Pitchers Cierra Harrison and Laurin Krings twirl complete game shutouts as Missouri wins series over No. 25 Auburn
No. 12 Missouri softball took on No. 25 Auburn in a three-game set for the first home series of the year. Missouri won the series after two games, claiming 5-2 and 5-0 victories before dropping the final game of the series, 4-0. Missouri moved to 20-3 on the season, with four of those wins being against ranked opponents. Here are three takeaways from the home opener and start of SEC conference play.
Laurin Krings, Cierra Harrison and the defense behind them are elite
Behind two complete games from Missouri senior pitcher Laurin Krings and sophomore pitcher Cierra Harrison, Missouri took the series over Auburn with limited trouble. Krings started both the first and final game of the series, allowing just two runs on two hits, while striking out nine in the first game. Harrison took the mound in the second game of the series, allowing only five hits. She totaled nine strikeouts, while letting up just one walk and improving her season record to 7-0.
Backing up the pitchers in the middle infield, senior second baseman Maddie Gallagher and senior shortstop Jenna Laird made tough plays look routine and brought a veteran presence to the defensive front. Missouri made one error in each of their first two games, but only one of them led to runs from Auburn. Junior catcher Julia Crenshaw made an error in the top of the fourth, allowing Auburn senior Makayla Packer to advance to third base. Packer then scored on a double from junior Amelia Lech.
The Missouri offense is consistently strong and the March 10 loss was an outlier
Missouri scored five runs in each of the first two games, but faltered in the third game, going scoreless. This was a new feeling for Missouri, as they had scored five or more runs in five of their last six games. The anomaly came in a 3-0 win over Kansas City.
Auburn stifled Missouri in their final game. It was their first time being held scoreless all season. Laird was the only bright spot in Missouri’s offense, going 2-2 with two singles and a hit-by-pitch, while raising her season batting average to .397.
Finally, Missouri needs a third starter in the rotation
Krings and Harrison are as good of a one-two punch as you can get, but they need a third pitcher to take the load off their shoulders. Both Krings and Harrison pitched complete games to win the series against Auburn, but Krings had to start the final game, and her second start was not as good as her first. Fully rested, Krings is one of the best pitchers in the country, having given up only 28 runs in 69.1 innings pitched all season, but she struggles the most in relief.
With only a few days rest, her pitches were not as effective on March 10. On two days of rest, Krings threw three innings, allowing one unearned run before being replaced by freshman Marissa McCann. McCann threw 1.1 innings and then was replaced by Krings who came back into the game.
Missouri took a short road trip to face Illinois in a double-header on Wednesday, March 13, winning both games. The Tigers then traveled to Knoxville, Tennessee, for a massive SEC showdown against No. 8/9 Tennessee on March 15-17 where they got swept.
Edited by Michael Stamps
Copy Edited by Briana Iordan | biordan@themaneater.com
Edited by Genevieve Smith | gsmith@themaneater.com