Missouri softball and its first weekend

As the season began, I didn’t know what to expect.

Missouri softball was coming off a nice 35-25 season in 2019, however it was ranked near the bottom of the SEC going into 2020.

They had a revamped pitching rotation that would see three freshman play prominent roles for them.

It seemed that just going over .500 in its first tournament would have been a good way to start the year, however the Missouri didn’t settle for that.

The Tigers went 5-0 in their opening weekend, including a notable close victory over No. 8 Minnesota.

Missouri won its first game against Notre Dame, which was mostly a pitching duel. Then, they followed that with a back-and-forth victory over South Alabama. Here’s the story:

https://www.columbiamissourian.com/sports/mizzou_sports/mu-softball-wins-opening-games-as-tigers-come-up-clutch/article_521a27b6-49cb-11ea-bdb8-771684f09b53.html

Next, the Tigers had a double-header against the aforementioned eighth-ranked Golden Gophers and Baylor. The Tiger’s shined offensively on their way to two wins. Here’s the story:

https://www.columbiamissourian.com/sports/mizzou_sports/mu-softball-s-offense-shines-as-they-defeat-eighth-ranked/article_b70e937e-4ab5-11ea-8f11-d7ec4b5cd4f7.html

Lastly, to finish off the perfect weekend, Missouri defeated Louisville convincingly, 5-1. Here’s the story:

https://www.columbiamissourian.com/sports/mizzou_sports/mu-softball-defeats-louisville-as-tigers-go-undefeated-in-opening/article_48027c7a-4b6e-11ea-9003-f305c5bcc82d.html

The Tiger’s proved their doubters wrong as they went from unranked to in the top-20 in multiple polls after one week. Here’s my story on that:

https://www.columbiamissourian.com/sports/mizzou_sports/missouri-softball-moves-into-top-ahead-of-challenging-tournament/article_8d757de8-4d03-11ea-ac16-7fffabdf1581.html

Overall, it’s been a joy covering Mizzou softball. The team has so many interesting pieces and it doesn’t rely on one person. You never know who can step up and have a big day. I’ve also been impressed with how the freshman pitchers have adjusted so fast to the college game. I’m interested to see if they have any slumps during the season or if this is something to expect for not just this season, but the forthcoming ones as well.