Perfect finish to perfect weekend for Tiger softball
It was the perfect finish to a perfect weekend on Sunday for Missouri softball as the Tigers took on Bradley in the last game of the Mizzou Tournament. The Tigers defeated the Bradley Braves 8-0 in six innings to finish the Mizzou Tournament unscathed, with four wins in which they outscored their opponents 42-3.
Contrary to what head coach Larissa Anderson said the day prior, Laurin Krings would earn the start for the Tigers – and what a decision it turned out to be. Throwing only 72 pitches, Krings was perfect for a full six innings, not allowing a single Bradley hitter to reach base. It is the Tigers’ first perfect game of the season and the 12th in school histroy.
Krings finished the day with 12 strikeouts, marking the third time this season that she has reached that mark. She also had a little help from a Tiger defense that has been stellar through the non-conference season.
“I think we're really excited to just get started with SEC, and I think we're ready to go perform and compete,” said Krings, who has now collected 73 strikeouts on the year.
“Laurin was just spot on,” Anderson said. “Throwing both sides of the plate. Real dominant. The difference was she was very effective with her change up today. Just had great control and command. When you put a couple crooked numbers up on the scoreboard, it makes the job a little bit easier and takes the pressure off.”
Offensively, it was another strong day for the Tiger bats. Kara Daly continued her string of ridiculous games with another home run as well as a double on the afternoon. Daly has homered in four straight games.
Daly has quickly worked herself into the position of an every day player, recently filling in at third base to interchange with graduate senior Kimberly Wert. Her presence at third has made an immediate impact, as her bat has quickly become a spark plug for the Tigers while keeping the veteran Wert in the lineup as a designated player to hit for the pitcher.
“My teammates have done an amazing job of helping me feel comfortable over at third," Daly said. "They've been teaching me. Kim Wert has been an amazing role model for me.”
The main downside to the weekend was a few dead moments on the basepaths, where there were some questionable decisions made by baserunners that resulted in outs and missed opportunities.
“I'm going to sit back and I'm going to analyze it a little bit because I've always told them they're never going to get yelled at for being too aggressive,” Anderson said.. “So, I have to look back and see some of their decision-making. Because (if) they were too aggressive, I gotta let some of those things go. Or, were they just poor decisions?”
With the win on Sunday afternoon, the Tigers improve to 16-4 for the campaign. The 4-0 run in the Mizzou Tournament is a shoo-in for the best record, with Bradley finishing 3-2 and St. Thomas finishing 0-5. Missouri is next in action against Tennessee on Friday, March 11th to open Southeastern Conference play.
“We know we have to be very disciplined. We can't make a lot of mistakes, because we know Tennessee is going to capitalize on them,” Anderson said. “But again, we don't change our approach going in just because it's an SEC weekend.”
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