COLUMBIA, Mo. — The premise was a battle of the aces: two ranked Southeastern Conference softball teams opening up league play with a focus on the pitchers.
In No. 12 Missouri’s home opener, it faced No. 25 Auburn’s Maddie Penta, one of the nation’s best pitchers, who entered the game with a 0.60 ERA, 86 strikeouts and 58 innings and just three home runs allowed all season — plus a streak of four consecutive shutouts that included a Feb. 29 perfect game.
By her standards, Mizzou rocked her. The black-and-gold Tigers put the most homers, hits and earned runs past Penta of any team yet this year. And MU pitcher Laurin Krings continued to consistently fan batters for her sixth complete game and eighth win — a 5-2 victory for MU.
At 19-2 and with an SEC win already under its belt, Missouri is continuing its best start to a season since 2013.
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Catcher Julia Crenshaw was the hosts’ most productive hitter, going 2-for-3 with a double and three-run home run.
“We focused on hunting one pitch to eliminate,†Crenshaw said. “(Penta) has a really good drop, really good rise, and then a changeup — so just hunting one pitch, picking it out and not missing it.â€
Krings pitched all seven innings, finishing with two earned runs, two walks, two allowed hits and nine strikeouts.
“Just trusting my movement, honestly,†she said of what was effective against Auburn.
While many college teams based farther south have already been able to play at home, MU spent its first 20 games away from Columbia, getting a new experience by playing within friendly confines.
“The excitement for SEC play to start, like you can’t replicate how you feel right here,†Krings said. “The adrenaline, the atmosphere, the fans, the team, you can’t replicate that.â€
She needed a plate appearance to settle in, throwing four straight balls to walk Auburn’s lead-off hitter. A sacrifice bunt and ground ball to short brought that runner around to third base, but Krings dialed in to strike out the visitors’ cleanup hitter and escape the inning.
Missouri’s offense was quicker to get going. Centerfielder Alex Honnold beat a play at first following a bobbled grounder. Then the hammer dropped: Cleanup hitter Kara Daly took a breaking ball deep into the left field berm, a two-run shot that was her third home run of the season.
The hosts were a millisecond away from loading the bases with two outs in the bottom of the second inning. Back-to-back singles to left field from the bottom of the order set up lead-off hitter Jenna Laird, who was initially given an infield single — only for the hit to be overturned by video review, ending the inning.
Krings secured her 500th career strikeout on the first hitter she faced in the top of the third. She also knocked down a line drive and made a throw to first for the second out to set up another 1-2-3 inning.
“When I throw, I don’t try to think about any of that,†Krings said of the milestone, which briefly paused the game so her teammates could celebrate. “But Coach did tell me last weekend I was pretty close ... it’s just pretty cool.â€
In the bottom of the third, Crenshaw sent her double narrowly along the third-base line and reached third off a passed ball, where she was stranded.
Auburn leveled the score in the fourth inning off a handful of Mizzou miscues. A walked runner moved to third off a stolen base and error charged to Crenshaw. Infielder Amelia Lech doubled to left center to bring home that run, then a pinch runner finished her trip around the basepaths on the next at-bat for two quick runs. A pair of fly balls stopped the bleeding.
A 1-2-3 inning didn’t produce any response from MU — but a two-strikeout inning by Krings kept Auburn in check.
Mizzou’s rebuttal came in the bottom of the fifth inning via the top of its order. Leadoff hitter Jenna Laird singled up the middle, Honnold took a pitch to the shoulder and, with runners on the corners, Crenshaw smacked her first home run of the season over the left field fence — a three-run shot that landed in close proximity to where Daly’s first-inning blast had gone.
Kept in the game for the final inning, Krings knocked out Auburn’s fifth, sixth and seventh hitters in order – her fifth 1-2-3 inning of the game. Her final three innings of the game were perfect.
Missouri and Auburn will play a three-game series across the rest of the weekend.