Mizzou Morning Matters
5/31/2024 9:10:00 AM | General
One last look back at Mizzou softball's memorable postseason run.
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Hopefully, your blood pressure returned to normal after six Mizzou softball elimination games over eight days in Columbia. The final result didn't fulfill the Tigers' hopes and expectations, but someday all those who were part of the record crowds at Mizzou Softball Stadium will appreciate what unfolded on the field, short of advancing to the program's seventh Women's College World Series.
From Laurin Krings' epic nine-inning, 15-strikeout regional clincher against Omaha to Abby Hay's clutch three-run homer to keep hope alive against Duke, the Tigers put on a show in the final throes of a season that few outside Boone County expected. (Remember, the Tigers were picked 11th by the Southeastern Conference coaches in the preseason conference poll and came a few plays within reaching Oklahoma City.)
Two things I'll take away from the past two weekends at Mizzou Softball Stadium — and I'm not talking about my sunburn or a serious case of cicada fatigue:
1. We witnessed one of the most remarkable stretches by a Mizzou student-athlete in 2023-24 — perhaps in the entire SEC era. Krings embraced the role as Larissa Anderson's workhorse pitcher and delivered far more often than not, pitching a combined 42 1/3 innings over seven NCAA postseason games. Over the eight-day span, Krings threw 611 pitches.
"We couldn't be here at this game right now if it weren't for her," shortstop Jenna Laird said after the seniors' final college game. "Just knowing that I'm behind her watching her pitch her butt off every single day, that's just something that I would live and die for. … She did everything for us. She's Mizzou. You look at her and I'm gonna always think of her as one of my best teammates, my pitcher."
Krings closed her Mizzou career ranked in the top 10 of four major categories among Mizzou all-time leaders: 599 strikeouts (No. 6), 136 appearances (No. 8), 604 2/3 inning pitched (No. 9) and 57 wins (No. 10).
2. There's something to be said about roster longevity in the age of the transfer portal and the core of this team defied the current trends. Yes, there was some offseason roster attrition, but three of the five seniors — Krings, Laird and center fielder Alex Honnold — combined for 561 games played for the Tigers and 511 starts.
"I'm gonna include (Maddie) Gallagher in this because I've known her since she was 9 and she probably should have signed with Mizzou from day one," Anderson said Sunday. "They were here for four years. When you look at college athletics right now, how many impact seniors are at the same institution for four years? At this level? Very, very few. And that's really what we want to instill here. We want people who want to be a part of this program that are here for the right reasons, that are loyal, that are committed, that are hardworking. And I will do absolutely anything for them because I can trust them. And if I can't trust the players that are within our program, then they're here for the wrong reasons."
One last note on Laird: The four-year starting shortstop cemented a career that will go down as one of the all-time best in program history. Here's where Laird finished her career among Mizzou all-time leaders:
Runs: 200, No. 4
Hits: 279, No. 3
Doubles: 50, No. 5 (tied with Honnold)
At-bats: 794, No. 2
Steals: 84, No. 6
Batting average: .351, No. 9
"MIZZOU STORYTELLERS"
In this week's episode of "Mizzou Storytellers," we invited gymnastics coach Shannon Welker into the studio to talk about his roots in suburban St. Louis, his Hall of Fame collegiate career and how his love for the sport pulled him into coaching. Shannon reflects on the Missouri gymnastics program's growth under his watch in the last 12 years and his heightened expectations for 2024-25 and beyond.
Stay tuned for a special "Mizzou Storytellers" next week you won't want to miss.
FOOTBALL SCHEDULE UPDATE
If you missed the news Thursday, we now know the first three football kickoff times for this fall:
Aug. 29 vs. Murray State, 7 p.m., SEC Network
Sept. 7 vs. Buffalo, 6 p.m., ESPN+/SEC Network+
Sept. 14 vs. Boston College, 11:45 a.m., SEC Network
As for the rest of the schedule, under the SEC's new ESPN/ABC agreement, we'll have much sooner notice on what time of day games will kick off this season. On June 11, the SEC will announce the start windows for all conference-controlled football games for the upcoming season. The windows the league will announce in June will look like this: 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. CT, 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. CT, 5 to 7 p.m. CT. The exact kickoff times will be announced within 12 days of the games, but knowing the approximate windows in June allows fans to plan their travel well in advance.
With every SEC-controlled game on the ABC/ESPN family platform, (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network and ESPN+/SECN+), the networks have schedule flexibility with the SEC's best games. The ABC 2:30 p.m. CT game will now be home for an SEC matchup, replacing the former CBS 2:30 p.m. spot, but that late afternoon ABC window won't necessarily feature the SEC's top matchup each week. Also, games on SEC Network this season will now kick off at 11:45 a.m. CT, 3:15 p.m. CT and 6:45 p.m. CT.
FOUR TO T/F CHAMPIONSHIPS
The 2023-24 college sports season is complete at Mizzou for all but four athletes. Next week, four Tigers will compete at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon, after posting qualifying marks at the recent NCAA West First Round Championships at Arkansas. Skylar Ciccolini was the first to punch her ticket to Eugene, taking 11th in the javelin with a throw of 51.35 meters. Mitchell Weber extended his decorated career with a fifth-place finish in the discus with a throw of 59.23 meters. Freshman Sterling Scott continued his impressive debut season with a personal-best triple jump (15.77 meters), good for 11th place at Arkansas. Kelsey Schweizer finished the 800 meters with a career-best time (2:03.84) to take 10th. The action in Eugene begins Wednesday.
HALL OF FAME CLASS
In case you missed it last week, the 2024 class for the University of Missouri Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame is a doozie. The 34th HOF class will be formally enshrined on Friday, Sept. 20 — the night before Mizzou football hosts Vanderbilt.
As a Hall of Fame voter, I can tell you this year's class was loaded with strong nominees, including several worthy Tigers who fell just short of the final cut. I shared thoughts on the 2024 class on X last week, but just to revisit quickly …
All-American tight end Martin Rucker was one of the true pillars of Gary Pinkel's program during its initial rise in the early 2000s. "T-Ruck" embodied the program's emphasis on in-state recruiting, player development and unselfishness — and just might have been THE best leader of the Pinkel years.
There was some debate whether to list Wayne and Susan Kreklow as individual nominees, but in the end, it's impossible to separate their contributions to Mizzou volleyball. Still the only coaches to lead Mizzou to an SEC team championship — in 2013 and 2016 — the Kreklows built a powerhouse program that proved Mizzou could immediately step into the SEC and compete for hardware.
You know your track program has a strong tradition for throwers when not one but two make the Hall of Fame in the same year. That's the case for Krishna Lee and Chris Rohr, who between their stellar careers earned 18 all-conference honors, nine All-American honors and broke multiple team records, several that still stand today.
I was initially surprised Big 12 champion golfer Amelia Moses wasn't already in the Hall of Fame when she appeared on the ballot this year. Moses won the 2000 Big 12 championship and nearly repeated the next year but lost in a one-hole playoff. She's the only Mizzou golfer to win an individual conference title — men or women — and became the first African-American female golfer to win a conference championship in the combined history of the Big Eight, Big 12 and Southwest Conferences.
Finally, it will be a bittersweet induction for former football great Bill Whitaker, who died unexpectedly in 2022 at age 63. The All-Big Eight and All-American defensive back once held Mizzou's single-game, single-season and career records for interceptions: three, six and 14, respectively. He joins the Hall of Fame along with his older brother, former defensive back Jim Whitaker, who was inducted in 2000.
TIGER TRIVIA
1. Five former Tigers share the single-game record with three interceptions in a game. (There's something especially unique about one of the five.) How many of the five can you name?
2. Only two Mizzou softball players had more hits in their career than Laird's 279. Can you name them?
TIGERS ON THE ROAD
As the school year came to a close, a handful of Mizzou student-athletes took part in special trips around the country — and in one case, around the globe. Eleven members of the football program joined forces on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic. Making the trip were kicker Blake Craig, defensive backs Caleb Flagg and Gerald Lacy, linebacker Corey Flagg, punter Orion Phillips, tight end Tyler Stephens and defensive linemen Marquis Gracial, Jahkai Lang, Chris McClellan, Joe Moore and Kristian Williams, plus staffers Atiyyah Ellison, Chandler Campbell and Keyan Williams.
This incredible video captured their experience in the DR:
Student-athletes across the SEC were invited to apply for NASA's Micro-Internship, a second-year program May 20-24 at the Kennedy Space Center in Orlando. Seven athletes were chosen among a field of 38 applicants — with three coming from Mizzou: volleyball's Marina Crownover, soccer's Leah Selm and football's Jack Meyer.
This week three of our student-athletes are participating in the NASA Volunteer Program for engineering and business in Orlando, Florida.
— Mizzou Athletics (@MizzouAthletics) May 23, 2024
Thanks to @NASA for coordinating this opportunity! #MIZ?? pic.twitter.com/lXYK6DaNps
Six Mizzou athletes across five sports attended the annual Black Student-Athlete Summit in Los Angeles across four days on the campus of the University of Southern California. Representing Mizzou were volleyball's Colleen Finney and Naomi Franco; gymnastics' Hannah Horton; women's basketball's Angelique Ngalakulondi; football's Daniel Blood; and men's basketball's Anthony Robinson II. Featured speakers included former NBA All-Star and entrepreneur Baron Davis; ESPN's Chiney Ogwumike; and Olympic track star and Teahna Daniels.
TIGER TRIVIA
1. Roger Wehrli vs. Oklahoma State (Nov. 2, 1968); Eric Wright vs. San Diego State (Sept. 8, 1979); Bill Whitaker vs. San Diego State, (Sept. 8, 1979); Bill Whitaker at San Diego State (Sept. 27, 1980); Clayton Baker vs. North Texas (Sept. 2, 1995); R.J. Jones vs. Troy (Sept. 28, 2002). Yes, that's correct, Whitaker picked off three passes against San Diego State TWICE! And in that 1979 game, Wright and Whitaker combined for six of the seven picks San Diego State's Mark Halda threw that day.
2. Rhea Taylor (315) and Brooke Wilmes (286).
GET YOUR 2024 SEASON TICKETS NOW
Mizzou opens the 2024 football season Aug. 29 against Murray State at Memorial Stadium. The Tigers also host home games against Southeastern Conference opponents Vanderbilt, Auburn, Oklahoma and Arkansas, plus nonconference contests against Buffalo and Boston College. Purchase your 2024 season tickets now by calling 1-800-CAT-PAWS or buying online.
Those interested in learning how to support Mizzou Athletics can contact the Tiger Scholarship Fund Office at 573-882-0704 and visit www.tsfmizzou.com.
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For all the latest information on Mizzou Athletics, please visit MUTigers.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Tigers on X, Instagram and Facebook.
