2024 Missouri Softball Preview: The Pitchers
In 2023, Mizzou softball extended its streak of making regionals to a whopping 17 seasons. However, the Tigers made it by the skin of their teeth, as they snuck into the Norman Regional as a No. 3-seed after finishing the regular season at 34-24 (7-17 SEC). There, they knocked off No. 2-seed California in the opener, but then got mercy-ruled by top-ranked Oklahoma 11-0 in six innings. In a rematch against Cal that was a win-or-go-home contest, Mizzou took a 7-5 loss despite a late comeback.
Head coach Larissa Anderson’s squad didn’t experience much roster turnover this past offseason, as most of the core players from 2023 are back for another go-around. It's a big reason why MU was picked to finish eighth in the SEC Softball Preseason Coaches Poll.
While the pitching staff lost a few key contributors from last season, they retained a lot of production, including a veteran flamethrower and a rising young star that figure to lead the way in 2024.
"What I really like is the depth that we have on our mound," Anderson said in her opening press conference on Feb. 6.
Returners
Laurin Krings (Senior)
2023 Stats: 35 appearances (23 starts), 13-12, 163 IP, 2.75 ERA, 145 K's
A superstar since her freshman year, Mizzou has leaned on Krings in all three seasons she's been in Columbia. MU's reliance on Krings increased in 2022, when the Tigers shrunk their starting rotation from four pitchers to three.
She's responded by getting better each season, as Krings has turned herself into one of the most dominant pitchers in the SEC. Last season, she finished seventh in the conference in total strikeouts. Especially considering how many shutdown pitchers were in the SEC last season (including Alabama's Montana Fouts and Auburn's Maddie Penta, who finished first and second nationally in strikeouts), that feat is rather impressive.
The highlight of her 2023 season came against North Texas on April 21, when Krings turned into Lisa Fernandez and struck out 17 of 21 batters, including 14 of the first 15. It looked like she was playing the game on rookie mode, as UNT literally couldn't touch her pitches (16 of the 17 K's saw UNT go down swinging). The only reason Krings finished with her third career no-hitter and not her second career perfect game was because of an error by Jenna Laird in the top of the sixth inning.
Krings followed up her masterclass with a complete game, nine-K shutout against the Mean Green.
She also pitched a complete game in Mizzou's lone win at the Norman Regional over Cal, allowing just four hits and one earned run.
Heading into 2024, Anderson wasn't secretive about her plans to lean on Krings once again, especially with the departure of Jordan Weber, who was a cornerstone in the rotation since 2021.
"She's probably going to do a lot of the workload," Anderson said.
Thankfully for Anderson & Co., Krings has proven she can not only handle a heavy inning burden, but that she can also thrive. Look for Krings to lead the way in the circle once again in 2024.
Cierra Harrison (Sophomore)
2023 stats: 21 appearances (13 starts), 8-2, 67.2 IP, 2.48 ERA, 72 K's
After a promising freshman season, Harrison is ready to take a step up in 2024.
Harrison flashed serious potential last season, especially in the early part (albeit against lesser competition). She opened the season with two four-inning, one-hit, seven-strikeout performances against Fordham and Praire View A&M. Harrison also pitched a seven-strikeout complete game against Maine and struck out eight batters against Butler as well as Drake.
"You have to experience playing at this level to know what's expected of you and how to reach success. I can't simulate that in practice. You have to go against the All-American hitters and realize that, when a ball is left over too much of the plate, it's gonna get hit extremely hard," Anderson said. "That's what Cierra experienced. That's what Marissa McCann is going to experience...all of that has taken her to be more a pitcher, not just a thrower, and understanding her craft on how to be able to get hitters out."
"The big thing that she needed to develop is an off-speed pitch. She didn't really have a true changeup last year. We would occasionally throw it, but it as not effective and it's not something that we would rely on," Anderson said. "She spent a lot of time developing a changeup that's really going to add more to her repertoire."
As the likely second option behind Krings, Harrison will need to show off that expanded repertoire often if Mizzou wants to give themselves the best chance at success as possible.
Taylor Pannell (Sophomore)
2023 stats: 21 appearances (0 starts), 2-0, 21.1 IP, 3.28 ERA, 19 K's
Pannell served as Mizzou's primary closer last season, registering six saves and two wins as well. Her six saves tied for the 11th-most in the nation and second in the SEC behind Georgia's Shelby Waters, who finished with seven. Pannell will likely serve as the closer once again in 2024.
Jayci Kruse (Junior)
2023 stats: 1 appearance (0 starts), 0-0, 1.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1 K
Lily Whitten (Sophomore)
2023 stats: None (redshirted)
Departures
Jordan Weber (graduation)
2023 stats: 25 appearances (24 starts), 8-10, 100.2 IP, 4.10 ERA, 56 K's
Arguably Mizzou's biggest loss from last season in terms of production, Weber was a huge part of MU's rotation since she was a freshman in 2020. She pitched over 100 innings in each of her final three seasons in Columbia, making the All-SEC Tournament team twice and throwing two solo no-hitters.
Megan Schumacher (transfer, Grand Canyon)
2023 stats: 20 appearances (1 start), 3-1, 36 IP, 5.44 ERA, 23 K's
After splitting time between starting pitcher and relief pitcher as a freshman in 2021, Schumacher primarily worked out of the bullpen in 2022 and 2023 with a small handful of starts here and there.
She'll look to contribute to a GCU squad that's projected to dominate the Western Athletic Conference for a third straight season.
Emma Nichols (graduation)
2023 stats: 7 appearances (0 starts), 1-1, 5.2 IP, 3.71 ERA, 3 K's
Transfers
None
Freshman
Marissa McCann (Surprise, Az.)
By the end of this season, McCann could easily assert herself as one of the top young talents in the SEC.
She played at Willow Canyon High School, one of the best high school teams not just in Arizona, but the entire country as well.
Saying that she was a "standout" would be a horrific understatement. After making just four appearances during her freshman season, she compiled a ludicrous 47-3 record over the next three seasons with ERAs of 1.11, 0.29 and 0.72, respectively, which included just 29 earned runs allowed in 313 innings. Over her final two seasons, she averaged over two strikeouts per inning and threw 19 complete game shutouts.
“Marissa is a bulldog in the circle,” Willow Canyon High head softball coach Donnie Tizzano told Extra Innings Softball back in August 2022. “She is always locked in and the bigger the moment, the better she performs.”
She's already impressed during her short time in Columbia, as her funky pitch arsenal has been shown off frequently during the offseason.
"She has so many tools, and it's really exciting," Anderson said. "She's got great movement, unbelievable swing and miss movement. She can throw the ball up, she can throw it in, she's got a screwball that I haven't seen for quite awhile. She's got a curveball that's a different velocity. Every pitch she throws is a different speed, so it's extremely hard to get on time with her."
According to Anderson, McCann has already bamboozled even the best Mizzou hitters, including Jenna Laird.
"We had an inter-squad scrimmage, and she was throwing against Jenna Laird, and Marissa threw this backdoor curveball, and Jenna just stepped out and she's like 'I've never seen movement like that'," Anderson said.
Anderson said she's going to treat McCann like she did Harrison last season; "protecting" McCann and not putting her in high-stress situations immediately in order to build up confidence. After that, however, Anderson said she's going to be "throwing her into the wolves".
While the task might seem tall for the freshman, McCann has proven that she's a wolf herself in the circle.
Nathalie Touchet (Aledo, Tx.)
Touchet isn't as decorated as McCann -- however, very few high school softball players have McCann's resume, so that'd be unfair to compare.
Besides, Touchet was also dominant herself. She helped lead Aledo High School to states multiple times and also picked up a handful of accolades, such as 2023 Texas District 5-5A Co-Pitcher of the Year. She went 30-4 in high school with a career ERA of 2.03, including a 0.70 mark in her senior season.
While Touchet's role this season remains to be seen, she'll be bringing good vibes to Columbia that stem from a publicly positive culture at Aledo, which was highlighted in this story from The Comunity News last February on Aledo softball.
“Softball is supposed to be fun, so laughing here and there is what keeps the energy up and the excitement present," Touchet told The Community News. "It makes the game easier to stay involved in when everyone around you is serious, yet having a good time.”
