Five Mizzou softball players earn All-SEC honors
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Five members of the Mizzou softball team earned All-SEC honors on Friday afternoon. Shortstop Jenna Laird, centerfielder Alex Honnold and first baseman Abby Hay were each Second-Team All-SEC selections, while pitcher Laurin Krings and right fielder Kayley Lenger nabbed spots on the SEC All-Defensive team.
It is the most All-SEC selections that the program has had since 2021.
Laird is no stranger to conference honors, in fact, it is the third-straight time she's been named to the All-SEC Second Team. Over the course of her four years at Mizzou, she has earned seven conference postseason honors.
The New York native hit .282 during the SEC season with 22 hits, 14 runs, eight RBI, four doubles and five stolen bases. The leadoff hitter paced her team with 20 multi-hit games and has gone on a 17-game reached base streak. Laird has also posted five multi-RBI games in her senior year.
Overall, she ranked in the top-10 in the SEC for runs, hits, stolen bases, plate appearances and at-bats. Just on Friday, in the SEC Tournament Quarterfinal, she set the record for consecutive games played in a Mizzou uniform, as the shortstop has started in 237 consecutive games.
Honnold earned her second-straight All-SEC selection, as she hit .288 with 21 hits, 13 runs, 11 RBI, five doubles and two home runs through regular season conference play. She also racked up a .438 slugging percentage with six stolen bases.
The Des Moines, Iowa native ranks 11th in the conference with a .358 batting average. She also set the Mizzou single-season record for doubles, with a conference-best 21. Overall, she was the fifth toughest batter to strike out in the SEC, as she started in all 55 games in 2024.
She was just as effective defensively for head coach Larissa Anderson. Honnold posted a .976 fielding percentage in center field.
Columbia-native Abby Hay showed out for her hometown in 2024. The conference honors are the first of her young career, as she paced her team in conference play, batting .318 with 14 hits, nine RBI, six runs and three home runs. She slugged .591, as well.
She grabbed some national attention during the regular-season, nabbing an SEC Player of the Week honor on April 23.
Through Hay's first college season, she is batting .328 and has started in each of the last 20 games. Defensively, she is fielding .986 in 2024.
For Krings, the postseason SEC honor is the second of her career, as she was also named to the 2022 SEC All-Tournament Team. The Tiger ace notched eight complete games in 2024, over 30 outings. She tallied a complete game shutout in the win over Mississippi State on April 27, when she fanned five batters.
In 2024, the Colorado native has posted 13 wins in the circle. She is the only pitcher on Mizzou's staff with more than 100 strikeouts and 100 innings pitched.
Finally, Lenger earned her first-ever SEC honors. The sophomore right fielder posted a fielding percentage of 1.000 during SEC play with 45 putouts and zero errors.
She also helped her team at the plate, notching 29 runs, 28 hits, five doubles, two home runs and 11 RBI.
The five All-SEC selections will play with their Tiger team in the SEC Tournament Championship against Florida on Saturday, May 11. First pitch is at 4 p.m. CT.
