SOFTBALL PREVIEW: Missouri heads to Cali for the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic

When we last saw Tigers, they concluded their extensive Florida business trip with a win over then no. 20 UCF last Wednesday, and wins over Butler x2, Pitt x2, and FIU to go 6-0 last week.

After a brief stop-off in CoMo early in the week, they’re headed to the opposite coast for the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, an event Mizzou participated in last season where they went 4-1 with wins over no. 9/11 Oregon, TX Tech, SD State, no. 5 Washington and a loss to no. 6 UCLA. The event is named for Mary Nutter, a pioneer in collegiate softball, who created and helped run some of the most well-known coaching clinics in the country after her playing and coaching days were through.

Here’s Coach Anderson on the awesome opportunity that awaits:

“First, playing in the Mary Nutter tournament is a tremendous tribute to one of the greatest pioneers of college softball. But secondly, playing in this unique, competitive venue against a variety of highly competitive and nationally ranked teams. Teams that we normally wouldn’t get a chance to play otherwise, creates lasting memories for our players, families and fans.”

WEATHER FORECAST: The weather isn’t looking too great for the weekend, you guys. It’s going to be chilly and wet. As of Wednesday afternoon, we’re looking at highs in the upper 50s and lows in the mid-40s. Thursday looks to have a 50% + chance of rain around 1pm during both games, Friday night’s got a 60% + chance of rain, and Saturday has a 60% + chance to showers after 1pm, thru the first of Mizzou’s scheduled games. May be okay for the last one, though.

Here’s hoping the Tigers get some strong pitching performances and keep up their savvy baserunning and potent offense. M-I-Z!

Karen Steger Designs

2022 RECORD: 38-22, 12-11 (7th in SEC)

2023 RECORD: 9-2

PROJECTED CONFERENCE FINISH: 8th in SEC

LAST 6 GAMES: #20 UCF (W 11-8) | Butler (W 15-0 in 5inn, W 5-1) | Pitt (W 5-2, W 6-4) | FIU (W 8-0 in 5inn)

RANKING: #21 (ESPN.com/USA Softball), #24 (NFCA), #25 (D1 Softball), #23 (Softball America)

2022 PERFORMANCES:

2023 TOP OFFENSIVE PERFORMERS:

• Jenna Laird: .487 BA | 1.191 OPS | 39 AB | 15 R | 19 H | 3 2B | 2 3B | 9 RBI | .667 SLG% | .524 OB% | 10 SB
• Alex Honnold: .480 BA | 1.650 OPS | 25 AB | 14 R | 12 H | 4 2B | 3 HR | 16 RBI | 1.000 SLG% | 12 BB | .650 OB% | 9 SB
• Maddie Snider: .467 BA | 1.023 OPS | 15 AB | 7 R | 7 H | 6 RBI | .467 SLG% | .556 OB% | 3 SB
• Julia Crenshaw: .306 BA | 1.017 OPS | 36 AB | 8 R | 11 H | 4 2B | 3 HR | 13 RBI | .667 SLG% | .350 OB%
• Riley Frizell: .294 BA | .797 OPS | 34 AB | 5 R | 10 H | 1 2B | 1 HR | 9 RBI | .412 SLG% | .385 OB%

2023 PITCHING STATS:

• Cierra Harrison: 2.77 ERA | 0.96 WHIP | 3-0 | 17.2 IP | 15 H | 7 ER | 2 BB | 27 K | 3 2B | 3 HR | 0.221 Opp BA
• Laurin Krings: 3.21 ERA | 1.46 WHIP | 4-0 | 24 IP | 2 CG | 28 H | 13 R | 11 ER | 7 BB | 12 K | 2 2B | 4 HR | .304 Opp BA
• Jordan Weber: 3.91 ERA | 1.19 WHIP | 2-2 | 14.1 IP | 1 CG | 14 H | 9 R | 8 ER | 3 BB | 11 K | 6 XBH | .255 Opp BA

ACCOLADES:

• D1 Softball Top 80 Freshmen Names to Know: Cierra Harrison, P
• Co-SEC Player of the Week: Alex Honnold (2/20)
• Jenna Laird: 2023 USA Softball Collegiate POY Watchlist, 2023 Preseason All-SEC, no. 14 on D1 Softball SEC Power Rankings, No. 8 SS in D1 Softball Top 100; 2023 NFCA Leadoff Classic All-Tournament Team

NOTES:

• Offense, offense, offense! The team is currently slashing at a rate of .317 BA /.918 OPS /.496 SLG/.422 OB%. They’ve already got 16 doubles on the season and 9 home runs. They are also hitting well with runners on base. Against UCF, who is a good ball club, they hit .323 overall, and .333 with two outs. With runners on, they were even more successful, going 8-16 (.500).
• Sophomore Julia Crenshaw went .333 last week with 9 RBI, 2 homers, and a .778 SLG%. Jenna Laird hit .476 last week, to go with 7 RBI and a .667 SLG%.
• Plate Discipline: The Tigers also already have 40 walks this season. Alex Honnold is a walk MACHINE and has more than double (12) than that of her teammates: Hollingsworth & Mortimer (4); Frizzy & Kara (3); Laird, Snider, Chester (2); and 8 more with 1. In limited ABs for Hollingsworth and Mortimer (16 total), this is impressive.
• SEC POW Honors: For her amazing weekend performance over the weekend, Alex Honnold was named SEC Co-Player of the Week. She had a .643 BA, 1.357 SLG% and a .762 OB%. She was 9-14 with 10 RBI, 9 runs, 2 homers and 6 walks in six games.
• PITCHING: Jordan Weber pitched a shortened run-rule no-hitter against FIU, when she pitched 5 innings in a 8-0 victory. That was her third career no-hitter at Mizzou. Against Butler, freshman Cierra Harrison pitched 5 innings and had 8 strikeouts in the win over Butler.

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How Mizzou Matches Up

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Let’s go in-depth on Mizzou’s opponents this weekend, shall we?

Karen Steger Designs

WHEN: Thursday, Feb 23 @ 2:30pm

WHERE: Big League Dreams Yankee Stadium | Cathedral City, CA

TV/STREAMING: FloSoftball

LIVE STATS: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=460971

2022 RECORD: 19-29, 14-13 in Big West

2023 RECORD: 5-1

PROJECTED CONFERENCE FINISH: 6th

LAST 6 GAMES: Idaho State (W 6-5 in 8inn, W 8-5) | Nevada (L 1-4, W 3-2) | North Dakota (W 8-0 in 6 inn, W 3-0)

2022 PERFORMANCES: [their stats are wiped clean each year, so I’m going thru 2022 data on Bigwest.org]

2023 TOP PERFORMERS:

• Julia Barnett: .529 BA | 5 H | 9 R } 1 HR | 4 RBI | .706 SLG% | .619 OB%
• Caroline Allman: .389 BA | 4 R | 7 H | 1 2B | 1 3B | 8 RBI | .556 SLG%
• Jessica Clements: .333 BA | 5 R | 6 H | 2 RBI | .520 OB% | 5 BB
• Juju Sargent: .278 BA | 1 R | 5 H | 1 2B | 4 RBI
• Mylina Garza: .250 BA | 2 R | 5 H | 1 HR | 4 RBI | .400 SLG%
• Sophia Ramuno: 2.00 ERA | 3-1 | 21 IP | 16 H | 6 ER | 7 BB | 28 K | 1 HR | .200 OppBA
• Paige Maier: 2.33 ERA | 1-0 | 1 CG | 18 IP | 15 H | 8 R | 6 ER | 14 BB | 16 K | .227 OppBA

HISTORY:

Missouri and California Polytechnic Institute have faced off exactly one other time, back in February of 2008 in Vegas, where Mizzou won 8-3.

ACCOLADES:

• Jessica Clements: 2022 NFCA All-West Region Third Team; Big West Freshman Field Player of the Year; All-Big West First Team; NFCA Division 1 Freshman of the Year Finalist
• Paige Maier: Big West All-Freshman Team

NOTES:

• Despite the fact that Cal Poly’s roster absolutely was gutted, they are off to a great start this season. It appears they were off all last week while their upcoming opponents have all played a minimum of 10 games.
• What I also find impressive about how they are playing so far is this team is YOUNG. Like, young, young. Glancing at their roster, I see 13 underclassmen, including 5 freshmen and 8 sophomores. As for upper classmen, they only have four. They have no transfers on the roster.
• Of the top performers so far in 2023, Garza and Ramuno are freshmen, and Maier, Clements, Allman, and Barnett are sophomores. Furthermore, Barnett and Allman are showing tremendous growth after only hitting .118 and .103 respectively in under 40AB.
• DEPARTURES: Pitchers Kate Judy & Krystyna Allman— while both had losing records last season, each had over 100IP and could be counted on to pitch complete games (they had 17 between them). Additionally, both sported sub-3.75 ERAs and struck out 70+ batter apiece. On the offensive side, four of Cal Poly’s best hitters are gone, including Lily Amos (.295 BA | .826 OPS | 36 H), Noellah Ramos (.287 BA | .764 OPS | 5 3B | 18 R), S. Frankenberger (.286 BA | .674 OPS | 16 R | 18 H | 6 HR | 20 RBI in 63 AB, and Hailley Prom (2.86 BA | .772 OPS | 26 H | 10 2B)
• STAFF: The Mustangs are led by three-time Big West Conference Coach of the Year Jenny Condon, who is in her 19th season at the helm. Condon’s 430 career victories at Cal Poly rank seventh by a Big West head coach and third highest of any coach in any sport in Cal Poly history. She has 176 Big West victories. She needs just 9 more victories to become the all-time wins leader by a Cal Poly softball head coach.

Karen Steger Designs

WHEN: Thursday, Feb 23 @ 5pm

WHERE: Big League Dreams Yankee Stadium | Cathedral City, CA

TV/STREAMING: FloSoftball

LIVE STATS: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=460972

2022 RECORD: 42-10 (13-2 in WCC)

2023 RECORD: 7-2

PROJECTED CONFERENCE FINISH: XX in West Coast Conference

LAST 6 GAMES: DePaul (W 13-7) | Illinois State (W 2-1) | Oregon State (W 3-2) | Portland State (W 7-5) | Arizona State (W 10-5) | ND State (W 10-1 in 5 inn)

RANKING: #29/RV (ESPN.com/USA Softball), #34/RV (NFCA), NR (D1 Softball), NR (Softball America)

2022 PERFORMANCES:

2023 TOP PERFORMERS:

• Maddia Bejarano: .467 BA | 30 AB | 6 R | 14 H | 1 2B | 1 HR | 3 RBI | .600 SLG% | .500 OB%
• Martha Epenesa: .438 BA | 16 AB | 4 R | 7 H | 2 HR | 7 RBI | .813 SLG% | 7 BB | 3 K | .609 OB%
• Maddie Udall: .364 BA | 11 AB | 3 R | 4 H | 4 RBI | .364 SLG% | .417 OB%
• Hailey Morrow: .333 BA | 15 AB | 3 R | 5 H | 1 2B | 1 HR | 3 RBI | .600 SLG% | 2 BB | 4 K | .444 OB%
• Huntyr Ava: .286 BA | 28 AB | 4 R | 8 H | 3 HR | 9 RBI | .607 SLG% | 3 BB | .364 OB%
• Chloe Temples: 1.75 ERA | 2-1 | 3 CG | 24 IP | 19 H | 9 R | 6 ER | 13 BB | 21 K | .229 OppBA
• Kaysen Korth: 3.00 ERA | 3-1 | 2 CG | 1 SHO | 23.1 IP | 26 H | 10 ER | 11 BB | 30 K | .283 OppBA

ACCOLADES:

• D1 Softball Preseason All-American: Violet Zavodnik (2nd Team)
• WCC Players of the Week: Kaysen Korth (pitcher, 2/20) | Martha Epenesa (player, 2/20)

HISTORY:

Missouri and Brigham Young University have faced off 5 times since 2008, and Mizzou leads the series 3-2. Their most recent was February 21, 2019 when they lost 7-3.

NOTES:

• Since returning back to the US (they started the season in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico), BYU has been much better, beating Oregon State and host team Arizona State last weekend in the Littlewood Classic and sweeping the weekly conference awards (Epenesa- player, Korth- pitcher). Considering the amount of roster turnover, BYU is off to a fantastic start.
• Epenesa’s clutch hitting either drove in or scored the game-winning run in three of the Cougars’ 5 games last week. She batted .583, going 7-12 with 7 RBI, 4 R, 7 BB, and 2 homers. Korth earned two wins on the week, with 7 SO in 4.1 IP against no. 22 ASU as well as 9 SO against OR State.
• DEPARTURES: Taylei Williams (.394 BA | 40 R | 50 H | 13 2B); Marissa Chavez (.336 BA | 40 R | 47 H | 11 2B); Brooke Barrington (.333 BA | 24 R | 18 BB in 72 AB) | Hannah Jo Peterson (.288 BA | 33 R | 34 H | 10 2B; Autumn Moffat-Kort (1.67 ERA | 19-7 | 15 CG | 7 SHO | 157.2 IP | 98 K)
• VETERAN LEADERSHIP: BYU has a very veteran-heavy team at the top, and the names you’re likely to hear about most are juniors and seniors (Bejarano, Epenesa, Ava, Temples).
• OFFENSE: BYU’s offense has been very good considering that All-American Violet Zavodnik hasn’t yet hit her stride (she’s only had 4H this season) and Huntyr Ava is starting to become more consistent— she had 3 homers over the weekend against Illinois State and DePaul. In a pinch-hitting role, Jaelynn Lambert has shown she’s a viable pinch-hitter, and has a .750 average in 4 AB. In limited action, she’s got 4 runs on 4 hits and 2 RBI.
• PITCHING: Kaysen Korth may be a freshman, but she’s been great thus far. The Utah High School Player of the Year struck out 16 in 11.1 IP against ranked OR State and ASU squads. She also pitched a complete game against Wisconsin in her first game of the year, allowing only 3 hits and striking out 9.
• STAFF: Gordon Eakin, who has an overall record of 765-355 has been the head coach for 20 seasons at BYU. He also served as an assistant from 2000-2002. He’s led the Cougars to six-consecutive West Coast Conference championships.

Karen Steger Designs

WHEN: Friday, Feb 24 @ 5:30pm

WHERE: Big League Dreams Fenway Park | Cathedral City, CA

TV/STREAMING: FloSoftball

LIVE STATS: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=460973

2022 RECORD: 39-22 (9-15 in PAC 12)

2023 RECORD: 4-6

PROJECTED CONFERENCE FINISH: 6th in PAC-12

LAST SIX GAMES: Grand Canyon (W 5-4) | Weber State (L 0-3) | Portland State (L 8-9) | BYU (L 2-3) | Illinois State (W 1-0) | LSU (L 0-3)

2022 PERFORMANCES:

2023 TOP PERFORMERS:

• Madison Simon: .435 BA | 1.393 OPS | 2 R | 10 H | 4 XBH | 2 HR | 5 RBI | .913 SLG% | 7 K | .480 OB%
• Morgan Howey: .333 BA | .893 OPS | 2 R | 7 H | 1 HR | 3 RBI | .476 SLG% | .417 OB%
• Kaiea Higa: .318 BA | .984 OPS | 3 R | 7 H | 1 2B | 2 HR | 6 RBI | .636 SLG% | .348 OB%
• Tami Stepto: 2.85 ERA | 1.53 WHIP | 1-2 | 1 CG | 1 SV | 19.2 IP | 15 H | 14 R | 8 ER | 15 BB | 24 K | 3 HR | .203 OppBA
• Sarah Haendiges: 3.46 ERA | 1.38 WHIP | 2-2 | 2 CG | 1 SHO| 28.1 IP | 31 H | 17 R | 14 ER | 8 BB | 23 K | 3 HR | .272 OppBA

HISTORY:

Missouri and the Oregon State Beavers faced each other six times since 2004, and are 1-5 in those meetings. The last time they met up? In 2020 at the — you guessed it — Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. The #18 Tigers were victorious in extras in that one, winning 5-4. Of that team, Hannah McGivern, Kendal Cook, Megan Moll and Jordan Weber remain. Weber pitched 3.2IP in relief, striking out 2 and allowing 3 hits.

ACCOLADES:

• D1 Softball PAC -12 Power Rankings: Frankie Hammoude (no. 12); Sarah Haendiges (no. 14)
• D1 Softball Top 80 Freshman Names to Know: Jenna Burch (INF); Shay McDowell (OF)
• D1 Softball Top 100: Frankie Hammoude (#4 First Base); Sarah Haendiges (#20 P)
• Frankie Hammoude: All-Pacific Region First Team (2022, 2021); All Pac-12 (2022, 2021); Third Team All-American (SA)

NOTES:

• Last season was a magical season for Oregon State, as they got hot at the right time and had a bit of magic go their way in their NCAA bracket to get them to Oklahoma City last year for the first time since 2006. However, this season, the performance of the preseason ranked #19/24 Beavers have been a bit alarming thus far, as the Beavers are only hitting .229 and have scored a grand total of 24 runs.
• Should we expect some lag time to get it back together? D1Softball’s Rhiannon Potkey says yes, as the Beavers also have to learn to get by without ace Mariah Mazon, who posted a 1.66 ERA in 109 innings, and also had a potent bat— she hit .360 with a 1.210 OPS and 14 homeruns. They also have to replace the production of Kaylah Nelson, who hit .295 last year with 39 hits. It’s expected to take a bit for Oregon State to figure out their roles, and while they’re doing that, the rest of the PAC-12 (and the country) may just move on without them.
• Additions: Coach Berg brought in several transfers who figure to contribute, with two coming from other perennial contenders. Infielder Carson Saabye arrives from Florida State— she redshirted last season. Alabama’s Abby Doerr came home to Oregon after three seasons at Alabama (I knew her name sounded familiar!)
• Jenna Birch and Shay McDowell were outlined by D1 Softball as freshmen capable of making an impact right away, but both have played sparingly so far (only 9 AB between them, and Birch has struck out each time up). Kaiea Higa has been tops thus far, though she does already have 5 strikeouts on the young season.
• Pitching: In January, Sarah Haendiges was listed as one of FloSoftball’s breakout pitchers to watch in 2023. Per the article, she’s not a power pitcher and doesn’t dominate with SO, but she’s successful because she relies on soft contact and the defense behind her. While that approach doesn’t work for everyone, it sure did for her, as the ace had 10 complete games, 7 shutouts and 3 saves. Tami Stepto is right on target so far this season. Last season, she posted 4 games with double-digit strikeouts before missing almost all of April and May due to injury.
• Offense: Madison Simon is off to a hot start this season, after only hitting .243 last season. Frankie Hammoude is batting only .200 after raking last year (.384 BA/40 RBI/26R ). She does have 12 walks to her name (roughly half of the team’s total), but only has 4 hits on the season, 2 of which are home runs. Another reason Oregon State’s offense might be down so far this season? The Beavers appear to be without the services of Kiki Escobar, who is listed on the roster but has yet to play in a game. The sophomore hit over .300 last season and finished runner-up in the PAC 12 in hits (74).
• Staff: Laura Berg is in her 11th season as head coach at Oregon State and served as an assistant before that after one of the most successful softball careers in NCAA and Team USA history. In 2012, she was an assistant coach for the US Women’s National Team during its run in the ISF XIII World Women’s Championships and has been with Team USA every summer since.

Karen Steger Designs

WHEN: Saturday, Feb 25 @ 5pm

WHERE: Big League Dreams Yankee Stadium | Cathedral City, CA

TV/STREAMING: FloSoftball

LIVE STATS: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=458839&vislive=miss

2022 RECORD: 33-19, 10-14 PAC-12

2023 RECORD: 8-2

PROJECTED CONFERENCE FINISH: 3rd in PAC-12

LAST SIX GAMES: UC Riverside (W 12-5, W 6-1) | San Diego St (W 6-4) | Loyola Marymount (W 9-4) | Utah Valley (W 9-0 in 6inn) | ND State (W 4-3)

RANKING: #24 (ESPN.com/USA Softball), #22 (NFCA), NR (D1 Softball), NR (Softball America)

2022 PERFORMANCES:

2023 TOP PERFORMERS:

• Alyssa Daniell: .400 BA | .907 OPS | 1 R | 10 H | 5 RBI | .440 SLG% | 5 K | .467 OB%
• Ariel Carlson: .357 BA | 1.026 OPS | 7 R | 10 H | 4 XBH | 6 RBI | .607 SLG% | 6 K | .419 OB% | 3 SB
• Terra McGowan: .355 BA | .963 OPS | 10 R | 11 H | 2 HR | 11 RBI | .581 SLG% | 5 K | .382 OB%
• Tehya Bird: .348 BA | 1.096 OPS | 6 R | 8 H | 2 2B | 2 HR | 5 RBI | .696 SLG% | 5 K | .400 OB%
• Allee Bunker: .333 BA | .962 OPS | 9 R | 12 H | 3 XBH | 2 HR | 12 RBI | .611 SLG% | 4 K | .351 OB%
• KK Humphreys: .321 BA | 1.036 OPS | 7 R | 9 H | 2 2B | 2 HR | 3 RBi | .607 SLG% | 6 BB | 4 K | .429 OB%
• Stevie Hansen: 2.30 ERA | 0.84 WHIP | 4-2 | 1 CG/SHO | 27.1 IP | 17 H | 9 ER | 6 BB | 37 K | 4 XBH | .168 OppBA
• Morgan Scott: 2.86 ERA | 1.43 WHIP | 2-0 | 14.2 IP | 20 H | 6 ER | 1 BB | 11 K | 6 XBH | .333 OppBA
• Raegan Breedlove: 3.82 ERA | 1.45 WHIP | 1 SV | 11 IP | 10 H | 7 R | 6 ER | 6 BB | 7 K | 2 2B | 1 HR | .217 OppBA

HISTORY:

Missouri and the Oregon Ducks have faced each other 16 times since 2004 and hold an 8-8 record. They have won their last two meetings against the Ducks, including last year’s matchup in this very tournament!

On February 25 last season, Mizzou won 6-2 in Cali on a complete game 4-hitter by Jordan Weber. In her 7IP, she allowed 4 hits, 2 earned runs, 2 walks, and struck out 5. Jenna was 0-3 with a walk and 2 K and a run scored. Maddie Snider scored a run. Kara was 2-4 with 2 hits, while Alex Honnold was 1-3. On the Oregon side, the only current player with any kind of success was Allee Bunker, and she was 1-3 with 1 RBI. Stevie Hansen pitched an inning in relief, giving up 2 hits and a WP.

ACCOLADES:

• D1 Softball PAC-12 Power Rankings: Allee Bunker (no. 15, 2023; no. 16, 2022) | Terra McGowan (no. 20, 2023) | KK Humphreys (no. 10, 2022)
• D1 Softball Preseason Top 100 Rankings: Allee Bunker (no. 6 2B, 2022 & 2023) | Terra McGowan (no. 5 catcher, 2022)
• Allee Bunker, INF: 2022 First Team All-PAC 12, PAC-12 All-Defense

NOTES:

• DEPARTURES: Makenna Kliethermes (P), Brooke Yanez (P, out in 2022 due to injury)
• ADDITIONS: While she’s been on the team, a HEALTHY Terra McGowan will be a welcome addition back to the Ducks. In addition to the pitchers, which I’ll list a few bullets down, Oregon is also welcoming LMU’s Alyssa Daniell back home (she’s from OR), who is the top hitter so far this season, and grad transfer Kyla Morris from Duke, who figures to add speed and outfield highlights. Because the Ducks return so much of their roster, they only brought in a single first-year player in Remmington Hewitt, who can play multiple positions.
• OFFENSE: A season ago, Oregon whacked 68 homeruns under the instruction of a new hitting coach Sam Marder, after hitting 54 in 2021, and per D1 Softball, saw a 15% increase in run production. Hanna Delgado, who’s only had 7 AB this season, should be able to be counted on for a big season. She’s got a .429 BA and .858 OPS to go with 3 hits.
• Coach L expects KK Humphreys, who worked on her offensive game over the summer to have more power, and Ariel Carlson, who’s received more PA than earlier in her career, to contribute. Last season, Carlson hit 15 homers and had 42 RBI.
• PITCHING: Coming into the season, with the loss of ace Kliethermes, Oregon will need to improve. It’s great that they have one of the best pitching coaches in the country at the helm in head coach Melyssa Lombardi, who’s in her fifth season. Stevie Hansen, as she’s already shown this season, has taken over the role of ace, and in the offseason. Lombardi added Morgan Scott from UNC-G and UConn’s Elise Sokolsky, both of whom she scouted while the team was on a cross-country road trip to North Carolina last March. Scott threw over 500IP in three years and has tourney experience, while Sokolsky led the UConn in innings as a freshman. Flamethrower Raegan Breedlove also returns.
• On Stevie Hansen, from D1 Softball’s Fall Report:

“Stevie is a cool, calm competitor,” Lombardi said. “You can look at her and not known whether she just struck someone out or gave up a base hit. I love that about her. Her composure for her being a freshman, she handled herself well. As the year went on, she got better and better.”

Karen Steger Designs

WHEN: Saturday, Feb 25 @ 7:30pm

WHERE: Big League Dreams Yankee Stadium | Cathedral City, CA

TV/STREAMING: FloSoftball

LIVE STATS: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=460974

2022 RECORD: 29-22, 19-8 in Big West

2023 RECORD: 4-6

PROJECTED CONFERENCE FINISH: 2nd in Big West

LAST 6 GAMES: Louisiana-Monroe (W 2-1) | Cal (L 1-6, L 4-8) | San Diego (L 2-3, W 1-0) | kansas (L 8-9)

2022 PERFORMANCES:

2023 TOP PERFORMERS:

• Sara Olson: .343 BA | .892 OPS | 6 R | 12 H | 4 XBH | 4 RBI | .514 SLG | 4 K | .378 OB% | 3 SB
• Carly Robbins: .333 BA | .789 OPS | 3 R | 9 H | 4 RBI | .370 SLG% | 3 BB | .419 OB%
• Cassie Camou: .308 BA | .871 OPS | 1 R | 4 H | 1 HR | 3 RBI | .538 SLG% | .333 OB%
• Corissa Sweet: .296 BA | .811 OPS | 2 R | 8 H | 2 XBH | 2 RBI | .370 SLG% | 7 BB | 5 K | .441 OB%
• Teah Thies: .250 BA | .898 OPS | 5 R | 5 H | 2 XBH | 1 HR | 5 RBI | .550 SLG% | 4 K | .348 OB%
• Shannon Haddad: 2.96 ERA | 1.38 WHIP | 3-1 | 3 CG | 28.1 IP | 24 H | 15 R | 12 ER | 15 BB | 22 K | 5 HR | .229 OppBA
• Eryka Gonzales: 3.07 ERA | 1.54 WHIP | 0-2 | 1 SV | 13.2 IP | 15 H | 8 R | 6 ER | 6 BB | 7 K | 1 HR | .273 OppBA
• Samantha Fowler: 3.73 ERA | 1.80 WHIP | 1-1 | 15 IP | 15 H | 11 R | 8 ER | 12 BB | 15 K | 2 HR | .250 OppBA

HISTORY:

Missouri and Long Beach State have faced each five times, with the last time being in February of 2015. Mizzou holds a 3-2 lead in the series.

ACCOLADES:

• Samantha Fowler: 2nd Team All-Big West (2022)
• Teah Thies: 2nd Team All-Big West (2021); All-Freshman Team (2019)
• Shannon Haddad: Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year (2021)
• 2022 All-Big West Honorable Mention: Sara Olson, Sophia Fernandez, Lilyann Martinez (2021), Emily Salazar, 2021)

NOTES:

• ADDITIONS: Teah Thies arrives from UC-Santa Barbara, where she was 4th on the team in BA and lead the team in doubles and was 2nd in SLG%. She recorded 10 multi-hit games. Shannon Haddad, who currently leads the staff, is back from a medical redshirt this season. Lilyanna Martinez, who his .351 in 2021 before an injury ended her season, and rehab delayed her return, is back. Emily Salazar, who missed the entire 2022 due to a knee injury — lots of injuries for LB, wow — returns.
• PITCHING: Eryka Gonzales last pitched in 2021 for CSUN, but is off to a career-start so far for LB. Sophia Fernandez was the “ace” of the staff last year, but is off to a rough start this season and has only pitched 1.1 innings. Haddad, mentioned earlier, has been great after 1.5 years away. The pitching staff looks to be a strength, returning 100% of the 333.2 IP last season.
• OFFENSE: Cassie Camou is off to a hot start this season after playing in only 17 games a sophomore and only 3 as a freshman. Sophomore transfer Carly Robbins and freshman Makayla Medellin received Big West weekly honors for their performances the team’s opening weekend. Robbins hits .538 with a .625 OB, while Medellin had 2 HR and 5 RBI over the team’s first 5 games. Long Beach State will continue to use their speed to their advantage, and have already swiped 13 bases this season, which ranks in the Top 10 in the country.
• STAFF: Kim Sowder is in her 16th season as head coach at Long Beach State. The four-time Big West Coach of the Year got her 500th career victory on Sunday, and remains the active wins leader in the Big West conference. In her tenure, she’s led the team to 8 NCAA Tournament appearances, and four Big West championships in 2008, 2012, 2014, and 2021.

If you’ve made it this far, congratulations. This was a LONG one. But also, stay up to date on all things Mizzou Softball this season by following me, @KarenSteger, and @RockMNation. I’ll have previews for each of Missouri’s series, as well as recaps when available (I’m still saying “NO” to FloSoftball, so I’ll be monitoring statcast).