COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
When the Mizzou softball team learned its postseason fate during Sunday night’s NCAA Softball Selection Show, it was hard for Tiger players, coaches and staff to contain their excitement. The team had worked towards one big goal all year: hosting an NCAA Regional. They achieved that goal along with an opportunity to also host an NCAA Super Regional, as the No. 7 national seed.
However, a little more than 300 miles northwest of Columbia, on that same Sunday night, another Tiger was celebrating a homecoming. Former MU first baseman Emma Raabe is now an assistant coach in her hometown. The Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks brought Raabe on board in July of 2023 and, in a stroke of irony, Raabe’s first postseason run with Omaha will begin at her old stomping grounds.
“When I found out we were coming to Mizzou, honestly I couldn’t have been happier,” Raabe said. “That university shaped a big part of my life. I absolutely loved my college experience, the people who were there and it really just led me into coaching initially. Knowing that that school led me into coaching and then I get to go back was something really, really special.”
Omaha is one of three teams that will stand in the way of MU hosting the program’s first NCAA Super Regional since 2021, a team that Raabe, herself, was a part of. The 2021 campaign marked the Omaha-native’s junior season. She was head coach Larissa Anderson’s primary starter at first base, starting in all but one of the 56 games she played in. Raabe had a career run during that memorable season. At the dish, she tallied 11 doubles, nine home runs and 33 RBI while batting .269 with 28 walks for an on-base-percentage of .400.
The 2021 Super Regional at the Mizzou Softball Stadium, unfortunately, did not end in the Tigers’ favor. James Madison University took the three-game series win and brought it to the Women’s College World Series.
The following season, in 2022, Raabe and a group of seven other standout seniors brought, yet another, NCAA Regional to Columbia. The team did not end up winning their regional, but carried on a streak of success. Mizzou has hosted three NCAA Regionals in just the past four years and has also made an NCAA Regional for 17-straight seasons. However, on Friday, Anderson and company will be facing one of their own.
Raabe knows the Mizzou Softball Stadium just about as good as anyone, so MU is doing its best to limit her competitive advantages.
“I texted [Larissa Anderson]—I said, ‘so who are you pitching Friday?’”, Raabe said. “She just ignored that text.”
“Yeah, nice try Emma. Yeah, we’re not that close right now,” Anderson jokingly replied.
Mizzou opens up its regional play, fittingly, against Omaha on Friday evening at 4:30 p.m. When the first pitch is thrown out, it will complete a full circle moment for a player that has special place in Coach Anderson’s heart.
“Not that I would ever want to publicly admit this, but coaches do have favorite players. Emma is one of those that always did the right thing. She was the vocal person always gave me positive and constructive feedback,” Anderson said.
Anderson and Raabe said it will likely be an emotional moment when they see each other from opposite dugouts, but there is still a game to be played. The Mizzou alum said she is excited to see her resilient Omaha group compete at her alma mater, specifically star pitcher Kamryn Meyer.
The Maverick’s right handed pitcher boasts a 24-4 record in 2024, but she really made national waves during the Summit League Tournament. Meyer set a new tournament record with 21 strikeouts in a 14-inning complete game shutout.
“She’s tough,” Anderson said. “Ironically, after that game, which I was following the entire Summit League Championship because of Emma Raabe, immediately after I saw that win I reached out to [Emma] and congratulated her. She just told me about what a gutsy performance it was. She just reached complete exhaustion at the end and just broke down in tears. One of the stories I always told our teams is that when you exhaust everything physically, mentally and emotionally to an athletic performance, you have nothing left but to cry. Emma said, ‘I witnessed it for the first time and I’m so proud of this athlete to be able to do so.’”
As a top-eight national seed, Mizzou is obviously favored to make its way out of its own regional in one piece, however, Raabe and the Mavericks will look to give the Tigers a run for their money.
“This [Omaha] group has eight seniors too and it really reminds me of my final year and knowing that they’re competing in the Columbia Regional, like I did in my final year, is like—something’s going on in the universe.”
Win or lose on Friday night, Raabe will still always be Mizzou Made.
“I’m so proud of what she’s accomplished and what she’s doing for the game,” Coach Anderson said.
First pitch between Raabe and her former team is slated for 4:30 p.m. on Friday.
