Mizzou’s Kayley Lenger leads off first base during Saturday’s SEC Tournament championship game against Florida. (Photo courtesy: Mizzou Photo)
| NCAA Softball | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #5 Missouri (43-15) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 |
| #2 Florida (46-12) | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | X | 6 | 6 | 0 |
WP: Keagan Rothrock – FL (26-6) LP: Laurin Krings – MIZ (13-8)
Paige Dale
Staff Writer
AUBURN, AL — After three straight days of terrific pitching and brilliant defense earned them a trip to the SEC Tournament Championship Game, it all fell apart for the University of Missouri softball team on Saturday.
The No. 5-seed Tigers, who had beaten Ole Miss, Arkansas, and LSU to get to championship Saturday, lost 6-1 to Florida in the title game.
Missouri, which had given up just three runs combined in those first three games, gave up three runs in the bottom of the second inning against Florida. Then gave up three more runs in the game on the way to its first loss in nearly two weeks.
Mizzou starting pitcher Laurin Krings (13-8) gave up a two-run home run, a triple, and an RBI single in that second inning outburst by the Gators. Freshman Marissa McCann came in to pitch the rest of the game for the Tigers and gave up the other two runs on a homer in the sixth inning.
The Tigers’ only run came in the fourth inning, when Maddie Gallagher singled and Julia Crenshaw doubled to put runners on second and third, with one out. Freshman designated hitter Stefania Abruscato drilled a line-shot to center that was caught, but it was deep enough for Gallagher to score and put Missouri on the board.
At the time, the score was 4-1. But that was a close as Mizzou would get, due to Florida starting pitcher Keagan Rothrock holding the Tigers down the rest of the game.
Mizzou did get two runners on in the top of the seventh, but Alex Honnold lined out into a double play that ended the game and gave Florida its sixth SEC championship.
Following the game Gallagher, Krings, and fellow senior Jenna Laird were named to the 2024 SEC Softball All-Tournament Team.
Missouri is now 43-15 on the season and will now wait to see where it will land in the NCAA Tournament field. The national selection show will air on ESPN2, Sunday night at 6 p.m.
Most believe Mizzou will be one of the top 16 nationals seeds selected to host the first round regionals next weekend. The Tigers are also hoping their run through the SEC Tournament and dominant 43 wins and top 5 national RPI rating will earn them a top 8 seed, which would put Mizzou in position to also host a super regional should they advance past the regionals.
Missouri last hosted both the regionals and super regionals in 2021, when the Tigers were one win away from reaching the Women’s College World Series.
SCORING SUMMARY
| Logo | Team | Inning | Play Description | MIZ | FL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | FL | 2nd | M. Williams homered to left field, 3 RBI, unearned (2-2 KBBFF); Kowalewski scored, unearned; Kistler scored, unearned. | 0 | 3 |
| FL | 3rd | Wallace reached on a fielding error by 2b, RBI (3-1 BBBK); Otis scored. | 0 | 4 |
 | MIZ | 4th | Abruscato flied out to lf, SF, RBI (0-0); Crenshaw advanced to third; Gallagher scored. | 1 | 4 |
| FL | 5th | Wallace homered to center field, 2 RBI (2-1 BKB); Falby scored. | 1 | 6 |
MISSOURI TIGERS 2024 WOMEN’S SOFTBALL SCHEDULE
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 17-19, 2024 | TBA | NCAA Tournament Regionals | TBA | TBA | ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU |