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COLUMBIA, Mo. – The University of Missouri softball program (22-16, 2-10 SEC) treks to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for a Thursday, Friday, Saturday series against No. 12/11 LSU (31-6, 4-5 SEC). Missouri and LSU open the series Thursday at 5 p.m., CT at Tiger Park before 6 p.m. (Friday) and 1 p.m. (Saturday) matchups.
Thursday’s game will be broadcasted on SEC Network with Tiffany Greene and Danielle Lawrie on the call. Friday and Saturday’s games will be featured on SEC Network+ with Lyn Rollins and Yvette Girouard in the booth.
Missouri ranks second in the SEC for fielding percentage (.980, 10th in the NCAA) and stolen bases (73) in 2023. The Tigers are also third for triples (0.26) and stolen bases per game (2.00).
Missouri (22-16, 2-10 SEC)
at LSU
Date: April 6-8, 2023
Venue: Mizzou Softball Stadium
Location: Columbia, Mo.
Game Times: 5 p.m., CT Thursday | 6 p.m., CT Friday | 1 p.m., CT Saturday
All-Time Series: LSU leads Missouri, 16-10, in the All-Time Series
Last Meetings: No. 15 Missouri 4, No. 16/14 LSU 1 | May 13, 2021 | 2021 SEC Tournament | Tuscaloosa, Ala.
No. 17/15 LSU 12, Missouri 5 | April 11, 2021 – Game 2 | Columbia, Mo.
No. 17/15 LSU 4, Missouri 2 | April 11, 2021 – Game 1 | Columbia, Mo.
No. 19 Missouri 9, No. 17/15 LSU 1 – Five Innings | April 9, 2021 | Columbia, Mo.
FOLLOW THE TIGERS
Live Video: Thursday SEC Network | Friday SEC Network+ | Saturday SEC Network+
Live Stats: Thursday | Friday | Saturday
Twitter: @MizzouSoftball
Notes: Missouri
Series History
LSU leads the all-time series with Missouri, 16-10.
The Bayou Bengals took the 2021 series, 2-1, but Missouri won the most recent meeting between the two schools in the 2021 SEC Tournament (4-1 Missouri win).
Jordan Weber pitched a complete game, allowing just one run on two hits with four strikeouts in the 2021 SEC Tournament opener.
Missouri run ruled LSU, 9-1, to commence the 2021 series on April 9, 2021.
Emma Nichols pitched the final four innings, shutting out LSU and only allowing one hit to go with a strikeout.
Jenna Laird went 2-for-3 while Riley Frizell added a two-run base hit. Frizell also added a pair of hits in the regular-season finale.
Head coach Larissa Anderson is 2-4 in her career against LSU.
Alabama Series
Missouri most recently 1-2 in its home series with Alabama. After dropping the first two games by 4-0 scores (game two was nine innings), the Tigers offense run-ruled Alabama, 11-3, in the finale.
Missouri registered a five-run third and a four-run fifth to capture the win in the series finale with the Crimson Tide.
Chantice Phillips led the Tiger batters with a career-best 3-for-3 day at the dish with a home run, a double, four RBI and two runs. She batted .444 (.889 slugging percentage) over the series with four hits, four RBI and two runs.
Julia Crenshaw added a 2-for-4 outing with a run and two RBI.
Laurin Krings pitched 2.1 innings in relief for the win, while allowing no runs on two hits with two strikeouts. She finished the series with a 1.27 ERA with eight strikeouts over two appearances (11.0 innings).
The Adventures of Channy P
Junior left fielder Chantice Phillips paced the Tigers this past week, hitting .417 (.833 slugging percentage).
Phillips smacked a two-run homer to left field to provide Missouri a 5-3 lead they would not relinquish in the finale with Alabama. The home run was the second of her career and first in SEC play.
Phillips, a Kansas City, Missouri, native, earned her third multi-hit game of the season after going a career best 3-for-3. She also posted her second multi-RBI game of the season, matching a career-high 4 RBI set against Kansas City on March 8, 2023.
Phillips has posted a hit in 14 of the last 19 games.
CRANNY
Sophomore catcher/second base Julia Crenshaw was second on the team this past week, batting .333 over the Alabama series.
She went 1-for-3 with a walk in game two before a 2-for-4 day in the finale with two RBI and a run. For Crenshaw, it marked her 10th multi-hit game of the season and sixth multi-RBI game of the campaign.
Crenshaw is second on the Tigers this season with seven homers and leads the league with four sacrifice flies.
AL PAL
Alex Honnold is fourth in the SEC (32nd in the NCAA) this season with a .429 batting average and a .558 on base percentage (fourth in the SEC).
She knocked a two-run homer to left for her eighth of the season in the midweek against Northern Iowa March 29. Honnold finished with two RBI, a run, and a walk for her seventh multi-RBI game of the season which ties for first with Jenna Laird and Kara Daly.
Honnold, a junior from West Des Moines, Iowa, leads the Tigers in 2023 for dingers followed by Julia Crenshaw and Kara Daly who each have seven.
Honnold has registered 11 multi-hit games in 2023 and leads the Tigers with 31 RBI.
In the Circle
Four Tigers pitchers have earned two or more wins this season.
Laurin Krings leads the Tigers with a 8-8 mark, throwing six complete games over 94.2 innings. She has registered 78 strikeouts and has an ERA of 2.34.
Krings most recently pitched a career-high 8.2 innings in the second game of the Alabama series on March 31, finishing with six strikeouts.
Krings was dominant in a complete-game victory over No. 8/8 Northwestern. She also registered a season-high 11 strikeouts in a complete-game shutout of Illinois on March 14.
Krings has notched five or more strikeouts nine times in 2023 including nine of her last 10 starts.
Krings is 15 strikeouts away from 400 in her career as a Tiger. She ranks 10th all-time in program history with 385.
Freshman Cierra Harrison has 53 strikeouts and is second for Tiger starters with a 2.81 ERA. She is 6-1 in 2023 with a complete-game win over Maine and career-best eight strikeouts against Butler. Opposing batters are hitting .205 against Harrison this season.
Harrison has registered seven or more strikeouts five times and matched her career-high eight punchouts against Drake on March 22.
Jordan Weber is 6-6 this season with a 3.86 ERA to go with 44 strikeouts. Weber threw a no-hitter at FIU 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 also 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.
Megan Schumacher is 2-1 thus far in 2023 with a 4.14 ERA over 23.2 innings (13 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.
Freshman Taylor Pannell paces the conference with four saves (seventh in the NCAA). She has made 11 appearances (9.1 innings) in 2023. The Tigers closer Lee’s Summit, Missouri, has compiled a 2.25 ERA and opposing batters.
Our Leadoff Hitter
Jenna Laird has reached base in all but three games this season (35 of 38) including each of the last three.
The junior shortstop is second on Mizzou in 2023 with a .372 mark at the dish. The East Meadow, New York, native, is also sixth in the SEC with 45 hits this season.
She has compiled a .907 OPS (.469 OB%) and paces the Tigers with 15 multi-hit games (three hits four times) and seven multi-RBI games.
On the basepaths, Laird is first in the conference (ninth in the NCAA) with 24 stolen bases (0.63 stolen bases/game, third in the SEC).
In the SEC, Laird paces the Tigers with a .306 batting average and a .419 on-base percentage.
UNI Midweek
Missouri continued its undefeated midweek run with a 4-1 victory over Missouri Valley Conference leader Northern Iowa Wednesday afternoon at the Mizzou Softball Stadium.
Jordan Weber led the Tigers in the circle registering four strikeouts while only allowing two hits over four shutout innings for the win. Weber, a senior from Lee’s Summit, Missouri, improved to 6-5 in 2023 (38-21 in her career).
Alex Honnold belted her team-leading eighth home run of the season (10 in her career). She finished with two RBI, a run, and a walk.
Chantice Phillips (fourth of the season) and Riley Frizell (third of the season) each connected on doubles Wednesday. For Phillips, it was her second double in three games.
Maddie Gallagher earned a walk to push her reached base streak to three games.
Taylor Pannell earned her fourth save of the campaign, compiling two strikeouts in the final frame.
Megan Schumacher made her 12th appearance of the season, allowing a run on three hits with a strikeout.
2023 Preseason SEC Poll
Missouri Softball 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.
Laird 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.
Looking Ahead
Following the road series at LSU, Mizzou returns to Columbia, Missouri, for an extended nine-game homestand. Missouri hosts Lindenwood on Wednesday, April 12 in midweek action before a weekend series with Ole Miss April 15-17.
FOLLOW THE TIGERS
For all the latest on Mizzou Softball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team @MizzouSoftball (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook).
Single-game and limited season tickets are currently on sale. Tickets can be purchased online, in-person at the Mizzou ticket office, or by calling 1 (800) CAT-PAWS.
