Mizzou All-Americans Jenna Laird and Alex Honnold will be back to lead the Tigers in 2024. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
Paige Dale
Staff Writer
The University of Missouri softball team will open its 2024 season at the NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic this weekend at the Eddie C. Moore Complex in Clearwater, Fla.
Missouri will play five games, beginning with a matchup against No. 13-ranked Utah, Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. Later on Friday, Mizzou will play North Carolina State at 6 p.m.
On Saturday, Missouri will take the field against Liberty and South Alabama, before closing the tournament against No. 5 Clemson on Sunday.
All five games will be broadcasted on Gamechanger. Additionally, Saturday’s game against Liberty will be televised live nationally, as part of a three-game tripleheader on the MLB Network.
2024 NFCA DIVISION I LEADOFF CLASSIC
• Location: Clearwater, Florida (Eddie C. Moore Complex)
• Tournament Central Page
SCHEDULE
- Missouri vs. No. 13 Utah, Friday, Feb. 9 at 3 p.m. | Field 3
- Missouri vs. North Carolina State, Friday, Feb. 9 at 6 p.m. | Field 3
- Missouri vs. Liberty, Saturday, Feb. 10 at 3:03 p.m. | Field 9
- Missouri vs. South Alabama, Saturday, Feb. 10 at 6 p.m. | Field 4
- Missouri vs. No. 5 Clemson, Sunday, Feb. 11 at 9:03 a.m. | Field 8
SERIES HISTORY
- Missouri leads the all-time series with Utah, 4-3. Larissa Anderson is 1-0 against the Utes in her career.
- The Tigers last took the field against the Utes at the Kajikawa Classic in 2019 in Tempe, Ariz. (Arizona State’s Tournament), where Missouri defeated Utah 9-0 in six innings in the season opener.
- Missouri is tied in the all-time series with N.C. State, 1-1.
- The Tigers last faced the Wolfpack in Raleigh, N.C., in 2015, where Missouri beat N.C. State 13-3 in six innings.
- Missouri leads the all-time series with Liberty, 2-0. Anderson is 2-1 all-time in her head coaching career against Liberty.
- The Tigers last took on the Lady Flames at the Northern Lights Invitational in 2022, where Missouri defeated Liberty, 6-5.
- Missouri leads the all-time series with South Alabama, 3-0, with all three wins coming with Anderson at the helm of the program.
- The Tigers last played the Jaguars at The Spring Games in 2022, where Missouri beat South Alabama, 3-2.
- Missouri’s game against Clemson will be the first meeting between the two teams on the softball field.
LAST TIME AT THE NFCA DIVISION I LEADOFF CLASSIC
- Missouri opened its 2023 season at the NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic last February (10-12), going 3-2 on the weekend.
- The Tigers fell to No. 6 Texas to open the weekend, before going on to win three straight against Fordham (13-3 in six innings), No. 8 Northwestern (6-1) and run-ruling Prairie View A&M (11-0 in five innings).
- Mizzou dropped a decision to Louisville (4-0) to close the tournament.
- Jenna Laird was named to the 2023 NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic All-Tournament Team for her performance over the three-day tournament.
PRESEASON ACCOLADES
- Mizzou returns senior standouts Alex Honnold and Jenna Laird, who have both earned a multitude of preseason honors including 2024 Preseason All-SEC Softball Team and USA Softball’s Top 50 Watch List for Player of the Year. Honnold was also named a Preseason All-American by Softball America and D1Softball.
ALEX HONNOLD
- The senior center fielder from West Des Moines, Iowa, led Mizzou in on-base percentage (.539), slugging percentage (.779), runs (52), batting average (.396) and triples (three) during the 2023 season as she was named a Top 25 Finalist for USA Softball Player of the Year and awarded NFCA Second-Team All-American honors.
- The two-hole hitter, was also named to the 2023 All-SEC Second Team, posting 19 multi-hit games, and leading the Tigers with 14 home runs this past season.
- Honnold was also featured on Softball America’s (Jan. 22, #19) and D1Softball’s Preseason Top 100 rankings (Jan. 18, #47) ahead of the 2024 season.
JENNA LAIRD
- The senior shortstop was selected to the 2023 All-SEC Second Team as she paced Missouri with 198 at-bats, 52 runs and 70 hits as the Tigers’ leadoff hitter.
- Laird knocked 12 doubles in 2023, while leading Mizzou on the basepaths, going 30-for-34 on stolen bases.
- The East Meadow, N.Y., shortstop, also registered a .978 fielding percentage with 76 putouts, 104 assists and 11 double plays.
- Besides earning her third-straight Preseason All-SEC Softball Team appearance, Laird also was featured 61st on D1Softball’s Preseason D100 Player Rankings (Jan. 18) ahead of the 2024 campaign.
MYA DODGE
- The junior outfielder was named to Softball America’s Preseason Top 100 player list ahead of the 2024 season, coming in at No. 62.
- Dodge, a Northern Iowa transfer, earned 2023 NFCA First Team All-Region honors this past spring.
- She begins her time as a Tiger on the heels of a historic season at UNI, after tallying the third-most RBIs in the nation to set a single-season UNI record (68) in 2023.
- Dodge was named the 2023 Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year last season, leading UNI in OPS (1.363), slugging percentage (.899), triples (5) and home runs (17) during her sophomore campaign.
- She slashed .388/.464/.899 as the Panthers’ cleanup hitter in 2023 and recorded the second-best batting average in the MVC on 57 hits.
RETURNING TIGERS
- Besides Honnold and Laird, Mizzou returns several key players in 2024, including starters Maddie Gallagher (senior second base), Julia Crenshaw (junior catcher), Kara Daly (junior third base), Chantice Phillips (senior outfielder), Laurin Krings (senior pitcher) along with Katie Chester (sophomore first base/third base/designated player) and Kayley Lenger (sophomore utility).
PITCHING STAFF
LAURIN KRINGS
- The senior pitcher made 35 appearances with 23 starts in the circle in 2023, as she paced the Tigers with 12 wins (12-12) on a 2.75 ERA.
- Krings notched 10 complete games and four shutouts in 2023, including six games with seven or more strikeouts.
- The Loveland, Colorado, native, clocked 145 strikeouts over 163.0 innings, while limiting opposing batters to a .263 batting average.
- Krings registered a career-best and Mizzou single-game (7 innings) record 17-strikeout no-hitter of North Texas (4/21).
- The pitcher earned both the Wilson/NFCA Pitcher of the Week and the SEC Co-Pitcher of the Week (4/25) after helping the Tigers capture a trio of wins in three appearances over the week, including the no-hitter.
CIERRA HARRISON
- The sophomore pitcher appeared in 21 games with 13 starts in the circle during the 2023 campaign.
- In her first year as a Tiger, Harrison registered an 8-2 record with a 2.48 ERA, while pitching 67.2 innings with 72 strikeouts.
- Harrison notched two complete games and two shutouts (one solo, one combined) last season.
- The pitcher tallied seven or more strikeouts five times, holding opposing offenses batted to just .206.
- Harrison recorded a personal-best eight strikeouts twice in wins over Butler (2/18) and Drake (3/22).
FRESHMEN
- The 2024 roster also features freshmen Madison Walker (infielder), Danielle Blackstun (outfielder), Stefania Abruscato (catcher), Claire Cahalan (outfielder), Adi Koller (infielder) and Abby Hay (catcher) along with right handed pitchers Marissa McCann and Nathalie Touchet.
- The freshmen class boasts two High School Gatorade Players of the Year, as Abruscato and Walker each took home the award, in their home states of New York and Kansas, respectively.
- Both Hay and McCann are Columbia, Missouri, natives. Hay’s parents were also student-athletes at Mizzou, competing on the baseball and golf teams. McCann grew up in Columbia before moving to Arizona at the age of 13.
2024 SCHEDULE .
- Mizzou is slated for 55 total matchups, including meetings with seventeen 2023 NCAA Regional teams.
- The Tigers are set to host 15 games at Mizzou Softball Stadium during the 2024 campaign
- Mizzou will face 14 opponents with a top-25 preseason ranking according to ESPN.com/USA Softball and/or USA Today/NFCA in 2024.
- Missouri’s 2024 schedule is highlighted by 24 SEC games from March 8 through May 5. The slate includes eight three-game series, with Mizzou scheduled for four SEC road series and four home series.
2023 RECAP
- Mizzou enters the 2024 season on the heels of its 16th-straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
- 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
- Missouri next travels to Denton, Texas, to compete in the Tracy Beard College Classic at North Texas Feb. 16-18.
