Friday, March 7
Lexington, Ky.
5:30 p.m. CT
University of Missouri
at
23 Kentucky
Softball Heads to No. 23 Kentucky for SEC Opening Weekend
3/6/2025 11:36:00 AM | Softball
COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri softball (11-10, 0-0 SEC) heads to Lexington, Kentucky, this weekend to open SEC play against No. 23 Kentucky (14-6, 0-0 SEC). The three-game series will take place Friday through Sunday at John Cropp Stadium.
The Tigers will begin SEC play Friday, taking on the Wildcats at 5:30 p.m., CT. The series continues Saturday with a 1 p.m., CT first pitch before wrapping up Sunday at 3:30 p.m., CT.
This weekend's three-game series will be available on SEC Network+ Friday and Saturday along with SEC Network on Sunday. Dave Baker and Carol Bruggeman are on the call Friday and Saturday while Alex Perlman and Madi Shipman are calling the series finale on linear Sunday.
Mizzou is receiving votes in both the ESPN.com/USA Softball and the NFCA/GoRout Coaches Polls.
The Tigers also rank 28th in the first RPI report of the 2025 season and are third in the country for strength of schedule.
SEC OPENING SERIES – LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY
SCHEDULE
- Missouri at No. 23 Kentucky – Friday, March 7, 5:30 p.m., CT | John Cropp Stadium | SEC Network+
- Missouri at No. 23 Kentucky – Saturday, March 8, 1 p.m., CT | John Cropp Stadium | SEC Network+
- Missouri at No. 23 Kentucky – Sunday, March 9, 3:30 p.m., CT | John Cropp Stadium | SEC Network
Live Stats: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Live Video: SEC Network+ | SEC Network+ | SEC Network
SERIES HISTORY
- Kentucky leads the all-time series with Missouri, 13-12.
- The two teams last met in 2023 (March 10-12), with Kentucky sweeping the series in Columbia (5-0, 6-0, 5-0).
- The last time the two teams met up in Lexington was in 2022 (April 23-25), when the Tigers picked up a 3-0 series sweep over the then No. 9/12 Wildcats. Kimberly Wert batted .857 (6-for-7) with four home runs and 13 RBI in the three-game sweep. She crushed two grand slams on the weekend, leading the Tiger to a pair of run-rule victories.
- Head coach Larissa Anderson is 6-3 all-time against the Wildcats.
- Taylor Ebbs, a Kentucky transfer and senior from Keizer, Oregon, will return to Lexington to face her former team over SEC opening weekend 2025.
SERIES HISTORY: SEC OPENING SERIES
- The Tigers won their last SEC opening series on March 8-10, 2024, when they hosted Auburn and earned a 2-1 series victory (5-2 win, 5-0 win, 4-0 loss).
- Head coach Larissa Anderson is 2-4 in her SEC opening series during her time at Mizzou, including a sweep against Ole Miss in 2020 (March 6-8).
SHOCKER INVITATIONAL RECAP
- Missouri went 3-2 over the Shocker Invitational that featured a 7-1 ranked win over No. 16/18 Nebraska.
- MU registered a season-best seven walks against Oklahoma State, led by Abby Hay's two free passes.
- Kayley Lenger blasted her first homer of the campaign to get MU on the board in the third versus Wichita State. She also scored twice, stole a base and had two walks in the win over WSU.
- Claire Cahalan, a sophomore outfielder from Dadeville, Alabama, paced Missouri in the win over WSU, going 2-for-4 with two RBI, a run, stolen base and a walk. Her two hits matched a personal best (fourth time in her career with two hits).
- Adi Koller scored a personal-best two times versus the host Shockers and registered her second career hit (first in 2025).
- Kara Daly made her 200th career start as a Missouri Tiger in the win over WSU. She ranks sixth amongst the NCAA Division I's active career leaders for games played (207).
- Missouri scored 10 runs for the fourth time this season and in the second-straight game versus South Dakota State following Mizzou's 10-1 win over Wichita State.
- MU also compiled a season-best 11 walks against the Jackrabbits which ranks tied for second all-time in program history for a single game. Kara Daly had a career-best three.
- Kara Daly (2-for-5), Madison Walker (2-for-4) and Taylor Ebbs (2-for-3, double) each had two hits for MU against Nebraska (game one).
- Marissa McCann picked up the complete-game victory in the circle versus Nebraska, allowing just one earned run on four hits with a trio of strikeouts. The sophomore from Surprise, Arizona, improved to 4-3 on the year after her fifth complete-game (second-straight) in 2025.
- Daly trimmed the deficit to one with a solo blast in the third in game two versus Nebraska. She is currently on an eight-game reached base streak after her fourth homer of the season. With 34 career round trippers, Daly is now two away from breaking into the Missouri program top-10 for the category.
- MU had a season-best four homers in game two versus Nebraska against All-American pitcher Jordy Bahl.
MADISON WALKER
- Third baseman Madison Walker powered Missouri's offense at the 2025 Shocker Invitational, hitting .421 with four home runs, two doubles and 13 RBI while posting a 1.158 slugging percentage (.421 on-base percentage).
- The Olathe, Kansas, native, homered in three of Missouri's five games, including a career-best two-home run game against No. 16/18 Nebraska in the tournament finale.
- Walker drove in 12 RBI over her final three games in Wichita, posting two or more hits in each contest.
- She went 2-for-3 with a home run, double and five RBI in Missouri's 10-1 win over South Dakota State, followed by a 2-for-4 performance with an RBI in the 7-1 win over No. 16/18 Nebraska.
- Walker capped the weekend with a career-best three hits (3-for-4) in the rematch against Nebraska, hitting two home runs–including her first career grand slam–and a double while driving in a career-high six RBI.
- She now has nine home runs in 2025, after recording just one as a freshman in 2024, and is currently riding a three-game hitting streak heading into SEC play.
- Walker ranks third in the SEC (seventh in the NCAA) and is averaging 0.43 homer per game (third in SEC, 12th in NCAA).
TAYLOR EBBS
- Senior designated player Taylor Ebbs, a Kentucky transfer, put together a strong showing at the Shocker Invitational, batting .500 (6-for-12) with two home runs, a double, three RBI and three runs scored.
- Ebbs reached 100 career hits in Missouri's 10-1 win over South Dakota State, blasting a personal-best matching two home runs in the contest, including a two-run shot to right in the third inning.
- She finished the weekend slugging 1.083 with a .571 on-base percentage, recording three multi-hit performances.
- Ebbs will face her former team, Kentucky, this week for the first time since transferring to Missouri ahead of the 2025 season.
- She is six RBI away from 100 in her collegiate career.
JULIA CRENSHAW
- Senior catcher and leadoff hitter Julia Crenshaw continued her consistent offensive production at the Shocker Invitational, hitting .313 (5-for-16) with two doubles, a home run and four RBI while scoring six runs.
- Crenshaw delivered a two-run double in Missouri's 7-1 win over No. 16/18 Nebraska, sparking a six-run fourth inning that put the Tigers in control.
- She capped the weekend with a solo home run in the rematch against Nebraska. The run was off All-American pitcher Jordy Bahl in the sixth inning to trim the Tigers' deficit to one. Crenshaw, an O'Fallon, Missouri, native, notched a season-high three hits (3-for-4), three runs, a double and a homer. She has reached base safely in 10-straight games.
TAYLOR PANNELL
- Junior pitcher Taylor Pannell, the NCAA's active career saves leader, made her second career collegiate start against South Dakota State, going the distance for the complete game once again (second in 2025).
- After making her first collegiate start against Rutgers (Feb. 20), the Lee's Summit, Missouri, native, matched a career-best seven strikeouts, allowing one earned run on two hits with a pair of walks. She improved to 3-2 in 2025 (9-3 in career).
- She finished the tournament with a 0.88 ERA across 8.0 innings, striking out eight batters while holding opponents to a .154 batting average.
QUICK HITTERS
- The Tigers head into SEC opening weekend with an 11-10 record.
- Mizzou is receiving votes in both the ESPN.com/USA Softball and the NFCA/GoRout Coaches Polls.
- The Tigers have three ranked wins, defeating No. 20/21 Northwestern (3-0), No. 7/8 Duke (10-3) and No. 16/18 Nebraska (7-1).
- MU opened its 2025 campaign as the only NCAA Division I institution that competed in the NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic, Shriners Children's Clearwater Invitational Presented by EvoShield and Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.
- Mizzou sits third in the county for strength of schedule and 28th for RPI.
- Madison Walker leads Mizzou with nine home runs and 23 RBI. She is slugging .681 this season. Walker is seventh in the nation and third in the SEC for home runs (9).
- Julia Crenshaw paces the Tigers' offense, hitting .348 with a team-high 23 hits, six doubles and five stolen bases. Crenshaw has reached base in 10 consecutive games and leads MU with Walker with seven multi-hit games.
- Mizzou has blasted 23 home runs in 21 games and is 4-0 when scoring 10 or more runs.
- Madison Uptegrove leads the SEC (13th in the NCAA) in sacrifice bunts per game with 0.33.
- Missouri sits tied for first in total sacrifice bunts per game in the SEC with 17 (15th in NCAA).
- Marissa McCann ranks second in the SEC with Cierra Harrison with nine starts. McCann is also third in innings pitched (57.2) and fourth for complete games (five). McCann has 86 career strikeouts.
- Cierra Harrison is two strikeouts away from 200 in her career.
- Claire Cahalan leads Missouri in average with runners in scoring position (.500). She is on a six-game reached base streak and overall is hitting .302.
- Abby Hay ranks 10th in the SEC with 0.85 walks per game.
- Kara Daly made her 200th career start as a Missouri Tiger in the win over Wichita State. She ranks sixth amongst the NCAA Division I's active career leaders for games played (207). She has 90 career runs.
- Head coach Larissa Anderson picked up her 350th career win with a 10-3 victory over Duke on Feb. 8. Anderson was also inducted into the Gannon University (Erie, Pennsylvania) Athletics Hall of Fame that same day.
- Anderson signed an extension with Mizzou through 2028 over the fall.
- Mizzou is coming off an impressive 2024 that saw the Tigers earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the 17th consecutive year (27 total regional appearances). MU made its 10th Supers appearance in program history in 2024.
- The Tigers totaled 48 wins (48-14, 13-11 SEC) in 2024, their highest total in the program's SEC era and fourth most in program history. Missouri's 13 SEC wins in the 2024 campaign are the most since 15 in 2021.
- The Tigers return six starters from the 2024 NCAA Super Regional team including SEC All-Defensive right fielder Kayley Lenger, NFCA All-Region first baseman Abby Hay along with catcher Julia Crenshaw and third baseman Kara Daly.
- Mizzou added 10 newcomers including seven freshmen and three transfers for the 2025 season.
- Missouri returned the 11th best team ERA (2.03) in 2024 led by starters Cierra Harrison and Marissa McCann along with NCAA saves leader Taylor Pannell.
- Missouri ranked fourth in the NCAA in 2024 with an average attendance of 2,784. In the postseason, MU had the highest home attendance of Regionals (10,016) and Super Regionals (11,608, MU record). Mizzou set single-game (4,021, vs. Duke, May 26, 2024) and single-series attendance records over the postseason weekends.
NEXT UP
- The Tigers next return to Columbia, for the 2025 Mizzou Invitational March 13-15, at the Mizzou Softball Stadium.
- All-Tournament passes are currently on sale for $20 while day passes are also available for purchase online.
- Missouri will wrap the week, hosting Kansas City on March 16.
FOLLOW THE TIGERS
- For all the latest on Mizzou Softball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team @MizzouSoftball (X, Instagram, Facebook).
- The Diamond Club is accepting new members. Email MAF@missouri.edu or call 573-882-0704 to join.
- Join us in Expanding the Tradition of excellence in Mizzou Softball! This special initiative focuses on building a Rock M at the Mizzou Softball Stadium, a centerpiece of Tiger pride. The Rock M will debut at the Tigers' 2025 Mizzou Invitational starting on March 13.
Players Mentioned
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DP/INF
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/ SoftballGeorgia Recap
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Mya Dodge SEC Network+ Postgame Interview (5/1/25)
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Taylor Ebbs Senior Video
Thursday, May 01
Mya Dodge Senior Video
Thursday, May 01
