Larissa Anderson praises Laurin Krings' early performance on the mound vs. Ole Miss

Missouri pitcher Laurin Krings kept Ole Miss off the board for the first four innings of Wednesday’s SEC Tournament matchup against the Rebels.

Leading 3-0 thanks to some big-time at-bats earlier in the game, Missouri softball coach Larissa Anderson explained how important Krings’ performance was early on.

“We’re coming our aggressive home we’re making adjustments and I really liked how [Laurin] Krings is keeping them off balance right now,” Anderson said during the SEC Network broadcast. “So we just got to continue to fight one pitch at a time.”

Through four innings, Krings threw 57 pitches having allowed two hits (one of which was a double) and one strikeout. 12 pitches later, she retired the side in the fifth and escaped the sixth unscathed.

Krings wouldn’t give up her first run until the seventh inning — a home run to Ole Miss senior Aynslie Furbush. She was relieved by sophomore Taylor Pannell after that where she was able to close out the game despite the Rebels’ best efforts late with a 3-1 victory.

If the Tigers can hold on, they’ll be rewarded with a date against 4-seed Arkansas on Thursday. Two more victories separate the Tigers from an improbable SEC Tournament Championship game appearance. To get there, however, they’ll have to go through (barring any upsets) top-seeded Tennessee to get there.

Having won its last three games heading into the tournament — Missouri’s softball team finished the 2024 regular season 40-14 overall and 13-11 in SEC play. Winning 40 games in a regular season is no fluke — and Missouri believes they have a real chance to make a splash in the postseason.

2024 SEC Softball Tournament bracket, schedule for Wednesday, Thursday

Wednesday, May 8

Game 2: No. 8 LSU 3, No. 9 Alabama, 2
Game 3: No. 5 Missouri vs. No. 13 Ole Miss, 35 minutes after Game 2 on SEC Network
Game 4: No. 7 Georgia vs. No. 10 Auburn, 4 p.m. on SEC Network
Game 5: No. 6 Mississippi State vs. No. 11 South Carolina, 35 minutes after Game 4 on SEC Network

Thursday, May 9

Game 6: No. 1 Tennessee vs. LSU winner, 10 a.m. on SEC Network
Game 7: No. 4 Arkansas vs. Game 3 winner, 35 minutes after Game 6 on SEC Network
Game 8: No. 2 Florida vs. Game 4 winner, 4 p.m. on SEC Network
Game 9: No. 3 Texas A&M vs. Game 5 winner, 35 minutes after Game 8 on SEC Network