Dylan’s Notes
My first impression of the Mizzou softball team was an overwhelmingly positive one. I attended Saturday’s game when they defeated UA Rich Mountain, a community college in Arkansas, 28-1. Here are my key musings from the showdown, and how much can really translate to the spring.
Disclaimer
Before I get too much into the weeds of the performance, first I must say that this UA Rich Mountain team is nowhere near the level of SEC competition. You could see it in the physical differences and in the talent
on the diamond; plenty of mistakes that you’d never see a Top-25 team make.
While they did finish 37-17 a season ago, most of them were against schools you never knew existed. Two of their wins came against Arkansas State Mid-South; can’t say I have any idea where that school is besides Arkansas.
With that out of the way, I think there’s still some valuable information to see who is ready to step up for this team. Here’s who stood out to me in my observations.
Emma Jackson:
After transferring in from East Carolina ahead of the 2026 season, Jackson had an underwhelming first year with the Tigers. She only played in 18 games, batting .167 with no homers. In the exhibition, she looked possessed.
Jackson hit two home runs; a 3-run bomb and a grand slam. She had a patient approach, exploding to the ball when she saw the right pitch with plenty of power. If Jackson can separate herself as a starting outfielder for Mizzou when the season starts in February, that additional bat raises the ceiling of this team.
Stefania Abruscato:
Abruscato enters the season as one of the Tigers’ leaders, both on the field and in the locker room. As the senior catcher, she carries a large amount of respect and backs it up with her play.
She continued to prove her worth in the exhibition with a grand slam of her own. While Abruscato is the primary catcher, sophomore Gracie Britton spent most of the game behind the dish. Having two catchers helps take the load of your starter, especially during the early season tournaments when you play five games in three days.
But when it comes down to crunch time and you need your best lineup, Mizzou is going to put its trust in Abruscato.
Nealy Lamb:
In the circle, the South Carolina transfer started to separate herself. In her one season with the Gamecocks, she made 34 appearances, finishing the season with a 4.37 ERA and 47 strikeouts.
She looked on pace to shatter her strikeout numbers in the exhibition, recording three Ks across six batters. While she did allow two softly-hit singles, there was never a moment where she didn’t feel in control.
While Abby Carr and Marissa McCann are projected to be the Tigers’ top two starters, there is certainly a role for Lamb to carve out this season, bringing much-needed depth to Mizzou’s pitching staff.
Karen’s Notes
I was on hand on Sunday to watch the team’s fall ball finale against a school we’ve actually heard of, Iowa, who finished last season with a .500 record overall, and 7-17 in the Big 10 with no wins over Top 25 teams. (To be fair, hardly any of the Big 10 teams were ranked.)
After a bit of a slow start, the Tigers started to pile on the runs in the fourth inning, ultimately ending the 10-inning contest, 7-1. The Tigers collected bombs from Stefania Abruscato, who hit a 2-run shot in the third to make it 2-0, as well as Sidney Forrester, who had a solo shot in the fourth to make it 3-0.
While there were a handful of strikeouts from the Tigers, they also showed a good bit of plate discipline, with Madison Uptegrove working two walks, along with one each from Saniya Hill, Abruscato, Emma Jackson and Middle Tennessee transfer Jana Want. Abby Hay, Forrester, Jackson and freshman Katelynn Knight all collected doubles as well.
Pitching Prevails
McCann was pretty strong in her seven innings of work, with six strikeouts. After allowing a leadoff triple in the first, she didn’t allow another baserunner until the fifth, when the Hawkeyes were awarded a homerun on a play off the top of the left field wall that Saniya Hill couldn’t quite make a play on. McCann also allowed a walk and a base hit later, but overall, was extremely effective.
Rylee Michalak took over in the circle in the eighth inning for an inning of work, allowing a base hit.
Nealy Lamb entered in the ninth and pitched two innings, allowing two baserunners in her first inning of work before getting out of the jam, and working in a pair of strikeouts. Like Dylan mentioned above, I think she’ll be helpful to the team this year.
Arizona State transfer Mary Peyton Hodge, reliever Natalie Touchet, and Abby Carr (injury) were not used in this one. Carr is expected to be ready for the season, however.
Saniya Hill:
A good day at the plate for the Tigers’ leadoff hitter was good at the plate. She walked and had two base hits (which during an actual game, might have been scored as errors), as well as a run scored. She’s a good bat to have in this Tiger lineup, and I would expect her to be a mainstay come the regular season. She does still need a bit of work on the fielding aspect — I think both the triple and the homerun were playable, but she didn’t perhaps make the correct read.
Newbies:
Katelynn Knight and Hadley Borders (CF) were the lone starters in Sunday’s game to the best of my recollection. Of Knight’s three at-bats — I think she was the DP? — she recorded a double and was caught stealing (it wasn’t close). Borders had a strikeout and a base hit.
Katie Guilliam came in in the seventh and had two at-bats. She did not reach base, recording a groundout and a liner to short which led to a double play.
I do not think we saw Audrey Cathey.
UP NEXT: The real thing, which I expect to kick off in February, likely in the Sunshine State, as per usual. MU Tigers has not offered an updated schedule at this point. Dylan, Aaron Segal and I will be your Mizzou Softball writing team this season, so stay tuned for updates.
