It’s been an impressive first two weekends for No. 21 Missouri softball. After four games in Tallahassee and four in Boca Raton, the Tigers sit at 6-2, losing only to No. 12 Florida State and Iowa State.
Of course, Missouri isn’t perfect, but it couldn’t have started much better than it did.
###Freshmen who rake###
Freshman shortstop Jenna Laird recorded at least one hit in each of the four games on Saturday and Sunday. She’s hit 10-23 (.435) in eight games this season.
In the fourth inning of Missouri’s matchup with Iowa State, Laird came up to the plate with two outs and two runners in scoring position. She took a couple of pitches before driving one up the middle to bring both runners home and break the tie.
“You saw what [she] did offensively,” coach Larissa Anderson said. “Her on-base percentage was pretty ridiculous.”
Laird’s ability to get on base has directly translated to scoring runs. She’s scored at least one run in each of the last six games and has scored in seven of her first eight.
It’s not just Laird, either. Freshman outfielder Alex Honnold has made a name for herself in the first two weeks of her collegiate career as well.
Honnold has six hits in her first 14 at-bats. She’s also driven in six runs and crossed the plate six times.
“I mean, the composure that those two freshmen have playing their first time at this level [was incredible],” Anderson said. “It was almost like they were experienced players. So I’m real, real happy about what I saw from them, and I know that the more experience they get the better they’re going to be.”
###At her best, Jordan Weber is unhittable.###
In her three starts so far this season, the sophomore pitcher has pitched 14.2 innings and given up only one run off four hits.
In her only off game — a relief appearance in Saturday’s 9-8 loss to Iowa State — Weber struggled to get any sort of rhythm going. She gave up four runs, three of them earned, in two short innings of work.
Overall, Weber has allowed just eight hits over 16.2 innings in the circle and has a 1.68 ERA in that span. The sophomore has struck out 13 batters while walking just six. She’s shown that if she starts, she can make life very difficult for any opposing offense.
Walks have been an issue for the pitching staff — not so much their quantity, but their timing. In the loss to the Cyclones, Missouri’s defense faced a two-out, two-on situation in the fourth inning, leading by two runs. A walk quickly loaded the bases, and freshman pitcher Megan Schumacher hit the next batter to bring a run home. By the end of that inning, Missouri went from being up two to down three.
Walks haven’t been much of a problem for Weber, who is averaging 0.37 walks per inning.
Missouri’s aggressiveness at the plate puts the stress on opposing pitching.
In case it’s gone unnoticed, the Tigers are ripping the cover off the ball.
Through its first eight games, Missouri hit 15 home runs and tallied 23 extra-base hits. The Tigers have also outscored their opponents 65-31 and hit .390 in that span.
The offensive onslaught hasn’t just come from getting hits and scoring runs. It is also the result of the _threat_of mashing the softball. Tigers batters have walked 31 times, largely due to opposing pitchers being afraid to leave a pitch in the zone. Senior infielder Kimberly Wert and senior catcher Hatti Moore, who lead Missouri in home runs with four apiece, have each walked three times.
It’s ironic that aggressiveness leads to walks, as swinging the bat too much can easily lead to strikeouts. For Missouri, it has to be aware of when it chooses to be aggressive.
In the first inning against Memphis in particular, Anderson was impressed with the tone her players set with their aggressiveness.
“We came out, and we just hacked,” Anderson said. “Those first three batters weren’t successful but they just swung, and it was so intimidating. You could see the effort that they put into their swings and how the pitchers reacted. It was almost an ‘Oh, I better not miss because they’re gonna connect if the ball is in the zone.’”
That type of aggressiveness is what separates this Missouri team from the other teams it has played.
“We’re going to give 100% effort all the time,” Anderson said. “And if that ball is in the right spot at the right time, we know we’re going to connect and we’re gonna hit it pretty hard.”
_Edited by Jack Soble | jsoble@themaneater.com_