SEC Freshman of the Year incoming?
The Mizzou Softball regular season wrapped up this past weekend, putting a cap on the best regular season finish since the mid 2010s (by win percentage.) The Tigers will now have a few off days before starting their SEC Tournament journey, but Monday was packed with some team-related news.
First and foremost, freshman Jenna Laird won her fourth SEC Freshman of the Week award this season. The award came off the strength of her weekend series against Tennessee in which she absolutely raked.
Laird smashed the go-ahead two-run home run on Sunday to secure the series win over the No. 17/15 Tennessee Volunteers. She hit safely in all three games of the series and batted .375 in the series with a .500 on base percentage, a home run and two RBI.
Laird has been a force for the Tigers all season, ranking second on the team in OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging) behind only senior star catcher Hatti Moore. As evidenced by her previous honors, she’s also been one of the very best freshman hitters in the conference.
In @SEC play, Jenna Laird leads all freshmen in:
— Mizzou Softball (@MizzouSoftball) May 10, 2021
Batting Average (.410)
Hits (34)
Extra Base Hits (9)
OBP (.462)
Slugging (.614)
Stolen Bases (6-6)
Runs (19)
Total Bases (51)#OwnIt pic.twitter.com/UNb4lELQLn
Mizzou will need her to perform at her best if they want to make it far in the postseason. The Tigers are in a prime spot to contend for a College World Series, but they’ll need to build up some momentum through the SEC Tournament this week. They now know their official path after the bracket was revealed on Monday.
OFFICIAL: 2021 #SECSB Tournament Bracket
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) May 10, 2021
The good news, as we pointed out yesterday morning, is that Mizzou was able to clinch a spot in the top four, thus earning them an automatic bid in the quarterfinals. If they can get past that stage, however, they’ll more than likely meet up with No. 1 seeded Florida in the semis. The two teams have only met three times this season, with the Gators taking 2 of 3 from the Tigers earlier in May, including a devastating 3-2 loss that came in the final innings of the Sunday rubber match. Mizzou can hang with the top-ranked Gators, but they’ll have to be on their A-game.
The Tigers kick off their postseason later this week. We’ll be following along and keeping you up-to-date on the latest happenings.
Yesterday at Rock M
- Tigers Get Swept Again (honestly not an ideal headline tbh)
More Links:
- Two major Mizzou Football recruits are committing in the coming days, and the Tigers are in it until the final turn...
Imma commit at noon tmr
— Jordan Johnson (@jjohnsonj1) May 11, 2021
Johnson was the number one prospect out of Missouri in the 2020 class before he committed to Notre Dame. The Tigers are allegedly battling things out with a number of SEC schools, including Texas A&M and Florida.
Had a great talk with @gracial_marquis today - looks like he is committing to a University this Friday, May 14!!
— SCHSactivities (@SCHSactivities) May 10, 2021
25 Offers to Top 5 to Final Committment pic.twitter.com/raMdhYEFiI
Gracial is a four-star DT out of St. Charles High who boasts offers from Alabama, Oregon and Iowa State. Missouri has gotten some official predictions on the various recruiting services, so there’s reason to believe the Tigers may be in the driver’s seat. But three days is a long way to go in the recruiting world.
- With NIL legislation back in the #discourse, Dave Matter and Ben Frederickson talked about how name, image and likeness laws would affect the Tigers on their STL Today podcast.
- Aijha Blackwell is already hard at work ahead of her junior season, getting herself (below) and her teammates (here) ready for the year ahead. You love to see it.
patience
— Aijha Blackwell (@AijhaAnniece) May 10, 2021
•
•
•
: @RodVisuals pic.twitter.com/qxDLN9svTE
- Coaches who go to NCAA Tournaments stick together
Total team effort! Congratulations on a great regular season. Keep it going. Good luck at the SEC Tournament, Coach! @CoachLarissaA https://t.co/8UagcbizVB
— Cuonzo Martin (@CuonzoMartin) May 10, 2021
- If you’re looking to sign up for ESPN+, Rock M Nation now has an affiliate link: click Here for ESPN+ Now!
- If you’re looking to sign up for a new streaming service, you can try FuboTV: click HERE for FuboTV access — FuboTV now has ESPN, CBS, FS1 and more sports channels.
(** RockMNation has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though RockMNation may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links.**)