No. 15/16 Softball Secures Series-Opening Win Over No. 2/3 LSU

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The No. 15/16 University of Missouri softball team (24-6, 3-4 SEC) secured a 10-9 series-opening victory over No. 2/3 LSU (24-3, 4-3 SEC) Friday at Mizzou Softball Stadium.

Senior outfielder Alex Honnold hit two doubles for Mizzou, marking her second multi-double game of the season and the fourth of her career. Honnold ranks seventh in Mizzou program history for doubles (44) and remains on top for doubles in the SEC, with 15 this season.

She finished Friday 2-for-4 with four RBI and two runs.

With the contest tied 9-9 in the sixth, freshman Madison Walker provided the go-ahead run with an RBI single to right.

LSU jumped out to an early 3-0 advantage in the first, scoring on a pair of RBI doubles from Raeleen Gutierrez (2 RBI) and Kelley Lynch.

Missouri responded in the bottom half of the inning, evening the contest at 3-3. Honnold drove in the Tigers leadoff batter Jenna Laird with a double. Laird reached on a drop third strike passed ball. Kara Daly added an RBI double to score Honnold before Katie Chester knotted the game on a base hit. 

Mizzou then extended its advantage to 7-3 with a four-run second. Honnold notched a bases clearing double, her second of the day, to widen the gap to 6-3. Julia Crenshaw chipped in an RBI sacrifice fly.

LSU then utilized six runs over the third and fourth frames to pull ahead, 9-7. Gutierrez punctuated the scoring with a two-run homer in the fourth. 

Mizzou then fought back in the contest with a two-run fourth. Crenshaw blasted her second homer of the campaign to open the inning before Chester retied the contest on a base hit, scoring Daly to set the stage for Walker’s game-winning RBI. 

Senior pitcher Laurin Krings started the game for the Tigers, allowing seven earned runs on nine hits with a trio of strikeouts over 3.1 innings before being relieved for freshman Marissa McCann. 

McCann picked up her first career SEC win, pitching 2.2 scoreless innings with a strikeout. She surrendered just one hit for the victory.

Sophomore Taylor Pannell tallied her fifth save of the campaign, shutting out the seventh with a strikeout. 

NOTES

• Alex Honnold notched a pair of doubles and now has 15 this season. She ranks seventh in Mizzou program history with 44 career doubles.

• Alex Honnold posted her second multi-double game of the season and the fourth of her career. She last notched two doubles against Central Florida on Feb. 23, 2024.

• Alex Honnold finished Friday 2-for-4 with a season-best four RBI, two runs and a stolen base. 

• Kara Daly extended her reached streak to seven games with a double. She finished 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. 

• Kara Daly picked up her fourth multi-hit game of the season.

• Katie Chester knocked her fourth multi-hit game of the season, finishing the game 2-for-2 with two RBI. She ranks second on the team with six multi-RBI games. 

• Julia Crenshaw notched her fourth sacrifice fly of the season, which ranks fourth in the SEC.

• Julia Crenshaw picked up her second home run of the season in the fourth inning.

• Taylor Pannell came in and closed the door in the seventh, picking up her fifth save of the season.
• Marissa McCann helped the Tigers in the circle, pitching 2.2 scoreless innings with a strikeout picking up her third win of the season. She allowed just one hit and four walks. It also marked her first career SEC win. 
• Jenna Laird, Alex Honnold and Kara Daly each scored two runs in the game. 
• Madison Walker extended her reach base streak to five games with the go-ahead RBI base hit.  
• Jenna Laird and Alex Honnold have each reached base in each of the last four games. 
• Jenna Laird earned a pair of walks to go with two runs and a hit. 
• Mizzou notched four doubles in a game for the first time since March 5, 2023, at Tulsa. 
• With the victory, Missouri moves to 12-18 all time against LSU.
• Head coach Larissa Anderson moved to a 4-6 career-record against LSU. 

LOOKING AHEAD  

• Mizzou continues its weekend series against No. 2/3 LSU Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Mizzou Softball Stadium. The game will be available on SEC Network+.

FOLLOW THE TIGERS

• For all the latest on Mizzou Softball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team @MizzouSoftball (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook).