University of Missouri
17/13 Alabama
Softball to Face No. 17/13 Alabama in Weekend Home Series
3/30/2023 3:04:00 PM | Softball
COLUMBIA, Mo. – The University of Missouri softball program (21-14, 1-8 SEC) continues conference play this weekend with a home series against No. 17/13 Alabama (24-10, 2-4 SEC). The series will open Friday at 6 p.m., CT at the Mizzou Softball Stadium before a 5 p.m. Saturday contest and a 1 p.m. Sunday finale.
Friday and Sunday's games will be on SEC Network+ with Nate Gatter and Noah Reed on the call. Saturday will be on SEC Network with Mike Couzens and Kayla Braud on the linear broadcast.
Missouri will recognize its 1983 Women's College World Series Team on Friday followed by recognition of all Mizzou Softball Alumni prior to Saturday's game.
Former Missouri head coach Joyce Compton and former Tigers pitcher Chelsea Thomas will throw out the ceremonial first pitch Friday and Saturday this weekend.
Friday of the Alabama series, fans will receive Girl Power t-shirts and claw clips, while supplies last. Saturday, fans can receive a fanny pack, while supplies last, and Sunday is Family Funday Sunday with a postgame egg hunt, autographs and running of the bases.
This weekend marks Missouri's second SEC home series of the 2023 campaign with the Tigers last hosting an SEC home series March 10-12 against then No. 16/16 Kentucky.
Missouri ranks second in the SEC with a .981 fielding percentage (eighth in the NCAA). The Tigers are also second for stolen bases (70, 23rd in the NCAA) and triples (0.29 triples/game).
Missouri (21-14, 1-8 SEC)
vs. Alabama (24-10, 2-4 SEC)
Date: March 31-April 2, 2023
Venue: Mizzou Softball Stadium
Location: Columbia, Mo.
Game Times: 6 p.m., CT Friday | 5 p.m., CT Saturday | 1 p.m., CT Sunday
All-Time Series: Alabama leads the all-time series, 17-10, 2-2 in 2022
Last Meetings: Missouri 3, No. 5/7 Alabama 0 | 2022 SEC Tournament | Gainesville, Fla. | May 12, 2022
No. 6/8 Alabama 3, Missouri 1 | May 8, 2022 | Tuscaloosa, Ala.
No. 6/8 Alabama 3, Missouri 1 | May 7, 2022 | Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Missouri 3, No. 6/8 Alabama 2 – 8 Innings | May 6, 2022 | Tuscaloosa, Ala.
FOLLOW THE TIGERS
Live Video: SEC Network+ Friday | SEC Network Saturday | SEC Network+ Sunday
Live Stats: Friday | Saturday | Sunday
Twitter: @MizzouSoftball
Series History
- Alabama leads the all-time series, 17-10.
- Alabama and Missouri went 2-2 in 2022.
- The two teams last met in the second round of the 2022 SEC Tournament on May 12, 2022, with Mizzou prevailing 3-0.
- Laurin Krings tossed seven shutout innings to lead No. 24/22 Missouri past No. 5/7 Alabama, 3-0, in the SEC Tournament Quarterfinals. The Tigers' three runs in the top of the sixth were all that they needed.
- Jenna Laird was 2-for-4 with a run while Kara Daly added a hit and a RBI.
- The Crimson Tide took the regular-season series, 2-1, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
- Missouri grabbed the opener, May 6, 2022, 3-2, in eight innings.
- Jordan Weber pitched an eight-inning gem, allowing just two runs on five hits with seven Ks.
- Jenna Laird scored the game-winning run on a RBI walk to Kendyll Bailey.
- Head coach Larissa Anderson is 2-5 in her career against Alabama.
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.
Last SEC Series
Missouri dropped its weekend SEC series at Auburn March 25-27.
Jordan Weber registered a season high seven strikeouts. She allowed four runs on four hits in the opener on March 25.
Laurin Krings registered a 1.08 ERA over her two appearances in Auburn. Krings notched 12 strikeouts including seven in the series finale. She has now tallied five or more strikeouts eight times in 2023 including eight of her last nine starts.
Right fielder Payton Jackson and second base Maddie Gallagher led the Tigers with .333 marks over the series. Gallagher hit her first career double as a Tiger this past weekend in Auburn, Alabama.
Jackson, a junior from Missouri City, Texas, belted her first career home run at Mizzou in the finale.
Chantice Phillips also added a pair of hits including a double in the series.
It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's PJ
Payton Jackson led the Tigers this past week, batting .375 with a double, home run and two RBI. She also notched a .875 slugging percentage.
Jackson, a Texas Tech transfer, has made 20 starts in 2023 including each of the last five games in right.
On the Daly
Kara Daly drove in four runs for her seventh multi-RBI contest of the campaign March 22 against Drake. She is tied with Jenna Laird and Alex Honnold for the most on the team. It also was her fourth game with at least four RBI, tops among Tigers. Daly notched a pair of hits (double and home run), marking her seventh multi-hit game of 2023.
Daly, a sophomore third base from Jefferson City, Missouri, has knocked seven home runs, 30 RBI and is slugging .570 (second on Missouri).
AL PAL
Alex Honnold is second in the SEC (18th in the NCAA) this season with a .458 batting average.
She most recently knocked a two-run homer to left for her eighth of the season in the midweek against Northern Iowa Wednesday. 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. In the SEC, Honnold is third for on base percentage (.578, 11th in the NCAA) and fifth for slugging percentage (.880, 12th in the NCAA).
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 7-7 mark, throwing six complete games over 83.2 innings. She has registered 70 strikeouts (12th in the SEC) and has an ERA of 2.34.
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 eight times in 2023 including eight of her last nine starts.
Krings is 23 strikeouts away from 400 in her career as a Tiger. She ranks 10th all-time in program history with 377.
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 6-5 this season with a 3.58 ERA to go with 41 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 3.79 ERA over 22.1 innings (12 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.
Our Leadoff Hitter
Jenna Laird has reached base in all but two games this season (33 of 35) including each of the last three.
The junior shortstop is second on Mizzou in 2023 with a .393 (13th in the SEC) mark at the dish. The East Meadow, New York, native, is also third in the SEC (17th in the NCAA) with 44 hits this season.
She has compiled a .953 OPS 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 23 stolen bases (0.65 stolen bases/game, second in the SEC).
In the SEC, Laird paces the Tigers with a .370 batting average and a .485 on-base percentage.
Gallagher Honored on SportsCenter Top 10 Plays
Maddie Gallagher was featured on SportsCenter's Top 10 on March 15 for her diving catch in foul territory in game two of the doubleheader with Illinois. Her catch was selected No. 4 in the compilation of Top 10 plays.
Addie Lange's Journey to Missouri
Redshirt junior catcher Addie Lange has had quite the journey to Mizzou. The Gallatin, Tennessee, native, dreamt of playing for the Tigers and transferred to Missouri after earning 2021 NJCAA First Team All-American honors at Vol State.
Read her full journey in the Gallatin News article.
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 weekend home series, Missouri will next head to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for a road series against No. 14/12 LSU April 6-8.
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.
