COLUMBIA, Mo. — After Missouri softball was upset by Omaha at home in the first of the NCAA Tournament, the Tigers got to talking. There were quite a few things said, some by coaches, some by players.
But three themes emerged from conversations in the locker room and in a text group chat of players. “We knew that that shouldn’t have happened. We knew that we’re better than that,” shortstop Jenna Laird said.
“We don’t want to be done yet,” first baseman Abby Hay said. Those convictions guided No. 7 Mizzou through its most pivotal day of the season on Saturday, past elimination games against Indiana and Washington.
The double-elimination nature of the NCAA Tournament’s Regional round gave the Tigers a chance to recover, albeit with their backs against the wall. They took it. A long, sweaty afternoon of high-pressure softball featured an all-around “gutsy” performance, as MU coach Larissa Anderson put it afterward.
While Missouri’s stars carried a heavy amount of the load, one in particular did more than her fair share of the lifting. Pitcher Laurin Krings started both games, pitching 11 combined innings and throwing 163 pitches. She allowed just 10 hits and two runs from the circle.
After she pitched 6.1 innings in a win over Indiana, her starting the next game just 45 or so minutes afterward seemed like a surprise. But Krings wouldn’t have it any other way.
She approached Anderson in between games and asked for the chance to start. “You said to me t.