The Missouri Tigers will take on the Duke Blue Devils in the NCAA Super Regionals this weekend in Columbia, Mo. (Photo: Terrance Williams)

Mizzou Softball – NCAA Super Regionals Info
No. 10 Duke Blue Devils (50-6) at No. 7 Missouri Tigers (47-16)
Game 1 – Date/Time – May 24, 2024 – 1 pm
Game 2 – Date/Time — May 25, 2024 — 12 pm
Game 3, if necessary – Date/Time — May 26, 2024 — TBA
Location – Mizzou Stadium — Columbia, MO
Broadcast — ESPN2
Live Stats – NCAA.com Live Stats

Paige Dale
Staff Writer

COLUMBIA, MO — For No. 7 nationally-seeded University of Missouri softball team, the road to the NCAA Super Regionals was not so super.

In order to get there, the Tigers had to fight like no other team in the nation had to fight. Missouri was the only nationally-seeded team to lose its first game, and therefore were the only regional favorite that had to go through the loser’s bracket to win its regional.

Going through the loser’s bracket meant the Tigers had to win four straight elimination games to win the regional title and advance to the Super Regionals. And in a span of two days, Mizzou had to find a way to get past a pair of dynamite offensive teams in Indiana and Washington, and then twice overcome the team that had already beaten them in Omaha, which had perhaps the best small-school pitching staff in the nation.

Oh, and Missouri had to do that without losing a single game or its season would be over.

But, like they had several times this season, Missouri kept finding ways to win.

Some of the contributions made were unexpected. For example, against Washington, Jenna Laird hit her first home run since 2022. Madison Walker, who hadn’t recorded a hit since March, lifted Missouri to Supers with a pinch-hit, walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth in the second of Sunday’s two games against Omaha.

But for the most part, many of Missouri’s brightest stars shined when their team needed them the most. In the day’s first game against Omaha, Alex Honnold’s heroic two-run home run in the seventh inning spurred a five-run frame that kept the Tigers alive.

Throughout the weekend, the top of Missouri’s lineup carried the offensive load, as Laird (seven hits, two RBIs, one home run) Honnold (six hits, two RBIs, one home run), Maddie Gallagher (one hit, two RBIs, three walks) and Abby Hay (six hits, four RBIs, one home run) were all instrumental in their team’s success last weekend.

However, no one was a bigger super hero for Mizzou than ace starting pitcher Laurin Krings, who kept Missouri afloat while its bats were dormant over the final two games against Omaha. Not including the five-run seventh inning in the first game, the Tigers registered nine hits and one run in 13 innings.

Omaha pitchers Kamryn Meyer and Sydney Nuismer kept Missouri’s smothered. Fortunately for the Tigers, Krings was somehow even better.

She held the Mavericks to just one hit in five innings in the first game. Then carried Mizzou through a nine-inning shutout marathon, where she gave up no runs, just three hits and struck out 15.

Krings got 27 outs in that game and 15 of them were by strikeout. It was an absolute masterpiece performance by pitcher who refused to let her team lose.

Her dominance also included the two previous games against Indiana and Washington. Over a 48-hour span, Krings appeared in four games, compiling 364 pitches in 25 innings of work. Considering the stakes as well, it was one of the most legendary pitching stretches in program history.

Now, Missouri gets a date with No. 10 seed Duke, who steamrolled through the ACC and the Durham Regional for its third consecutive appearance in Super Regionals. The Blue Devils also probably feel like they should be hosting, as they entered Selection Sunday with just six losses and ranked third in RPI. However, they were dinged for a softer strength of schedule, as they had the third-worst SOS of the top-16 teams in RPI). Duke enter Columbia riding high, but so will its opponent.

Matching Up With Duke

Next round’s opponent, Duke, is no different. The Blue Devils have a lethal one-two punch at pitcher in Jala Wright and Cassidy Curd whose contrasting pitching styles could push Duke to its first WCWS appearance in program history.

Statistically, Wright is one of the top pitchers in the nation. The ACC Pitcher of the Year is third in ERA (1.51) and hasn’t given up more than three earned runs in any start since May 28, 2022 against UCLA. In Regionals, neither Morgan State nor South Carolina could really touch Wright; she finished the Durham Regional allowing just six hits and no earned runs while striking out 17 batters in 13 and two-thirds innings pitched.

On tape, Wright presents another difficult challenge for Missouri’s batters. Unlike Kamryn Meyer, who leaned primarily on fastballs and riseballs, Wright’s strongest pitches are her dropball and changeup. It’s not just any off-speed pitch; it’s mean. The ball drops in a split-second; it’s mean, nasty and, most of all, Missouri’s kryptonite. All season long, the Tigers have struggled against off-speed pitchers; Wright is one of the best, if not the best off-speed pitchers in the nation.

Curd, on the other hand, deploys a big three of fastball, curveball and riseball. The menacing lefty has bamboozled most batters in her path over her first two years at Duke en route to a 29-6 record and an ERA of just 1.53. She also improved her strikeout-to-walk ratio dramatically from her freshman to sophomore year; last season, it was around 3.06:1. This season, it’s skyrocketed to 5:1.

Plus, Duke has a reliably third option in Lillie Walker out of the bullpen in case one (or both) of Wright and Curd are struggling at any point. Unlike Omaha, the Blue Devils don’t need to rely super heavily on their top two starters, which is a gift that not too many programs have.

This weekend will be MU’s toughest mountain to climb offensively; considering how inept it was in three games against Omaha, Anderson’s squad will likely have to take a big jump this time around if they want to keep playing softball into June.

While Missouri has proven they can win low-scoring games (the Tigers combined for just eight runs in their three SEC Tournament wins), elite pitching can only take them so far.

They haven’t scored more than five runs in a game since April 12; while there’s a chance that the winner of the Columbia Super Regional scores less than 10 combined runs, Missouri will put itself in a far better position to win if it can gave its pitchers more run support then it has been.

The Blue Devils are not only really good in the circle, they’re also top notch good at the plate. Duke ranked 12th in the nation in batting average (.331), ninth in on-base percentage (.412) and are adept at scoring late. They’re 4-1 in extra-inning contests and have propelled themselves to wins right before or during the seventh inning in close games numerous times.

That charge is led by right fielder and ACC Player of the Year Claire Davidson. The smooth-swinging lefty is one of the most prolific hitters in the country; she’s ninth in batting average (.440), eight in OBP (.539), sixth in RBIs (67), has hit 18 home runs and, like Honnold, is a doubles queen, as she has 19 to her name this season (Honnold has 21). Davidson also enters Columbia white-hot; she’s on a nine-game hitting streak and went a ridiculous 8/12 during the Durham Regional.

Essentially, Duke is a very complete team. While their schedule wasn’t as hard as other top teams, schedule difficulty isn’t often that team’s fault. Besides, the Blue Devils played extremely well against Quadrant I opponents, going 16-4. Their only other two losses this season were to Quadrant II teams. They took care of business, and oftentimes, they did it in dominant fashion.

But Missouri has a bunch of quality players themselves on both sides of the ball that have not only been on big stages before, but have also shown up in those crucial moments, too.

Earlier in the season, they were no-hit by Texas A&M Commerce, but won because Cierra Harrison also threw a no-hitter. Several batters have delivered in the clutch, and they have arguably the best closer in the nation in Taylor Pannell to shut the door on close games. Speaking of close games, the Tigers, like the Blue Devils, also know how to win tight contests, as they’re 11-5 in one-run games and are 3-1 in extra-inning games.

Mizzou is just two wins away from reaching the Women’s College World Series for the first time since 2011. Duke has never been.

It should be quite a weekend in Columbia, as one of these dying to make it to WCWS teams will fulfill its dream and make it to Oklahoma City.

MISSOURI TIGERS 2024 WOMEN’S SOFTBALL SUPER-REGIONAL SCHEDULE

Date	Gametime	Event	Opponent	Location	TV
May 24, 2024 (Friday)	1 pm	NCAA Tournament Regionals	vs. #10 Duke	Mizzou Softball Stadium
May 25, 2024 (Saturday)	12 pm	NCAA Tournament Regionals	vs. #10 Duke	Mizzou Softball Stadium
May 26, 2024 (Sunday)	TBA	NCAA Tournament Regionals	vs. #10 Duke	Mizzou Softball Stadium