COLUMBIA, Mo. — There was a moment in a Missouri softball preseason practice that captured the essence of a program looking to rebound with continuity from its star power while sprinkling in some youth.
Freshman pitcher Marissa McCann, Arizona’s reigning high school player of the year, was in the circle, working against All-Southeastern Conference shortstop Jenna Laird. McCann threw a backdoor curveball. And Laird, a career .353 hitter who’s seen plenty through three seasons as a starter, was stunned.
“Jenna just stepped out,†coach Larissa Anderson recalled, “and she’s like, ‘I’ve never seen movement like that.’ â€
That pitch embodied how this season will bring together a 14th-ranked recruiting class and proven, veteran contributors like Laird and All-American outfielder Alex Honnold. The Tigers are coming off a disappointing 2023 season that led to a last-place finish in the SEC with a 7-17 record in conference play and postseason elimination at the hands of No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 8 Cal.
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It was a regression from two previous years of hosting NCAA regionals and some bulletin board material for the offseason.
“Last year, we underachieved, and we didn’t reach our goals,†Anderson said. “So it’s having that little chip on your shoulder, and that determination that goes through our entire team of ‘we want to achieve more’ and relying on Alex and Jenna to be able to take us there.â€
Honnold, a senior, has been tabbed a preseason All-American by and is expected to provide Mizzou its offensive firepower once again. Last season, her productivity at the plate took a leap, leading to her finishing the season batting .396 with 14 home runs, 49 RBIs, 20 stolen bases and an on-base percentage of .539.
That OBP was fourth in the SEC and 12th in the country, part of the case of Honnold landing on the U.S. softball women’s national team for a competition in Japan. That experience contributed heavily to her offseason preparation.
“She picked up a lot of that individual discipline and understanding (that) you can’t keep doing what you’ve done in the past because everyone’s going to counterattack it,†Anderson said. “Alex, I’ve seen, is becoming a lot more versatile in handling both sides of the plate. She’s been working extremely hard on handling the inner half, and that’s probably been the weakness in her swing. She handles the outside pith really well, which is very rare for a hitter to do anyway. ... This entire preseason, we have a hard time getting her out. She’s hitting both sides. She’s always recognized change-ups well, but it’s really just becoming more of a student of the game and understanding how people are going to pitch her and her being able to counterattack that.â€
For the other half of innings, senior Laurin Krings will once again headline the pitching staff. She started 23 games last season, finishing with an ERA of 3.53, four shutouts and a no-hitter against North Texas.
Also returning is sophomore Cierra Harrison, the former Gatorade Player of the Year in Missouri, who managed a 3.19 ERA in 67.2 innings of work during her debut season as she adjusted to facing SEC-caliber hitters.
The range of the pitching staff was one of Anderson’s takeaways from the team’s intrasquad scrimmage held outdoors in front of fans over the weekend.
“What I really like is the depth that we have on the mound, in the circle and coming out of the bullpen,†she said. We have great leadership with Laurin Krings, she’s probably going to do a lot of the workload. But having Cierra Harrison and Marissa McCann behind her, seeing how they’re able to compete against our own team, I know we’re going to get a lot out them.â€
While Anderson will likely ease McCann into pitching work to help her acclimate to the college level, her preseason returns — like the surprising curveball thrown to Laird — show early upside.
“She has so many tools, and that’s really exciting,†Anderson said. “She’s got great movement, unbelievable swing-and-miss movement. She can throw the ball up, she can throw the ball in, she’s got a screwball that I haven’t seen for quite a while at that level and she’s got a curveball that’s a different velocity. Every pitch she throws is a different speed.â€
Mizzou gets its first test of the 2024 season Friday, when it faces No. 13/16 Utah and North Carolina State in a doubleheader to begin the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Florida. The Tigers will also face Liberty, South Alabama and No. 5/7 Clemson during their opening weekend trip.
It’ll be a fast start for the freshmen and a chance to settle into the familiar for the veterans — the duality at the core of this year’s team.
“It is great to have your highest offensive producers be able to return because then you’re not trying to rebuild the lineup. We have the core of our lineup returning, and now it’s just fitting the other pieces into play,†Anderson said. “The consistency is that culture piece, that leadership piece. Alex and Jenna really lead the entire team, and they lead by example. They’ve been four-year starters. They’ve been very consistent in their performance. They know what it takes to play at the highest level. They know what you need to do as a team to be in the regionals and super regionals, so then it’s guiding those younger players to get them understanding the same level of expectations.â€