Julia Crenshaw and head coach Larissa Anderson celebrate Maddie Gallagher’s home run during Mizzou’s win over UMKC on Wednesday. (Photo courtesy: Mizzou Photo)
Mizzou Softball – Gameday Info
Games No. 21-23 — #25 Auburn Tigers (12-2-1) at #12 Missouri Tigers (18-2)
Date/Time – Game 1 – March 9, 2024 – 4 pm
Date/Time – Game 2 – March 9, 2024 – 2 pm
Date/Time – Game 3 – March 10, 2024 – 12 pm
Location – Mizzou Softball Stadium — Columbia, MO
Broadcast — ESPN+
Live Stats – Live Stats
Paige Dale
Staff Writer
COLUMBIA, MO — The No. 12-ranked University of Missouri softball team will finally play its first home games of the season this weekend, when it welcomes No. 25 Auburn University to Mizzou Softball Stadium for opening weekend of the SEC season.
Missouri has begun the season in fantastic fashion. The Tigers are 18-2 and have been one of the top pitching and clutch hitting teams in the country. With 18 wins in its first 20 games, Mizzou is off to its best start to a season since 2013, when the Tigers began the year 22-2.
Auburn comes to town with a 12-2-1 record, which includes a victory over then-No. 13-ranked Utah, a tie against No. 5 Clemson, and a current seven-game winning streak.
Mizzou is currently riding a five-game winning streak, which includes a win earlier this week over in-state rival Missouri-Kansas City.
QUICK HIT TIGER NOTES
- The Tigers head into SEC play riding a five-game winning streak. Mizzou opened the 2024 campaign 10-0 and notched perfect tournament weekends three out of four times.
- The 18-2 start to the 2024 season is the best start for Missouri since the Tigers opened the 2013 campaign 22-2 en route to a 38-14 finish.
- Mizzou is ranked in all four polls heading into the weekend after first appearing following week one (Feb. 13). The Tigers enter the fifth week of the season #12 in both the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll, and ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll. Mizzou is also #13 and #14 in the Softball America and D1Softball polls, respectively.
- Missouri was also ranked fifth (third highest SEC school) in this week’s RPI (Ratings Power Index).
- Alex Honnold pushed her hitting streak to 12 games with a triple (first in 2024) in the sixth Wednesday against Kansas City. She finished 1-for-2 with a run and a walk.
- Maddie Gallagher extended her reached base streak to 14 games against Kansas City. She ranks seventh in the SEC with a .556 on-base percentage to go with five doubles.
- Jenna Laird and Julia Crenshaw are each on six-game reached base streaks.
- Cierra Harrison improved to 6-0 in 2024 after her complete-game shutout of Kansas City Wednesday.
- Alex Honnold paces the Tigers with a .422 batting average in the two-hole to go with 19 runs, 15 RBI, nine doubles and a .688 slugging percentage.
- Four Tigers are batting over .300 in Jenna Laird (.390, 26 runs, 11 RBI), Maddie Gallagher (.364, five doubles, 12 RBI, 15 runs), Katie Chester (.341, team-high three home runs, 17 RBI, .610 slugging percentage) and nine-hole hitter Kayley Lenger (.321, .536 slugging percentage).
KRINGS ON A TEAR
- Senior ace Laurin Krings notched a complete-game victory in the circle, limiting the Cornhuskers to one run on five hits March 3.
- Krings secured her team-leading sixth complete game of the season, fanning four with a pair of walks. She also improved to 7-2 in 2024.
- Krings ranks fifth in the SEC for wins and innings pitches (51.2) this season.
- The senior from Loveland, Colorado, is now three strikeouts away from 500 in her career. She ranks eighth in school history for strikeouts.
CIERRA IN THE CIRCLE
- Cierra Harrison helped propel Missouri to a win over Nebraska on March 2.
- Against the Cornhuskers, Harrison pitched 4.1 innings, allowing six runs on six hits to go with three strikeouts and a pair of walks.
- The sophomore then picked up her first career save in the victory over Wichita State on March 3, closing out the final 2.2 innings, scattering a run on one hit with three strikeouts.
- With the trio of Ks, the Lee’s Summit, Mo., native, officially compiled 100 career-strikeouts.
- She ranks 13th in the SEC with a 1.27 ERA and ninth in the conference with 3.59 hits allowed per seven innings.
Up Next: Mizzou will close its first homestand of the season with a doubleheader against Illinois on Wednesday, March 13. First pitch that day is slated for 1 p.m.
MISSOURI TIGERS 2024 WOMEN’S SOFTBALL SCHEDULE
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 8, 2024 (Friday) | 4 p.m. | Home | 25 Auburn | Mizzou Softball Stadium |  |
| March 9, 2024 (Saturday) | 2 p.m. | Home | 25 Auburn | Mizzou Softball Stadium | |
| March 10, 2024 (Sunday) | Noon | Home | 25 Auburn | Mizzou Softball Stadium | |
| March 13, 2024 (Wednesday) | 1 p.m. | Away | Illinois | Urbana-Champaign, Ill. | |
| March 13, 2024 (Wednesday) | 3:30 p.m. | Away | Illinois | Urbana-Champaign, Ill. | |
| March 15, 2024 (Friday) | 5 p.m. | Away | 5 Tennessee | Knoxville, Tenn. | |
| March 16, 2024 (Saturday) | 1 p.m. | Away | 5 Tennessee | Knoxville, Tenn. | |
| March 17, 2024 (Sunday) | 12:30 p.m. | Away | 5 Tennessee | Knoxville, Tenn. | |
| March 20, 2024 (Wednesday) | 5 p.m. | Away | Kansas | Lawrence, Kan. | |
| March 22, 2024 (Friday) | 5 p.m. | Home | 14 LSU | Mizzou Softball Stadium | |
| March 23, 2024 (Saturday) | 2 p.m. | Home | 14 LSU | Mizzou Softball Stadium | |
| March 24, 2024 (Sunday) | 1 p.m. | Home | 14 LSU | Mizzou Softball Stadium | |
| March 26, 2024 (Tuesday) | 1 p.m. | Neutral | Fordham | Hempstead, N.Y. | |
| March 26, 2024 (Tuesday) | 3:30 p.m. | Away | Hofstra | Hempstead, N.Y. | |
| March 28, 2024 (Thursday) | 3 p.m. | Away | George Mason | Fairfax, Va. | |
| March 30, 2024 (Saturday) | 9 a.m. | Away | Villanova | Villanova, Pa. | |
| April 3, 2024 (Wednesday) | 4 p.m. | Home | Southeast Missouri | Mizzou Softball Stadium | |
| April 3, 2024 (Wednesday) | 6:30 p.m. | Home | Southeast Missouri | Mizzou Softball Stadium | |
| April 5, 2024 (Friday) | 5 p.m. | Away | 16 Arkansas | Fayetteville, Ark. |  |
| April 6, 2024 (Saturday) | Noon | Away | 16 Arkansas | Fayetteville, Ark. | |
| April 7, 2024 (Sunday) | 2 p.m. | Away | 16 Arkansas | Fayetteville, Ark. | |
| April 10, 2024 (Wednesday) | 4 p.m. | Away | Drake | Des Moines, Iowa | |
| April 12, 2024 (Friday) | 5 p.m. | Home | 17 Florida | Mizzou Softball Stadium | |
| April 13, 2024 (Saturday) | 12:30 p.m. | Home | 17 Florida | Mizzou Softball Stadium | |
| April 14, 2024 (Sunday) | 2 p.m. | Home | 17 Florida | Mizzou Softball Stadium | |
| April 17, 2024 (Wednesday) | 5 p.m. | Home | SIU-Edwardsville | Mizzou Softball Stadium | |
| April 19, 2024 (Friday) | 5 p.m. | Away | 6 Georgia | Athens, Ga. | |
| April 20, 2024 (Saturday) | 1 p.m. | Away | 6 Georgia | Athens, Ga. | |
| April 21, 2024 (Sunday) | 1 p.m. | Away | 6 Georgia | Athens, Ga. | |
| April 27, 2024 (Saturday) | 8 p.m. | Home | Mississippi State | Mizzou Softball Stadium | |
| April 28, 2024 (Sunday) | 5 p.m. | Home | Mississippi State | Mizzou Softball Stadium | |
| April 29, 2024 (Monday) | 6 p.m. | Home | Mississippi State | Mizzou Softball Stadium | |
| May 3, 2024 (Friday) | 5 p.m. | Away | 23 South Carolina | Columbia, S.C. | |
| May 4, 2024 (Saturday) | 5 p.m. | Away | 23 South Carolina | Columbia, S.C. | |
| May 5, 2024 (Sunday) | 2 p.m. | Away | 23 South Carolina | Columbia, S.C. | |
| May 7, 2024 (Tuesday) | TBA | Neutral | SEC Tournament | Auburn, Ala. |