Tiger softball preps for tough NCAA draw

Going into Sunday, nobody was sure if Missouri was going to be a part of the NCAA Softball Tournament field. The Tigers didn't have to wait long to find out.

Missouri was the third team revealed in the 64-team bracket on ESPN2. The Tigers (34-24, 7-17 SEC) will open tournament play against the Cal Bears (33-19-1, 9-14-1 PAC-12) in the Norman Regional. In the other game, No. 1 overall seed Oklahoma (51-1, 18-0 Big 12) will face Hofstra (29-25, 16-7 CAA).

The Tigers spent the last few weeks of their season being self-described party crashers. They hope to do it again on the home field of the best program in the country over the last decade. Oklahoma is chasing its third consecutive national championship and its sixth in the last ten NCAA Tournaments.

"No better party to crash than theirs," Mizzou head coach Larissa Anderson said. "Why not us?

"But we have to focus on Cal first. That’s the big step."

It's a regional full of familiarity. The Tigers were conference mates with the Sooners for years in the Big 12, and will soon be again in the SEC. Tigers' head coach Larissa Anderson came to Mizzou from Hofstra five years ago. Anderson won 130 games in four seasons coaching the Pride and has won 168 in her five years in Columbia.

"Sometimes the softball gods work in a very mysterious way," Anderson said. "It pulls on your heartstrings a little bit. I’m excited for them. There’s a lot of Hofstra tradition in our Mizzou program."

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It is the Tigers' 16th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance dating back to 2006. There was no NCAA Tournament due to COVID-19 in the 2020 season. That Mizzou would make it here was no sure thing. The Tigers were 5-17 in SEC play before winning the final two games of the regular season in walk-off fashion over Arkansas. They beat Mississippi State 3-1 in the opening game of the SEC Tournament this week before losing to Alabama.

"It’s tough because you don’t know and it’s out of your hands and I think that’s the biggest struggle," Anderson said. "The biggest thing is we’re in. That’s what you’re playing for is to go to the show."

Twelve of the SEC's 13 teams qualified for the tournament, including five national seeds in Tennessee, Alabama, LSU, Arkansas and Georgia. Mississippi State was the only SEC team not to earn a bid, meaning it's possible the Tigers' win over the Bulldogs on Tuesday was the difference.

"I really do," Anderson said. "I know that the selection committee looks at how you do toward the end of the year…We didn’t have any really hurtful losses. Our losses have been against really competitive national teams."

The Tigers did enough to get in, but if they want to stick around, they'll need their best week of the season.

The regional will begin with Oklahoma facing Hofstra at 4:00 on Friday. Missouri and Cal will play following the conclusion of that game. Missouri lost at home to Arizona in the regional round last year. The Tigers last made the Super Regionals in 2021 where they lost to James Madison.