Mizzou softball looks to keep momentum rolling with trip to Nebraska
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Mizzou softball team is off to its best start to a season in quite some time. The Tigers are a Top-15 team, sitting a 13-2 overall.
Head coach Larissa Anderson and company just got back to Columbia from the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic out in California, on Sunday. Anderson said the next few days will be a good reset for her players, as the time change with the four-day trip out west was pretty grueling.
MU is not in action again until Saturday, March 2 in the Big Red Invitational in Lincoln, Neb., so Coach Anderson said her players will spend some time recovering until then. They will also prepare for two tough opponents in the Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Wichita State Shockers, as well.
"Two very, very well-coached, seasoned teams, so that's gonna be real exciting," Anderson said. "Both had extremely successful weekends."
You can watch the full press conference with Anderson in the video player below.
Wichita State and Nebraska are just two of many tough teams that the Tigers have faced in 2024. Anderson and company have already played in three Top-25 showdowns, coming out 2-1, with that loss to Baylor on Saturday.
"The level of competition that we've played this entire season, so far, is postseason caliber. I mean, we've played a lot of teams that are going to be in the postseason and they're doing extremely well. That's the level that we're going to be playing going forward and it's giving us the body of work and the experience to know what we need to do and the level that we need to play at," she said.
Anderson has been particularly impressed with her pitchers through the start of 2024, specifically sophomore tosser Cierra Harrison. She has a 0.70 ERA, so far, in her undefeated start to the year. Harrison has struck out 22 batters, averaging about three K's per game. She's only allowed three runs this season.
Mizzou will lean on Harrison, along with veteran pitcher Laurin Krings and freshman pitcher Marissa McCann to lead the charge in the circle in 2024. One thing Anderson hammered home is that she does want to see some improvement from her defense, moving forward.
From the sounds of it, it won't be hard to motivate players to make those improvements. Anderson said the culture just feels different in 2024. She described her athletes as unselfish and willing to shine in the role they have, so they can work towards the role they want.
"They have a team-first mentality. They're not worried about their own stats and their own contribution, they're contributing for the sake of the team," she said.
Up next - No. 11/13 Mizzou will play in the Big Red Invitational in Lincoln, Neb. Game one for MU will be against Wichita State on Saturday, March 2 at 11 a.m. The Tigers will play another game that day against Nebraska at 4 p.m.
