Mizzou softball prepares for final tournament before SEC play
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The No. 24 Mizzou softball team will hit the road for a weekend tournament one last time before conference action begins on March 10.
The Tigers are 12-4 to start the season. Head coach Larissa Anderson and company have travelled quite a bit in the first few weeks, hitting tournaments in Florida, California and one more in Oklahoma this weekend.
MU has already played three top-25 opponents to start the season and the group will meet one more in the Tulsa Invitational, as No. 3 Oklahoma State is on the schedule. Anderson said she likes to stack a tough start to the year for her team, so they adapt quickly.
"It's developing that away from home routine because we know the SEC Tournament is on the road. We have to play four different SEC opponents on the road and when you develop that comfort and security of being on the road and the routine and then meals and the hotel and sleeping in a different bed, you're comfortable when you're put in that situation down the stretch of the season," she said. "We like playing those first two weeks on the road, so we're away for 10 days, which is what it's like postseason."
Mizzou went 3-2 in the Mary Nutter Cathedral City Classic over the weekend. The group beat BYU, Cal Poly and Long Beach State, but fell to No. 22 Oregon and Oregon State. Anderson said it was a good experience for her girls.
"It was great for us to play in some really tight games," she said. "I think the Oregon State and the Oregon game both were unbelievable outings, I think both offensively and defensively. But I think the biggest thing is we haven't been in that situation yet, in that tight of a game with those consequences and the pressure and the feeling and understanding that every pitch matters."
Anderson added that since she graduated a large group of seniors at the end of 2022 this will be a season for the players who may have once stood in the background to step up and make their own name.
She said multiple younger names have impressed her so far this season.
"[Julia] Crenshaw is at the top. With someone who came in and was a role player last year and is playing a new position, you're gonna see her behind the plate moving forward too a little bit, that's really tough to do at this level," Anderson said. "I have to mention Maddie Snider. We were down two outfielders this past couple weekends with some injuries and Maddie Snider stepped into that role in left field and has been tremendous in the nine-hole."
Up next - Mizzou will meet Maine, No. 3 Oklahoma State and Tulsa in the Tulsa Invitational, beginning on Friday, March 3.
