No. 14/15 Softball Takes Series Opener on No. 9 Florida Friday

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The No. 14/15 University of Missouri softball team (32-10, 6-7 SEC) pulled off the comeback victory over No. 9 Florida (34-8, 9-4 SEC), 6-3, Friday evening in game one of the weekend series at Mizzou Softball Stadium.

Although the Tigers were held hitless through five innings, a myriad of walks and hit batters kept MU within striking distance throughout Friday’s opener.

Trailing 3-2, Mizzou pulled off the comeback victory in the sixth thanks to some timely hitting. Stefania Abruscato registered the first hit of the evening, with a single to put the Tigers on the corners with one out.

Kayley Lenger followed with an RBI single to knot the contest at 3-3 before Mizzou added some insurance runs.

Jenna Laird then loaded the bases with a walk before Alex Honnold was hit by a pitch for a 4-3 advantage.

Senior Maddie Gallagher capped the four-run inning with a two-run single for a 6-3 lead heading into the seventh.

Marissa McCann closed the door on Florida, allowing just one hit over the final three innings. She registered three strikeouts for her seventh win of the season (7-2).

McCann retired the first eight batters she faced Friday before letting up a two-out double in the seventh.

Florida struck early Friday with a Korbe Otis RBI single in the first. The Gators extended their lead to 2-0 with a solo home run from Ava Brown in the second.

Missouri stormed back as Lenger was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Senior Jenna Laird followed with a sacrifice fly, which scored Abruscato, tying the game at 2-2 in the second.

The tie would not last long as Walsh hit an RBI single for a 3-2 Florida lead.

Senior Laurin Krings went four innings, allowing three runs on six hits for the no decision. She notched a trio of strikeouts and is now sixth all-time in Missouri program history with 535.

GAME NOTES

• Stefania Abruscato, Kayley Lenger and Maddie Gallagher led Mizzou Friday, each tallying a hit.
• Kayley Lenger went 1-for-1 with a career-best two RBI, a run and two HBP.
• Kayley Lenger now ranks first in the SEC with 15 HBP in 2024 and is tied for fifth in the NCAA for the category.  
• Kayley Lenger extended her reached base streak to 10 games.
• Maddie Gallagher finished 1-for-3 with two RBI and a walk. She has now posted a hit in four-straight games.
• Maddie Gallagher now leads Mizzou in 2024 with eight multi-RBI games.
• Jenna Laird extended her reached base streak to 16 games with a walk.
• Abby Hay logged her seventh start in a row and her ninth of the season.
• Abby Hay is currently on a nine-game reached base streak.
• Marissa McCann closed the door on Florida, allowing just one hit over the final three innings. She registered three strikeouts for her seventh win of the season (7-2, third SEC win).
• Laurin Krings moves to sixth in Mizzou program history with 535 career strikeouts.
• Senior Laurin Krings went four innings, allowing three runs on six hits for the no decision.
• Mizzou was hit by four pitches which is the second highest amount this season. The Tigers lead the SEC with 59 in 2024.
• Missouri picked up its eighth top-25 ranked win of the season Friday.
• Missouri earned its second win of the season while trailing after four innings (2-7) and fourth win of the season after trailing after five innings (4-7).
• Mizzou advances their all-time series record against Florida to 7-17.
• Head coach Larissa Anderson is now 3-6 against the Gators in her career.

LOOKING AHEAD 

• The Tigers continue their series against Florida Saturday at 12:30 p.m., CT. at the Mizzou Softball Stadium. The game will be broadcasted 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).