Hope Remains Alive

I will beryllium honest, friends. I thought nan play was over. I put nan chances that Mizzou Softball would beryllium capable to spell into Sunday’s crippled and get a triumph erstwhile facing nan behemoth that is Tennessee’s pitching unit astatine slim astatine best. I cognize I was not unsocial successful this assessment, and since my trusty sidekick Dylan was connected gamer work — publication his recap here — I took to twitter to stock alllll my thoughts (so galore thoughts).

So hats disconnected to nan Missouri Tigers; they sewage it done, and now nan outlook is looking overmuch rosier. Win 1 crippled successful nan SEC Tournament and you’re into NCAA Tournament and we tin prevention that uncomfortable chitchat astir what’s been going connected pinch this programme nan past fewer seasons for different day. That, and I won’t person to stock nan NCAA tourney appearances photograph of halfway section pinch a glaring spread successful it wherever nan years 2025 & 2026 should be.

“You return everything we said we needed to activity connected successful nan past games, and we bottled it up and put it together successful this game,” Mizzou caput coach Larissa Anderson said connected Saturday afternoon.

Ain’t that nan truth? They sewage bully pitching, awesome defense, and accumulation up and down nan lineup — moreover nan 7-8-9 spread produced! Against insanely bully pitching!

“That’s what they request to do,” Anderson said, erstwhile asked astir nan bottommost of nan order. “They request to walk nan bat, and you get that production. I mean, Linny Ramsey pinch a guidelines hit, Kayley Lenger astatine nan bottommost of nan lineup pinch nan sacrifice bunts. Madison Uptegrove… Even if they’re large outs, it puts unit connected nan pitcher, because now they cognize it’s not easy to move that lineup over.”

“When you spot your pitcher moving her butt off, and she was really affectional and really wanted it, you commencement to do it for each other,” Anderson said. “And that’s what I started to spot pinch nan offense, is like, let’s not springiness in.”

The champion type of nan Tigers showed up connected Saturday, and arsenic this squad has shown america passim this topsy-turvy season, erstwhile nan Tigers are astatine their best, they tin bent pinch anybody.

“We conscionable sewage to make judge we play Mizzou Softball, and you tin see, erstwhile we play Mizzou Softball, we tin hit anybody,” Anderson said. “We conscionable hit 1 of nan champion pitchers successful nan world [in Tennessee’s Karlyn Pickens]. And we person to person that intent and that attraction each azygous time.”

“Pressure is simply a privilege,” freshman two-way subordinate Abby Carr said. “I deliberation we unrecorded that. And I deliberation pinch a young squad, we’re doing our jobs and we’re trying our best, but we’re owning our roles and we’re executing.”

Let’s review.

“I said this to them successful nan locker room, for illustration we’ve been battling since March, trying to get backmost to .500 and proceed to effort to enactment supra water. And they easy could person wavered, they could person gotten discouraged, they could person fixed in, they could person packed it in. They could person quit, but they conscionable proceed to conflict and proceed to battle, and they do it for each different because they emotion 1 another, and they’re really, really proud of who they are and what they bring each azygous day,” she said. “I couldn’t beryllium much proud of them for really overmuch conflict that they have.”

Up next, Missouri, nan 11-seed, will travel face-to-face pinch a acquainted force successful Auburn, nan 14-seed, connected Tuesday astatine 12pm successful Lexington, Kentucky. Auburn and Missouri are akin sorts of teams, some utilizing ample amounts of babe Tigers successful their lineups. 38% of Mizzou’s ABs and hits travel from newbies vs. 27% ABs and 25% of hits for Auburn, per nan SEC Network commenters during their erstwhile matchup.

When asked connected Saturday really nan unit makes judge these younger players are fresh for nan SEC Tournament, HCLA said, “It’s triumph aliases spell home, and they cognize that. Yesterday [Friday], aliases 3 hours ago, we were beneath .500 and now we’re not… We can’t make nan infinitesimal bigger than what it is. We can’t say, we person to triumph this game. We get to play softball. And that needs to beryllium nan mindset connected control, nan things that we tin control. The consequence is really retired of our hands, different than our effort and our approach.”

“Try to make judge resiliency outweighs desperation, particularly pinch your backmost against nan wall. It’s triumph aliases spell location nan remainder of nan season,” she added.

In their erstwhile matchup, Mizzou (28-28, 9-15 SEC) swept Auburn (25-27, 4-20 SEC) successful precocious March, earning their first SEC expanse since 2024. Let’s reappraisal really it went nan past time.

Going into that pivotal series, co-head coach Chris Malveaux called his erstwhile squad a very hard-nosed team. “They are going to play hard,” he said. “They are very gritty. Pitching and defense are going to beryllium a very large staple for them. When you fto up, they are going to find a measurement to score. We’ve sewage to make pitches, and we’ve sewage to beryllium locked successful offensively. Their grounds is simply a small misleading. They’ve played an incredibly reliable schedule, and they tin hit anyone. We’ve sewage to show up and get aft it.”

In Game 1, it was a Battle of Harrisons, pinch Cierra (MIZ) facing disconnected against Ella (AUB) and taking nan win, 2-0. Mizzou accumulated six hits, pinch 2 apiece from Uptegrove and Carr, arsenic good arsenic 1 from Lenger, and Forrester. CC went 5 IP, allowing 3 hits (two doubles) and 2 walks to spell on pinch 4 strikeouts. Carr sounded nan remaining two, allowing conscionable 1 deed and locomotion to spell pinch 2 strikeouts.

As for nan different Harrison, she sounded a complete game, which is unsurprising fixed that pitching is nan Plains Tigers’ weakness, and allowed six hits (3 for other bases) and nary walks. Important to statement here— 5 of Mizzou’s 9 strikeouts came from Mizzou freshmen. You tin publication my recap here.

In Game 2, nan Tigers utilized a five-run first inning against Auburn starter SJ Geurin to a 6-3 win. After nan first 2 innings, Mizzou’s discourtesy went dormant, truthful nan basking commencement was needed. It was a large time for Abruscato astatine nan play, who went 3-4 pinch a HR and 2 runs scored, and nan freshmen accounted for a double, triple, walk, 3 RBI and 3 runs scored. In fact, Fania accounted for 3 of nan Tigers’ 7 hits connected nan day.

Marissa McCann allowed 2 hits (one HR) successful 3.2 innings of work, to spell pinch 3 earned runs, 5 (!) walks and 7 strikeouts. Courtney Donahue came successful in relief, pitching 3 innings and allowing conscionable 2 hits, and Carr closed things out, getting nan last retired and preserving nan win.

In Game 3, it was different matchup betwixt nan Harrisons that featured 4 lead changes, a who’s who of pitching rosters, and ultimately, a 6-4 triumph for Mizzou. Auburn struck first successful this one, taking a 1-0 lead that could person been overmuch worse arsenic CC was near to get retired of a bases-loaded jam pinch a mates of Ks. Mizzou took complete nan lead 2-1 connected a two-run changeable by Abruscato. Carr came successful in nan 3rd inning pinch 1 aboard and allowed a azygous and a walk, earlier a two-run azygous allowed Auburn to regain nan lead, 3-2, and successful nan fourth, they added different 1 disconnected yet different pitcher, Marissa McCann, to make it 4-2.

It wasn’t until nan 5th that Mizzou sewage 1 tally backmost disconnected a Hay azygous up nan mediate disconnected caller pitcher Abby Herndon that made it 4-3, earlier Carr’s two-run homer allowed Mizzou to retake nan lead, 5-4. In nan sixth, Geurin (from Game 2) was brought successful and allowed a triple to Claire Cahalan and a azygous to Addy Waits to make it 6-4, Good Tigers. McCann closed retired nan crippled to sphere nan chaotic W. You tin publication my recap here.

I would beryllium amazed if this doesn’t extremity up being different Harrison v. Harrison matchup, arsenic they are nan apical pitchers for each club, and it will apt beryllium a Sunday “Suzy All-Staff” type of day. Should things spell awry, HCLA won’t hesitate to spell pinch McCann aliases Carr. (I don’t want to spot any of nan different pitchers; sorry to them.)

As for Auburn, Ella has complete 100 strikeouts for nan season, reaching nan period people successful Game 1 of nan Tigers’ series. She’s decidedly their champion stake to support nan (Mizzou) Tigers disconnected base. Barring a crazy tally for them successful nan SEC Tourney, their play is assuredly over, and arsenic such, will beryllium looking to play nan domiciled of spoiler. There’s thing to beryllium said astir a squad that is playing pinch perfectly thing to lose.

When asked astir CC’s legacy, Anderson said, “She is 1 of nan toughest pitchers that I’ve faced, that I’ve coached, that I’ve had an opportunity to beryllium capable to coach. She conscionable courage and wills herself to get nan occupation done. She’s 5 ft two. She’s throwing precocious 60s, and she conscionable wills herself to beryllium capable to get batters out. I said successful nan successful nan headset question and reply that I would want her successful my foxhole for illustration she is specified a tough, reliable kid that will do thing for her teammates, and arsenic soon arsenic she comes retired of nan crippled for illustration she’s not reasoning astir herself and nan truth that her profession ended connected our field, and those past clip she’s going to beryllium capable to play successful beforehand of her hometown, she’s reasoning astir nan squad and winning, and she’s correct backmost up connected nan chair and cheering for everybody.”

Sounds for illustration different Team Cierra Harrison Apologist for Life if you inquire me. Welcome, Coach.

In closing, I thought this was bully statement to extremity on. When asked what’s nan astir important instruction she learned this season, Anderson said, “That my squad is really, really resilient. That they’re stronger than group think, because again, they could person packed it successful a agelong clip ago.”

Abby Hay said it best. “It’s conscionable softball astatine nan extremity of nan day… You cognize what to do.”

Live to conflict different day. Go get ‘em, Tigers.