University of Missouri
4-1
Iowa
2-3
No. 15 Softball Edges Iowa to Conclude NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic
2/9/2025 3:11:00 PM | Softball
CLEARWATER, Fla. – No. 15 ranked University of Missouri softball wrapped the 2025 NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic with a 3-2 win over Iowa Sunday at the Eddie C. Moore Complex.
With the win, MU improved to 4-1 in 2025 while Iowa dropped to 2-3 following the opening weekend.
Sophomore Stefania Abruscato was named to the 2025 NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic all-tournament team after she paced Mizzou at the plate, batting .438 with four runs, two doubles, a homer and four RBI. The Smithtown, New York, native, finished the tournament 1-for-4 against Iowa with a double.
Sunday against Iowa, the Tigers rallied in the bottom of the seventh trailing 2-1.
Julia Crenshaw drew a leadoff walk to commence the final inning before stealing second. The Tigers then had two aboard following an Abby Hay two-out walk.
Mya Dodge reached on an error by the Hawkeyes pitcher to plate Crenshaw and tie the game at 2-2.
Danielle Blackstun, who was pinch running for Hay, then touched home on a wild pitch for the walk-off Tigers win.
Iowa took an early lead in the second off a MU error.
Hay then blasted her first homer of the season to knot the game at 1-1 in the fifth. She finished 1-for-1 with a career-high three walks.
The Hawkeyes retook the lead on a sacrifice fly in the seventh before MU completed the comeback.
Kara Daly (1-for-1, walk), Sophie Smith (1-for-1) and Claire Cahalan (1-for-3) each added hits in the win.
Taylor Pannell (1-1) earned her first win of the season, pitching the final two outs of the seventh, allowing just a hit with a strikeout.
Nathalie Touchet made her first appearance of the season Sunday, pitching 2.1 innings in relief of starter Marissa McCann. Touchet, a sophomore from Aledo, Texas, notched her first career strikeout at Mizzou while allowing just two hits (one run, zero earned runs) and two walks.
McCann pitched the opening four innings, allowing one run on three hits with three strikeouts and two walks.
GAME NOTES
- Stefania Abruscato is currently on a five-game hitting streak to start the 2025 campaign. She is hitting .438 with four RBI.
- For Stefania Abruscato, the all-tournament team is the first in her career at Missouri.
- Abby Hay has reached base safely in all five games this season while Claire Cahalan has reached based in four-straight games.
NEXT UP
- Mizzou will next head to Orlando for a midweek against UCF on Feb. 11. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with a 5 p.m., CT first pitch.
FOLLOW THE TIGERS
- For all the latest on Mizzou Softball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team @MizzouSoftball (X, Instagram, Facebook).
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Pannell, Taylor (1-1)
L: Jalen Adams (2-1)
Batting:
RBI: Jena Young 1
SF: Jena Young 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Echo Mattiello 1 ; Brianna Johnson 1
SB: Devin Simon 1
HBP: Tory Bennett 1
Batting:
2B: Abruscato, Stefania 1 ; Daly, Kara 1
HR: Hay, Abby 1
RBI: Hay, Abby 1
SH: Uptegrove, Madison 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Crenshaw, Julia 1 ; Hay, Abby 1 ; Blackstun, Danielle 1
SB: Crenshaw, Julia 1 ; Cahalan, Claire 1
HBP: Ebbs, Taylor 1
