman Regional in 2018, going 2-2 with wins over Boston (10-4) and Tulsa (6-5) before falling to host Oklahoma, 7-0.
The Tigers and the Sooners last met in 2021 at the Courtyard Marriott Tournament, with Oklahoma winning twice (5-2, and 11-0, five innings) March 6 and 7 in Norman, Oklahoma.
• Hofstra
Mizzou has a 3-1 edge in the all-time series with Hofstra. 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 Kristin Hallam played 184 games over her four-year career at Hofstra and played for Anderson and Marino with the Pride.
Associate Director for Athletic Training Marie Siler-Hardin was at Hofstra for six years before joining Mizzou in the Fall of 2021 after a stint at Auburn. Director of Softball Operations Tim Dold is also a Hofstra graduate.
Academic All-District Softball Players
Sophomore third baseman Kara Daly and junior center fielder Alex Honnold were both named to the Academic All-District Softball Team, the College Sports Communicators announced Tuesday. Daly and Honnold both earned the distinction for the first time in their careers Tuesday.
Daly, a Jefferson City, Missouri, native, currently has a 3.914 GPA at Missouri and is pursuing her Bachelor’s in Health Science: Health & Wellness Services. She was named to the 2021-22 First-Year Academic SEC Honor Roll.
Honnold, a West Des Moines, Iowa, native, and 2023 All-SEC Second Teamer, currently has a 3.908 GPA at Mizzou and is pursuing her Bachelor’s in Parks, Recreation, & Sport: Sport Management. She has been selected to the SEC Spring Academic Honor Roll twice and was named to the 2020-21 First-Year SEC Academic Honor Roll.
All-SEC Tigers
Alex Honnold and Jenna Laird were both named to the 2023 All-SEC Second Team, the league announced May 12.
Honnold ranked 10th in conference play with a .443 on-base percentage. She hit .290 in SEC games with four home runs, two doubles, 14 runs, and 10 RBI to go with a .493 slugging percentage.
Laird paced the Tigers in SEC play with a .291 batting average to go with 14 runs, three doubles, five RBI, .371 on-base percentage, and a .329 slugging percentage.
In the league, Laird ranked third for total plate appearances (90), fifth for steals (7), and fifth for at bats (79) during SEC play.
2023 SEC Tournament Recap
Missouri opened the 2023 SEC Tournament with a 3-1 win over Mississippi State May 9 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Laurin Krings threw a complete game, allowing just one run on two hits with three strikeouts.
Jenna Laird (2-for-4, two runs) and Kara Daly (2-for-3, RBI, walk) both finished with a pair of hits to complement Krings’ performance in the circle. Daly notched her team-leading 13th double of the campaign. She is one of four Tigers with double-digit doubles along with Julia Crenshaw (13), Alex Honnold (11) and Laird (10).
Maddie Snider registered her second career triple (RBI) in the win. She has started in each of the last eight games in left field.
The Tigers then dropped their second game of the Tournament, 7-2, to No. 14/13 and fifth seeded Alabama May 10. Laird (2-for-4 with a run) and Megan Moll (2-for-3) paced the Tigers at the plate with two hits apiece. Laird tallied her 10th double of the campaign.
Moll matched a career-best two hits (fourth time in her career) for her third multi-hit game in 2023.
Laird led the Tigers over the two game with a .500 batting average followed by Kara Daly (.429), Moll (.400), Honnold (.333) and Snider (.333).
McGivern Named to SEC Softball Community Service Team
Senior Hannah McGivern was named to the SEC Community Service Team, the league announced May 9. McGivern leads the Tigers softball team in community service hours.
A member of Mizzou’s Navy ROTC, she has been accepted into the post graduate Naval Academy. McGivern graduated this May with a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences from Missouri.
In the classroom, she has been named to the 2021 and 2022 Spring SEC Academic Honor Roll and the 2019-20 First-Year SEC Academic Honor Roll.
McGivern has appeared in 74 career games as a Tiger with 26 runs and 12 stolen bases over four seasons in Columbia, Missouri.
Anderson Coming Up on 300 Career Wins
Head coach Larissa Anderson is two wins away from 300 in her career (298-168-1 over nine seasons). Anderson is currently in her fifth season at Mizzou, holding a 168-95 overall mark at the helm of the Tigers program.
AL PAL
Alex Honnold has reached base in each of the last five games (three-game hitting streak) for Mizzou.
The junior center fielder from West Des Moines, Iowa, batted .333 last week at the 2023 SEC Tournament with two RBI, a run and a double.
Overall, in 2023, Honnold is fourth in the league for on-base percentage (.554, 10th in the NCAA), fifth for batting average (.414, 25th in the NCAA), fifth for slugging percentage (.800, 20th in the NCAA), and fifth for runs (51). She is also third for walks (42), sixth for triples (3), ninth for hits (60), ninth for RBI (46), and ninth for home runs (13) this season. Honnold has also compiled 11 doubles.
On the basepaths, Honnold has snagged 20 bags (0.37 stolen bases/game), which is sixth in the SEC.
Her slugging percentage ranks second all-time in Mizzou program history while her batting average stands seventh. Honnold is also fifth in the record books for walks in a single season.
Honnold has registered 19 multi-hit games (second on MU) and a team-best 10 multi-RBI games in 2023. She had a reached-base streak of 17 games and a hitting streak of 11 games.
Honnold, a Top 25 Finalist for 2023 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, was named the SEC Co-Player of the Week on Feb. 20.
On the Daly
Kara Daly has compiled a hit in each of the last four games for the Tigers. Over the 2023 SEC Tournament, Daly hit .429 on three hits with two RBI and a double.
Daly has started in all 58 games at third for the Tigers in 2023. She is batting .268 with 32 runs, 13 doubles, two triples, and 10 home runs (16th in the SEC) to go with 44 RBI.
She is slugging .548 with an on-base percentage of .347. Daly also ranks 12th in the league with three sacrifice flies.
Daly has registered 11 multi-hit games and ranks tied for second on the team with nine multi-RBI games. She has posted a nine-game reached base streak during the campaign.
Daly belted consecutive walk-off home runs May 6-7 to help Mizzou secure the series victory over No. 12/12 Arkansas. She hit .375 over the final regular-season series.
Our Leadoff Hitter
Jenna Laird has reached base in each of the last 10 games (four-game hitting streak) for Mizzou heading into the Norman Regional.
She paced the Tigers at the 2023 SEC Tournament, batting .500 with four hits, three runs and a double to go with a .625 slugging percentage (.500 on-base percentage).
Overall, in 2023, Laird is first in the SEC for total plate appearances (218), second for steals (30, 22nd in the NCAA), second for at bats (188), fifth for walks (64), and sixth for runs (49). She is second on Mizzou behind Honnold with a .340 batting average with 49 runs, 10 doubles, two triples, 29 RBI, a .429 on-base percentage and a .415 slugging percentage.
Laird also is fifth in the SEC with 64 hits.
She has notched 96 assists (10th in SEC, 41 assists in SEC play) in the middle of the Tigers infield.
The junior shortstop from East Meadow, New York, leads Mizzou with 22 multi-hit games and is second on the squad with nine multi-RBI games. Laird tallied a team-best 18-game reached base streak and an eight-game hitting streak in 2023.
In the Circle
LAURIN KRINGS
Laurin Krings leads the Tigers with 12 wins (12-11), throwing nine complete games over 152.2 innings this season. She has registered 140 strikeouts and has an ERA of 2.63.
It’s her second-straight season with 12 or more wins after posting a 16-9 mark in 2022.
She most recently threw a complete game, allowing just one run on two hits with three strikeouts in Mizzou’s SEC Tournament-opening win over Mississippi State on May 9. For Krings, it marked her 15th game of six or more innings this season.
Krings also pitched 7.2 innings in the game two victory over Arkansas on May 6. It was also her second time going past the seventh in 2023. She finished the outing, allowing just three runs on five hits with five strikeouts.
Krings has notched five-or-more strikeouts 14 times in 2023 including 13 of her last 18 starts.
Krings was named the Wilson/NFCA Pitcher of the Week and SEC Co-Pitcher of the Week April 25 after she pitched 15 consecutive scoreless innings (0.00 ERA, 3-0) with 28 strikeouts (26 over UNT series) including a career-best 17-strikeout no hitter (third career no hitter including perfect game in 2022) over North Texas on April 21.
Krings pitched a career-high 8.2 innings in the second game of the Alabama series on March 31, finishing with six strikeouts.
Krings was also dominant in a complete-game victory over No. 8/8 Northwestern on Feb. 11 (three strikeouts, one run on four hits in the complete-game win). She registered 11 strikeouts in a complete-game shutout of Illinois on March 14.
Krings surpassed 400 strikeouts in her career as a Tiger with five in the Ole Miss finale on April 17. She ranks ninth all-time in program history with 447 ahead of Kristin Nottelmann (429 strikeouts, 2009-12). Krings also registered her third-straight 100-plus strikeout (140) season.
CIERRA HARRISON
Freshman Cierra Harrison has 71 strikeouts and is first for Tiger starters with a 2.33 ERA. She is 8-2 in 2023 with a complete-game win over Maine on March 3 and career-best eight strikeouts against Butler on Feb. 18. Opposing batters are hitting .197 against Harrison this season.
Harrison has registered seven-or-more strikeouts five times and matched her career-high eight punch outs against Drake on March 22.
She threw a one-hit complete game shutout of Lindenwood in midweek action on April 12. Harrison wrapped up the complete-game shutout by allowing just a single hit while striking out six over five innings.
She pitched 7.0 innings in relief during the Ole Miss series, striking out four with a 2.00 ERA (.182 batting average).
Harrison picked up the win in the circle in game two of the series with North Texas on April 22, allowing just a hit with two strikeouts and a walk over two innings.
She also started the midweek win over SIUE on April 25, allowing one run on four hits with three strikeouts over 3.0 innings.
JORDAN WEBER
Jordan Weber is 8-9 this season with a 3.94 ERA to go with 54 strikeouts. Weber threw a no-hitter (third career no-hitter, second individual no-hitter) at FIU on Feb. 18 with a season-high four strikeouts. She also pitched a complete-game, allowing just two runs on three hits with a season-high five strikeouts against Illinois on March 14.
Weber picked up her first SEC win of the season on March 17 at Florida, letting up just three runs on five hits with four strikeouts over 6.2 innings.
She picked up her eighth win of the season (40 career wins), pitching 6.1 innings, allowing no earned runs over four hits with two strikeouts in Mizzou’s game two win over Texas A&M on April 29.
MEGAN SCHUMACHER
Megan Schumacher is 3-1 (23-8 in her career) in 2023 with a 4.85 ERA over 34.2 innings (23 strikeouts). Schumacher registered a complete-game shutout, allowing just one hit as the Tigers notched a 10-0 run-rule win over Maine March 4. The start was her first of the 2023 campaign, tallying two strikeouts.
She earned the win for Missouri in the midweek against SIUE on April 25, compiling a career-best matching six strikeouts over the final four innings (no runs on two hits).
Schumacher pitched three scoreless innings in relief in the opener with Texas A&M (April 28), finishing with a pair of strikeouts.
TAYLOR PANNELL
Freshman Taylor Pannell is second in the conference with six saves (ninth in the NCAA). She has made 19 appearances (18.2 innings) in 2023. The Tigers closer from Lee’s Summit, Missouri, has compiled a 3.37 ERA and opposing batters are hitting .208.
Pannell most recently picked up a pair of wins after pitching 2.0 shutout innings to help Mizzou secure the series victory over No. 12/12 Arkansas May 6-7. She earned the final out in the eighth inning of game two of the series en route to the win. Pannell then wrapped the weekend with 1.2 innings of shutout softball with a pair of strikeouts in the game three victory. The two wins were the first in her career as a Mizzou Tiger.
Softball Earns First SEC Series Win of Season
Mizzou secured its first SEC series win of the 2023 campaign, with a pair of walk-off homers from Kara Daly over the final regular-season series against Arkansas May 5-7.
The Tigers claimed back-to-back walk-off wins for the first time since May 3-4, 2019, when Mizzou accomplished the feat in consecutive games against South Carolina.
The Tigers evened the series at 1-1 with an eighth inning walk-off for the 4-3 Senior Day victory on May 6. Daly and Maddie Snider combined for a pair of extra inning home runs to seal the win.
Snider’s game-tying home run was the second of her career and second in 2023. It also counted as her first-career blast at Mizzou Softball Stadium in her hometown of Columbia. She finished the weekend batting .286 and picked up her fifth multi-RBI contest of 2023 in game two.
Daly then blasted her second-straight walk-off home run in the May 7 finale to complete the series win.
Alex Honnold paced the Tigers, hitting .429 over the series while Riley Frizell and Daly added .375 weekends.
Frizell capped the series with a 2-for-3 finale (May 7) to go with a home run and three RBI.
Freshman Taylor Pannell picked up wins May 6 and 7, combining to throw 2.0 shutout innings (0.00 ERA) with two strikeouts.
With her go-ahead, two-run single in the third inning of the finale, Maddie Gallagher recorded her third multi-RBI contest of 2023. She finished 1-for-2 with two RBI and a walk.
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For all the latest on Mizzou Softball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team @MizzouSoftball (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook).
