No. 15 Softball to Kick Off Season at 2025 NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic

Friday, February 7

Clearwater, Fla.

Noon CT

University of Missouri

Marshall

Cierra Harrison_BANNER_2025_20250202_SB_Black&Gold_KE42136.JPG

No. 15 Softball to Kick Off Season at 2025 NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic

2/6/2025 7:35:00 AM | Softball

COLUMBIA, Mo. – No. 15 ranked University of Missouri softball is set to open its 2025 campaign at the NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic this weekend at the Eddie C. Moore Complex in Clearwater, Florida.

Missouri will play five games over the three-day classic. The Tigers open play on Friday against Marshall at noon, CT before facing No. 21/20 Northwestern at 3 p.m.

On Saturday, the Tigers will take on No. 7/8 Duke in a rematch of the 2024 NCAA Columbia Super Regional. First pitch is noon, CT and the game will be televised nationally on MLB Network. Bobby Allen and Olympic Gold medalist Natasha Watley will be on the broadcast.

MU will then play Notre Dame Saturday at 5 p.m., CT.

To wrap up the Classic, Missouri will take the field against Iowa on Sunday at 9 a.m., CT.

All games will be available via GameChanger, with live updates provided throughout the weekend.

Mizzou then stays in the Sunshine State, facing UCF in Orlando on Feb. 11 before the Shriners Children's Clearwater Invitational Presented by EvoShield Feb. 13-15.

2025 NFCA DIVISION I LEADOFF CLASSIC

Clearwater, Florida (Eddie. C. Moore Complex)
Tournament Schedule Page

SCHEDULE

No. 15 Missouri vs. Marshall, Friday, Feb. 7 at Noon, CT | Field 4
No. 15 Missouri vs. Northwestern, Friday, Feb. 7 at 3 p.m., CT | Field 3
No. 15 Missouri vs. No. 7/8 Duke, Saturday, Feb. 8 at 12 p.m., CT | Field 8
No. 15 Missouri vs. Notre Dame, Saturday, Feb. 8 at 5 p.m., CT | Field 3
No. 15 Missouri vs. Iowa, Sunday, Feb. 9 at a.m., CT | Field 4

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Live Stats: Marshall | Northwestern | Duke | Notre Dame | Iowa

TV: MLB Network (Duke)
Twitter: @MizzouSoftball
Notes: Missouri

SERIES HISTORY

Marshall leads the all-time series with Missouri, 1-0.
The only time the Tigers took the field with the Thundering Herd was back in 2018 in the Michele Smith Pediatric Cancer Invitational, an 8-2 win for Marshall on Feb. 17. Larissa Anderson is 0-1 against the Thundering Herd in her head coaching career.
Northwestern leads the all-time series with Missouri, 5-2. Anderson is 2-1 against the Wildcats in her career.
The last matchup between the Tigers and the Wildcats was at the 2023 NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic with Missouri defeating No. 8 Northwestern, 6-1.
Duke leads the all-time series with Mizzou, 2-1. Anderson is 1-2 against the Blue Devils in her career.
The Tigers and the Blue Devils faced off against each other in the 2024 NCAA Columbia Super Regional, as No. 10 Duke won the series in three games (2-1 Duke) May 24-26.
Missouri leads the all-time series with Notre Dame, 7-2. Anderson is 1-0 against the Fighting Irish in her career.
The Tigers opened the 2020 season against Notre Dame in the NFCA Leadoff Classic, winning 3-1, on Feb. 7.
Missouri leads the all-time series with Iowa, 19-8. Anderson is 3-0 all-time against the Hawkeyes.
MU won the doubleheader against Iowa, March 15, 2017.

LAST TIME AT THE NFCA DIVISION I LEADOFF CLASSIC

Missouri won the 2024 NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic last February (9-11), going 5-0 on the weekend.
The Tigers defeated 13/16 Utah (4-3) and NC State (13-0 in five innings) to open the weekend, then beat Liberty (10-1 in five innings) and South Alabama (6-3) before capping the tournament off with a win against 5/7 Clemson (4-1).
Head coach Larissa Anderson surpassed the 300-win mark last year in the tournament with the win against 13/16 Utah.

LARISSA ANDERSON

Head coach Larissa Anderson recently led the Tigers to a top-10 (#7) finish in 2024, an NCAA Super Regional appearance and the team's second Southeastern Conference Tournament Championship appearance in three seasons.
Anderson is currently in her seventh season at Mizzou, holding a 217-115 record.
Mizzou's 48 wins in 2024 are the most for Anderson at the helm of Missouri.
She signed an extension with Mizzou through 2028 over the fall.
She is three wins away from 350 in her collegiate coaching career (347-189-1).

PRESEASON ACCOLADES

MU is ranked #15 in both the ESPN.com/USA Softball and the NFCA/GoRout Coaches Poll to start the season.
Mizzou is the only NCAA Division I institution competing in the NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic, Shriners Children's Clearwater Invitational Presented by EvoShield and Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in 2025.
Mizzou heads into the 2025 campaign, coming off an impressive 2024 that saw the Tigers earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the 17th consecutive year (27 total regional appearances). MU made its 10th Supers appearance in program history in 2024.
The Tigers totaled 48 wins (48-14, 13-11 SEC) in 2024, their highest total in the program's SEC era and fourth most in program history. Missouri's 13 SEC wins in the 2024 campaign are the most since 15 in 2021.
The Tigers return six starters from the 2024 NCAA Super Regional team including SEC All-Defensive right fielder Kayley Lenger, NFCA All-Region first baseman Abby Hay along with catcher Julia Crenshaw and third baseman Kara Daly.
Missouri also returns the 11th best team ERA (2.03) in 2024 led by starters Cierra Harrison and Marissa McCann along with NCAA saves leader Taylor Pannell.
Missouri ranked fourth in the NCAA in 2024 with an average attendance of 2,784. In the postseason, MU had the highest home attendance of Regionals (10,016) and Super Regionals (11,608, MU record). Mizzou set single-game (4,021, vs. Duke, May 26, 2024) and single-series attendance records over the postseason weekends.

ABBY HAY

Abby Hay returns for her sophomore campaign after picking up 2024 NFCA Southeast All-Region Second Team and 2024 All-SEC Second Team honors. In the 2025 preseason she was listed as one of the top first baseman in the country by D1Softball (Jan. 16).
The Columbia, Missouri, native, appeared in 40 games in 2024 including 33 starts at first base.
She was third on Mizzou, batting .306 with 30 hits, 16 runs, four doubles, and a triple, five homers and 23 RBI. Hay also slugged .520 (.419 on-base percentage) in her debut season.
She paced the Tigers in SEC play, batting .318 with 14 hits, nine RBI, six runs and three home runs for her first career All-SEC Team honors. Hay also slugged .591 (.423 on-base percentage).

KAYLEY LENGER

Kayley Lenger returns for her junior season after earning 2024 SEC All-Defensive Team honors for her standout play in right field
Lenger appeared in 62 games with 59 starts in right during the 2024 campaign.
The outfielder posted a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in SEC play, recording 45 putouts with zero errors, and compiled an overall fielding percentage of .982.
At the plate, Lenger hit .258 with 33 hits, 31 runs, five doubles, two home runs and 12 RBI, finishing the season with a .344 slugging percentage.
She led the SEC with 22 hit-by-pitches (third in the NCAA), while also drawing 18 walks and maintaining a .435 on-base percentage.

JULIA CRENSHAW

After coming to Mizzou as a highly touted infielder, senior Julia Crenshaw has emerged as MU's starting catcher.
She made 63 starts at catcher in 2024 as a junior after making the position shift in 2023.
In 2024, the O'Fallon, Missouri, native, notched 37 hits, 30 runs, nine doubles, three home runs and 29 RBI. She also slugged .307 (.291 on-base percentage).

KARA DALY

Since her arrival in Columbia, senior Kara Daly has started in all but five games at third base for the Tigers.
Daly compiled 20 runs, 38 hits, eight doubles, seven homers, and a triple with 32 RBI in 2024. She notched a .375 slugging percentage.

CIERRA HARRISON

Cierra Harrison returns for her third season in the circle donning the Black & Gold.
The Lee's Summit, Missouri, right-hander, was listed as No. 87 in Softball America's Preseason Top 100 player list on Jan. 6, 2025, and one of the top pitchers in the country by D1Softball (Jan. 16).
Harrison compiled a 14-3 record over 2024 with a 2.05 ERA over 106.0 innings with 87 strikeouts. She posted four complete games and three shutouts with a save.
Harrison tallied her first career no-hitter against Texas A&M-Commerce (Feb. 16), finishing with eight strikeouts. She also threw a complete-game shutout against Auburn (March 9), racking up nine strikeouts.
In two seasons for Mizzou, Harrison has totaled a 22-5 record with six complete games and four shutouts.

MARISSA MCCANN

Marissa McCann recorded an 8-4 record with a 1.87 ERA over 82.1 innings as a freshman in 2024. She also notched a trio of saves.
The Surprise, Arizona, native, compiled 51 strikeouts and limited opposing batters to a .185 batting average over her debut collegiate season.
McCann was tabbed the SEC Co-Freshman of the Week (3/26), going 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA over her two appearances against No. 2/3 LSU (3/22-24). She pitched 6.2 innings, allowing just four hits and no runs.

TAYLOR PANNELL

Taylor Pannell returns for her junior season coming off a record-breaking 2024 campaign. The left-hander appeared in 30 games as Mizzou's primary closer, securing 15 saves, which matched the NCAA single-season record alongside FGCU's Taylor Bauman (2018, 36 games) and Canisius' Mallory Aldred (2008, 41 games).
With her 2024 performance, Pannell became Missouri's all-time saves leader (15), surpassing Kacey Marshall's 1994 record (12), and also set the SEC single-season saves record (14), previously held by Mississippi State's Kellie Wilkerson (2002).
She leads all active NCAA pitchers in career saves (21), with 15 in 2024 and six in 2023.
Pannell also compiled a 4-1 record over 34.2 innings pitched, posting a 1.21 ERA while striking out 35 batters and holding opponents to a .185 batting average.
In SEC play, she recorded six saves in 11 appearances finishing with a 1-1 record and a 0.49 ERA over 14.1 innings, striking out 16 batters and limiting opponents to a .143 batting average.
She secured her record-tying 15th save of the season against Duke (5/25), shutting down the Blue Devils in the final two innings with two strikeouts.

TRANSFERS

Mizzou added a trio of transfers in 2025 with infielder Taylor Ebbs, outfielder Haidyn Sokoloski and pitcher Courtney Donahue.

TAYLOR EBBS

No stranger to the SEC, Taylor Ebbs came to Mizzou after spending the past three seasons at Kentucky.
The Keizer, Oregon, native, hit a career best .311 (.364 on-base percentage, .656 slugging percentage) over 39 games in 2024 with 31 RBI. Ebbs made 27 starts and tallied eight multi-hit games.
Over her collegiate career with the Wildcats, she appeared in 146 games (119 starts), batting .272 with 90 hits, 54 runs, 19 doubles, 25 home runs and 85 RBI. Ebbs brings a left, power bat to the 2025 lineup.

HAIDYN SOKOLOSKI

Haidyn Sokoloski transferred to Mizzou after making back-to-back NCAA Women's College World Series appearances with Oklahoma State.
The Flower Mound, Texas, native slashed a career-best .333/.367/.593 over her sophomore campaign with the Cowgirls. She totaled nine hits, 10 runs, nine RBI, two doubles, one triple and a homer in 2024.
Sokoloski appeared in 69 games with eight starts over two seasons in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

COURTNEY DONAHUE

Courtney Donahue was named the 2024 TUCCI/NFCA NJCAA DII Pitcher of the Year.
The Dane, Wisconsin, native, struck out 386 batters in 2024, 103 more than the next pitcher in NJCAA DII and posted a 26-4 record with a 0.94 ERA in 186.2 innings of work as a sophomore at Des Moines Area Community College.
She also topped the Division in shutouts (12), strikeouts per seven innings (14.48), complete games (25) and WHIP (0.56), while she ranked third in victories (tie) and ERA and fifth in batting average against (.115).

FRESHMEN

Missouri signed freshmen Abbie Wilhelm (infielder), Jordyn Thurman (outfielder), Saniya Hill (third base/utility), Kadence Shepherd (infielder), Madison Uptergrove (infielder), Nevaeh Watkins (outfielder) and Sophie Smith (infielder) ahead of the 2025 season.
Madison Uptegrove and Saniya Hill were both featured on the D100 Freshman Watch List, D1Softball announced Jan. 8. Uptegrove, Hill and Watkins were also named to Softball America's Freshman Watch List (Jan. 14).

1500 PROGRAM WINS

Mizzou picked up its 1,500-win in program history in game one against Omaha on May 19 to become the 15th program in NCAA history to reach the milestone and second SEC school (Texas A&M, 1894-829-2).
Missouri is 1502-818 in program history.
Mizzou's 48 wins in 2024 ranks tied for fourth in program history and are its highest total in the program's SEC era.

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