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Mizzou Softball is just a few days away from their first round matchup in the Norman Regional. First up, a matchup with California. Win that, and face the winner of Oklahoma v. Hofstra... so likely Oklahoma. Lose that and likely face Hofstra (let’s be real). It’s double elimination, so Mizzou is guaranteed to play at least 2 games.
To get fans ready for the postseason, head coach Larissa Anderson went on the KTGR Big Show to chat with Andy Humphrey.
Here’s some highlights (thank you Otter.ai for your help transcribing my recording)
On ending the season strong:
“That MS State win was huge, and we definitely needed a win at the tournament. What was most impressive about the MSU win is we scored our three runs with two outs and that’s huge. That’s a lot of belief I think that carried over from the Arkansas series (took 2 of three from), winning the game in walk-off fashion and scoring with two outs...”
On the offense:
“We’re getting production at any point in the lineup, so we’re not really hoping that the lineup turns and get someone up in the right spot... They are really staying disciplined in the strike zone. I’m not seeing them chase a lot of balls. They’re understanding what pitcher they’re looking to hit and what pitches they’re looking to take wher ewe’re drawing a lot of key walks. We’re getting that leadoff batter on base, and now we just have to have better situational hitting to be able to get some runners in scoring position to capitalize.”
On getting into the tournament (it’s the 17th straight year):
“We were 36th in RPI when we finished in the SEC tournament, and then as teams continued to play, we dropped down to 40. So that made me a little nervous. I’ve seen teams have an RPI of 37 and not get in. The two of three wins over Arkansas bumped up our RPI a lot.”
On Laurin Krings elevating her game:
“She did an unbelievable job against Arkansas in Game 2 and her level of focus and attention to detail is something I haven’t seen in her entire career and she’s really becoming a pitcher and not just a thrower. She’s trying to manipulate the ball. She’s psinning it a lot better than she has. She’s not trying to overpower teams. She works extremely hard throughout the course of ABs to be effective with her changeup because she knows it’s gonna set up everything else.”
On Cierra Harrison:
“I think the other key to the pitching staff is how CC Harrison has really developed throughout the course of the year. She threw early on and then she dabbled a little bit in SEC play and we relied on her a lot more. And even against Alabama, I mean, she came in and she was unaffected. And that’s the experience she needs to have and we just scrimmaged today (Tuesday) and she was getting really good stuff. So I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw her throughout this regional.”
On NCAA preparations in general and against Oklahoma (51-1):
“All season long, we really measured ourselves against ourselves. And there isn’t anything any teams gonna do that we haven’t prepared for.”
“We have alot of respect for Oklahoma and their tradiions and what they’ve done for the game. But we’re not going to do anything different. We just have to play sharp softball and teams like Oklahoma, they take advantage of mistakes. So we have to minimize our mistakes, because if we make mistakes, then we’re just beating ourselves. They have a very potent lineup. They have a lot of depth. So we really have to focus on playing perfect, taking advantage of opportunities. That if they throw the ball at the heart of the plate, we can’t miss it. We can’t expect that we’re going to get multiple opportunities within an AB.”
On Cal, their Friday opponent:
“Chelsea Spencer is their head coach. She’s a Cal alum. She’s coached at Oregon. She’s coached at Texas. She is a fireball of a coach and I know that Cal is going to have a ton of energy becuase of that. They haven’t been (to the tournament) in a while, so I know they’r egoing to be really excited for this opportunity. They’re scrappy. They fight like crazy. We have to match that energy and match that competitiveness, if not bringing more.”
“They make a lot of changes in their pitching staff, so that’s going to be a key for us to be able to make those adjustments when we go from pitcher to pitcher because we’re probably going to see multiple throughout the course of the game.”
On to the Links! M-I-Z!
Yesterday at Rock M
- Nate (the Vacationer) continues his preseason previews with the Dores
- IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: I covered the Sara Rose-Smith transfer portal news. I guess there’s some feasibility that she sticks around, given she’s an international student, and a j-schooler at that, so we’ll continue to monitor the situation.
More Links:
Hoops
- St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Benefit of doubt on Dennis Gates’ side as Mizzou basketball sorts through transfer portal (Ben Fredrickson) | READ THIS: Refreshed after a grueling year at Iowa State, Caleb Grill eager for new start at Mizzou (Calum McAndrew)xx
- Hey, Coach CY!
Football
- PowerMizzou: Rounding up the latest offers - May 16th (Sean Williams) | Point of emphasis: Pass blocking efficiency (Jarod Hamilton)
- Interesting.
SOURCES: #Mizzou Football is exploring moving the season opener vs South Dakota to Thursday August 31st, pending SEC approval.#Mizzou opened on Thursday for TV last year & felt the move was well-received, guaranteeing a night game & freeing up Labor Day weekend for fans.
— Ben Arnet (@BenArnetKOMU) May 16, 2023
- Come to Camp Cody!
I am hosting my first youth football camp on Saturday, June 24th!
— Cody Schrader (@thebeast_cody) May 16, 2023
It will be at Lutheran South High School!
There will be two sessions. Afternoon sessions are available for 5th and 6th graders and for 7th through 8th graders.
Sign up below!!!https://t.co/qnTpgGui2i pic.twitter.com/roJPBUg8Fl
Draft Time
- Well, clearly Kobe (and D’Moi when he meets with teams) will ace this. Though apparently, Kobe didn’t do the scrimmage (?), I am 10000000000% sure he killed it no. 1, 3, and 5. Per another tweet below, he’s also got good numbers at 4. And I have no clue about his prowess at 6.
NBA teams' priority rankings at NBA combine:
— Jonathan Wasserman (@NBADraftWass) May 15, 2023
1. Player interviews
2. Scrimmages
3. Networking
4. Measurements
5. Gauging competitiveness/professionalism
6. Leaping or lateral movement testing (only eye-catching results good/bad)
7. Good dinner reservations
8. Pro days
9. Drills
- Kobe is currently at the NBA Combine, and here are some of his measurables:
Missouri Tigers senior Kobe Brown #NBADraft
— No Ceilings (@NoCeilingsNBA) May 16, 2023
6'6.5" (without shoes)
252.2 lbs
7'0.75" wingspan
- Here’s where he’s coming in on draft boards: per The Athletic
The Athletic and ESPN updated their mocks after the lottery. More positive prognostications for Kobe. pic.twitter.com/AlevUHelUy
— Matt Harris (@MattJHarris85) May 17, 2023
- Hope she’s right (Deseret News Jazz writer)
Kobe Brown can shoot the hell out of the ball and he’s got such an NBA body. If people can get out of their own way about him being 23, he could be a steal.
— Sarah Todd (@NBASarah) May 15, 2023
- Hoping D’Moi gets a shot! He wasn’t one of the 8 called up from the G League Elite Camp, but that’s okay!
“That’s my motivation right there, to show them that its not impossible.”@mizzouhoops guard D’Moi Hodge (@Dmoi_VI ) talks about working to become the first NBA player from the British Virgin Islands and inspiring other hoopers during his time at #EliteCamp. pic.twitter.com/Ndvgo66KgA
— NBA G League (@nbagleague) May 14, 2023
- Both Kobe and D’Moi mentioned here in regards to what the Sacramento Kings look for in the draft
Here are some players who meet that criteria in this class:
— cashiggy (@cashiggy11) May 15, 2023
Brandin Podziemski (Santa Clara)
D'moi Hodge (Missouri)
Emanuel Miller (TCU)
Jalen Slawson (Furman)
JT Shumate (Toledo)
Kobe Brown (Missouri)
Miles Norris (UCSB)
Taylor Hendricks (UCF)
Thijs De Ridder
PJ Hall (Clemson)
Other Mizzou Sports
- MEN’S GOLF: Bondesson, Crockett remain in top 10 as Tigers tumble at Morgan Hill Regional (Kortay Vincent, Missourian) | Two Tigers in top 10 through 36 holes at NCAA Tournament (per MUTigers.com)
#Mizzou dropped down the leaderboard today to 10th at the Morgan Hill Regional. The Tigers will have to make up 12 strokes tomorrow to crack the top 5 and qualify for national. pic.twitter.com/dXEP44xPYf
— Kortay Vincent (@KortayVincent) May 16, 2023
- TRACK & FIELD: MU’s Vilches, Rivera earn All-SEC honors; ex-Kewpie Gibbens wins two Big 12 titles (Calum McAndrew, Missourian) | Vilches and Rivera earn All-SEC honors (per MUTigers.com)
All-SEC First Team pic.twitter.com/1HCT08I6Ib
— Mizzou Track & Field (@MizzouTFXC) May 16, 2023
- MIZZOU FORMULA 1: Welding the future: Mizzou Racing’s journey to the top (Adam Ryerson)
- BASEBALL: Luke Mann, Austin Troesser Selected for Baseball CSC Academic All-District Honors (per MUTigers.com)
- Listen to Matt Michaels on the KTGR Big Show, pumping up the audience about the Tigers’ big series win. They’ve moved from no. 49 to no. 37 in RPI, by the way.
#ICYMI on @KTRS550: @MattAndAMic joined @bwiese16 to discuss all things @MizzouBaseball. The Tigers are coming off a sweep over Georgia and are on the verge of clinching an #SEC Tournament bid heading into a pivotal series at Auburn.
— KTRS Sports (@BigSportsShow) May 16, 2023
LISTEN https://t.co/6oMXgu9Duh #Mizzou ⚾️
- WHAT ELSE DO YOU WANT FROM THEM, STUPID PROJECTIONISTS?!?
#Mizzou Baseball is listed as the 4th team out in this latest projection. https://t.co/Zx2DXM5VA9
— Sammy Stava (@StavaonSTL) May 16, 2023
- Also, this is awesome. No, this is nowhere near the crowds that the baseball bluebloods get, but this is still great. Build a good team and they will come, I think the saying is.
Thank you, Tiger fans, for helping us set a new single-season home attendance record. ⚾️ pic.twitter.com/OjIWi9Kp8x
— Mizzou Baseball (@MizzouBaseball) May 15, 2023
- SOFTBALL: How Mizzou softball is living up to its big reputation with its regional berth (Chris Kwiecinski, Columbia Tribune)
ALEXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX “Should’ve been First Team” HONNNNNNNNNNNNNNOLDDDDDD
Alex Honnold, the definition of an all-around softball player. #OwnIt #MIZ | @alex_honnold22 pic.twitter.com/BX4drr9biB
— Mizzou Softball (@MizzouSoftball) May 16, 2023
- Congrats, Kara, and another honor for Alex! (More at MUTigers.com)
Congratulations to Kara Daly and Alex Honnold who were both named to the @CollSportsComm Academic All-District Softball Team‼️
— Mizzou Softball (@MizzouSoftball) May 16, 2023
: https://t.co/IPPA5lIRdp#OwnIt #MIZ pic.twitter.com/EroWppS4PB
- Congrats to Mizzou commit Sophie Smith!
Blessed to be voted 15-6A Offensive Player of the Year and Team MVP!! Great season @kohs_softball!! @ProlificFPSoftb @CoachLarissaA @J_Cottrill_ @coachMarino11 pic.twitter.com/Isl0TIEUSv
— Sophie Smith (@SophiegSmith22) May 15, 2023
Former Tigers
- I’m here for excellent MPJ Time. It was Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, and the Nuggets took a 1-0 lead over the Lakers 132-126. Mike had a good game, guys.
- Game 2 is set for Thursday at 7:30pm on ESPN. Game 3 is Saturday at 7:30pm on ABC.
35 minutes | 15 points on 6-12 FG (3-6 3PT) | 10 REB (7 def) | 2 AST | 2 BLK | 1 TO | 2 PF | +20
MPJ's been excellent four-plus minutes in. Stopped 'Bron in isolation, buried a 3, hit the offensive boards. That's the production they need if Lakers go small.
— Mike Singer (@msinger) May 17, 2023
- Congrats to Shane Ray, who signed with the Buffalo Bills over the weekend!
Former Mizzou defensive end & first round NFL draft pick Shane Ray is getting another shot in the league with the Buffalo Bills. Signed today after playing the last two years in Canada. pic.twitter.com/9nSHqDqOpq
— Dave Matter (@Dave_Matter) May 13, 2023
- This is... something. Rest assured, I will NOT be keeping tabs on Braun. (Gary Bedore, KC Star)
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