2024 Missouri Softball Preview: The Infield
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.
The position group that faced arguably the least amount of key departures was the infield. Out of the seven infielders who started at least 30 games for Mizzou, five are returning. That type of stability could certainly propel the Tigers to another postseason appearance in 2024.
Returners
Maddie Gallagher (2B, senior)
2023 stats: 52 appearances, .273 AVG, .707 OPS, 33 H, 1 HR, 14 RBIs, .376 OBP
After spending her first two seasons at South Carolina, Gallagher transferred to Mizzou in December 2022. The move reunited her with childhood best friend Jenna Laird, who grew up just a few minutes away in Long Island, N.Y., and played infield for the same travel softball team as Gallagher over the course of five seasons.
"Having that one person that you're familiar with definitely made me feel more comfortable, especially 14 hours from home," Gallagher told KOMU 8 back in March. "Talking to Jenna just about the program was definitely a key factor."
Gallagher also rekindled a connection to Anderson, a Long Island native who’d known the Gallagher’s for years.
"I've known Maddie since she was probably nine years old," Anderson said. "She's an unbelievable athlete, very talented. Her instincts are very hard to teach. She and Jenna were always the two middle infielders and really the talk of Long Island."
As Mizzou’s primary second baseman, those instincts showed a handful of times this season. Her best highlight came against Alabama on Mar. 31, when she made an inning-ending layout grab to prevent a base hit.
However, fielding mistakes were a slight concern, as she tied with Kara Daly for the team lead in errors with six and registered a fielding percentage of .953, which would’ve ranked in the mid-200’s if it were an entire team.
Gallagher will likely remain Mizzou’s starting second baseman this season. Offensively, she’ll look to provide a steady hitting presence in the middle of the order, as Gallagher primarily batted fifth or sixth last season. While she’s not a power hitter, she was able to frequently put the ball in play, as her strikeout percentage (13.2) was only bested by one other player who started at least 30 games:
Jenna Laird (SS, senior)
2023 stats: 61 appearances, .354 AVG, .873 OPS, 0 HR, 30 RBIs, .439 OBP
One of three Tigers to start every game last season, Laird has been a stalwart within Mizzou softball since she arrived in 2020.
Like Gallagher, Laird doesn’t make her money off of power. Rather, she’s a classic leadoff hitter: lots of solid contact, few swings and misses and a lot of havoc on the base paths. Last season, she led the team in hits (70, one of just 46 players in D1 to reach that total), stolen bases (30, one of just 28 players in D1) and, you guessed it, strikeout percentage (7.07, a top-150 mark nationally). Her efforts earned accolades, as she was named second-team All-SEC. Her two-way impact also earned her preseason honors, as she sits at No. 61 in D1 Softball’ preseason D100 player rankings.
Laird was incredibly consistent last season. She had a hit in 11 of her first 12 games and in six of her final seven games, including a 4-for-4 performance in Mizzou's only win at regionals over Cal on May 19.
She also only went longer than two games without a hit once, a four-game stretch against Kansas and North Texas in late April.
In the field, Laird was a huge part of Mizzou having the eighth-best fielding percentage in the nation last season. She’ll look to remain at the pinnacle of consistency in a veteran role once again.
Julia Crenshaw (C/2B, junior)
2023 Stats: 61 appearances, .267 AVG, .863 OPS, 9 HRs, 44 RBIS, .357 OBP
The second of three Tigers to start in every single game last season, Crenshaw took a massive leap from her freshman season that only saw her make 11 appearances.
In 2023, the agriculture major had her hands in the dirt quite frequently, as she split time between catcher (35 starts) and second base (26 starts). With Megan Moll (30 starts at catcher/DP last season) transferring to Florida Atlantic, Crenshaw will likely have even more opportunities.
She showed exactly why she won Missouri Gatorade Softball Player of the Year in 2020-21 and fielded a heap of high-major offers. While her statistics didn’t pop off the page like some of her teammates, her strength both behind the plate and in the batter’s box certainly did.
Her source of strength can be largely attributed to baseball training, but another unique medium as well: javelin throwing. Crenshaw was the MSHSAA 5A State Champion in the javelin at Fort Zumwalt West High School in O'Fallon, Mo. She was recruited by Mizzou to throw javelin, and although she committed to softball, she said on The Woods, Water and Mizzou Podcast last March that she might take a fifth year to do throw javelin for the Tigers.
“After school one day, I was like ‘man, what kind of sticks are they throwing up there? They’re spear-throwing? What the heck is that?’” Crenshaw said on the podcast last March. “So I went up there and I tossed one, and I couldn’t get it to stick, that was my main problem. But I ended up figuring it out, and honestly, I fell in love with it. It was so much fun.”
In 2024, Crenshaw will hope to spearhead success once again. One thing to lookout for is Crenshaw’s consistency at the plate, as she was prone to cold streaks. She ended the season 2 for her last 22 and had a 2-for-37 stretch in March, which included a seven-game hitless streak.
Katie Chester (1B/DP, sophomore)
2023 stats: 52 appearances, .190 AVG, .580 OPS, 3 HRs, 11 RBIs, .274 OBP
With Riley Frizell (28 starts at 1B last season) transferring to Louisville, Chester should see more opportunity coming her way in 2024.
Chester was a semi-regular in the lineup last season, as she started 27 games at first base and 13 games at designated player.
She’ll look to improve her performance at the plate in 2024, as she batted just .190 last season in 121 plate appearances.
Kara Daly (3B, junior)
2023 stats: .271 AVG, .707 OPS, 10 HRs, 46 RBIs, .350 OBP
The third Tiger who started every game last season, Daly will be locking down the left corner of the infield once again in 2024.
She built upon a stellar freshman campaign in 2023. Only Alex Honnold had more home runs, with two of those arguably saving Mizzou’s postseason hopes. In the final two games of the season in a three-game series against Arkansas, Daly smashed a walk-off home run in not just the second game, but the third game as well.
Daly also finished right behind Honnold in at-bats, RBIs and slugging percentage. She continued producing when Mizzou needed her the most, as she got at least one hit in each of MU’s five postseason games in the SEC Tournament and the Normal Regional.
As mentioned previously, errors were an issue for Daly last season, as she tied for the team lead with six. However, her prowess at the plate should hopefully offset any major mistakes made in the field.
Departures
Megan Moll (transfer, Florida Atlantic)
2023 stats: 36 appearances, .203 AVG, .713 OPS, 3 HRs, 11 RBIs, .307
After taking a big leap in production during her senior season in 2023, Moll took her talents to Boca Raton for the 2024 campaign. FAU will be aiming to make regionals for the first time since 2016.
Riley Frizell (transfer, Louisville)
2023 stats: 49 appearances, .216 AVG, 5 HRs, 22 RBIs, .284 OBP
After three years in Columbia, Frizell is headed to the ACC to join Louisville for the 2024 season. The Cardinals will look to make the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season.
Another player whose production jumped dramatically from 2022, Frizell split time between first base (28 starts) and designated player (21). She was a stellar bat at the bottom of the lineup, and she didn't make a single error last season.
Addie Lang (graduation)
2023 stats: 14 appearances, .190 AVG, 0 HRs, 1 RBI, .320 OBP
Kelsee Mortimer (graduation)
2023 stats: 22 appearances, .190 AVG, .523 OPS, 0 HRs, 2 RBIs, .333 OBP
Transfers
None
Freshman
Madison Walker (Olathe, Kan.)
If there's one word to describe Walker's high school career, dominant would be a pretty good one.
Leading Olathe West High School to a 24-1 record and the 6A state championship this past season, Walker batted .659 with 18 home runs (which tied a state single-season record), 71 RBIs, 50 runs and 39 extra-base hits. She also struck out just once and made only one fielding error. Her dominance was rewarded with not just a state title, but The Sunflower League Player of the Year award and the 2022-23 Kansas Gatorade Softball Player of the Year award as well. Her list of accolades from years past is CVS-receipt long.
She primarily played first and third base, so she'll have solid mentors at both corners of the infield. Her exceptional two-way impact should help Mizzou right away.
Adi Koller (Texarkana, Tex.)
Hailing from the Texas side of Texarkana, Koller was also extremely productive in high school. In her senior year at Pleasant Grove High Schook, Koller batted .514 with an .858 slugging percentage and .512 on-base percentage. She registered three home runs, 37 RBI and 44 runs.
However, the craziest Koller stat might be this one: in her four years at Pleasant Grove, she never finished a season with a batting average lower than .411.
Abby Hay (Columbia, Mo)
Coming from local Rock Bridge High School, Hay has been a highly-touted player dating back to her middle school days. She grew up playing baseball, and her ability was extremely evident.
“Her baseball IQ is so far advanced for both males and females that it makes her a really good ballplayer,” Rock Bridge baseball coach Justin Towe told the Columbia Missourian in March 2019.
She transitioned to softball at Rock Bridge, and although the adjustment process wasn't perfect, Hay eventually figured it out, and now, she's headed to Mizzou.
At RBHS, Hay was a three-time all-conference, all-district, all-region and all-state player. She primarily played catcher.
While Hay is still relatively new to softball comparatively to her peers, she's positioned herself to positively impact Mizzou softball for years to come. When asked to give three words to describe her game by MU pitcher Cierra Harrison, Hay gave an electric answer.
"Fun, fast, hard," she said.
