'It's Unfathomable': Mizzou Softball's 2025 Campaign Ends With a Limp

In recent years, May 6 has been very kind to Mizzou softball.

Three years ago, the Tigers took down Montana Fouts and Alabama in eight innings. Two years ago, Kara Daly walked off Arkansas in the eighth inning with a solo home run, which she followed up with another walk-off solo blast the next day.

"That feeling coming into home," Daly said after the second act of heroism, "was pretty awesome."

Last May 6, Mizzou was a day removed from sweeping South Carolina, happily concluding a stupendous regular season. When Seis de Mayo came around this year, however, there was no toppling the opposing pitcher. There were no walk-offs, no feelings of awesomeness ... only a slow burn in the Plains.

In the first round of the SEC Tournament, which Mizzou has usually bypassed with a good enough record, the Tigers saw their season die with a 1-0 loss to Ole Miss. For the first time since 2006 — the same year some of the current freshman were born — Mizzou won't be going to the NCAA Tournament.

"The result is what it is," head coach Larissa Anderson said. "You just want to keep playing for them (the seniors)."

Unfortunately for MU, that opportunity has expired. The NCAA requires teams to have an overall winning percentage of at least 50 for at-large consideration; finishing 25-31, its third-worst record in program history, Mizzou isn't close to that threshold.

Tuesday was a somber end to what was supposed to be another successful season. It was a feeling that was especially felt by the five seniors departing: Daly, Julia Crenshaw, Mya Dodge, Taylor Ebbs and Jayci Kruse, all of whom had been to the NCAA Tournament in previous years. Crenshaw and Daly, both of whom are Missouri natives, saw their dream career paths end in a nightmare.

"It was our dream to wear this uniform," Crenshaw said of her and Daly through tears. "And the fact that I have to take it off and never put it back on again ... it's unfathomable."

When performing an autopsy on what killed the Tigers, it's difficult to ignore the offense, which disappeared once more against the Rebels. The offense wasn't all doom and gloom. Madison Walker's 18 home runs were the most by a Tiger since 2019, when Kimberly Wert hit 19. Crenshaw hit 14 home runs, one more than the total from her first three seasons combined, to go along with a team-high .361 batting average.

But the collective bad seemed to outweigh the individual good. For example, Mizzou averaged 4.61 runs per game, its fewest since the dire '06 campaign. MU also tallied 28 games with three or fewer runs, including four of its final five contests.

Last season's average of 4.73 runs per game wasn't much better; in fact, that was the next-worst number before this season since 2006. But that iteration of the Tigers kept finding ways to win, especially in close games. Last season, Mizzou was 29-13 in games decided by three runs or less; this season, they were 9-23 in such instances.

What also didn't help was another wildly difficult schedule. Per Warren Nolan, the Tigers had the fourth-hardest schedule in the country. A lot of that had to do with playing in the SEC, which could see its other 14 teams besides Mizzou make the NCAA Tournament. For the first time in program history, the Tigers played the No. 1-ranked team in three different series. Plus, Mizzou played a treacherous non-conference schedule that included Florida State, UCLA, Duke and Oregon, each of which is projected to host a Regional.

While the tough road played a factor in MU's struggles this season, Anderson didn't sound regretful of any scheduling decisions.

"Would I have changed anything? No, because they want to play against the best and compete against the best," Anderson said. "The challenges that they faced throughout the entire year is going to prepare them for the rest of their life, and that's what they gained from this experience."

There was a sense of optimism that Mizzou could overcome a major challenge at the SEC tournament this week. Last year, after the Tigers were stunned by Omaha in the first game of Regionals, they became just the sixth national seed to win their Regional after dropping the first contest since the modern format was introduced in 2005. Before that, they made the SEC Tournament final for the second time in three seasons.

Plus, MU's opponent in the first round of this year's SEC Tournament, Ole Miss, had won the tourney in 2017 as a No. 7 seed, the highest to ever take home the tournament championship. That magic didn't rub off on the Tigers, but even as they finished way beneath expectations, Anderson still commended her team's resilience.

"They easily could've quit. They easily could've been toxic and giving in and saying 'well this season's a wash'. But it wasn't a wash," Anderson said, "because they absolutely love to play with one another and play the game for the right reasons the right way."

There's plenty of reasons for Mizzou to be optimistic for the future. One is a promising freshman class; Madison Uptegrove, a highly-touted recruit from right down the road in Columbia, quickly became a regular starter. Abbie Wilhelm started in each of MU's final four games, with her first career hit being a late home run in a 4-2 win over Georgia. Sophie Smith also received ample playing time this season, appearing in 32 games.

Then, there's everyone else who's returning, which is most of the team. That includes Mizzou's top three pitchers: Cierra Harrison, Marissa McCann and Taylor Pannell. Kayley Lenger, one of the best defensive outfielders in the sport, has one more year left. Walker, Stefania Abruscato, Abby Hay, Claire Cahalan and Natalie Touchet will all be juniors.

For as underwhelming as this season was for Mizzou, a sense of thankfulness still made its way through the sadness. Not all roads lead to glory, but the end is almost never void of closure.

"In this day and age, it's so easy to transfer. It's so easy to go where you're guaranteed a spot in the (Women's College) World Series. But I wouldn't have traded it for anything," Crenshaw said. "I wouldn't have traded this route, these four years for anything, and if that means I'm sitting here today, then so be it. I'd do it again in a heartbeat."