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What to know about No. 15 Missouri softball's NCAA regional opponents

matt stahl, columbia daily tribune
·4 min read
Arizona softball's Carlie Scupin swings at a pitch. Alabama softball defeated the Arizona Wildcats 5-1 at the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City on Thursday, June 3, 2021.
Arizona softball's Carlie Scupin swings at a pitch. Alabama softball defeated the Arizona Wildcats 5-1 at the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City on Thursday, June 3, 2021.

After suffering through a skid to start the SEC season, Missouri softball pulled itself out of a slump just in time to make a run to the conference tournament championship game and earn the 15th overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The Tigers will host a regional starting Friday, competing in a double-elimination tournament that also includes Missouri State, Arizona and Illinois.

Here's what you need to know about Missouri’s regional opponents:

Missouri State softball

The two teams in the bracket from the Show-Me State haven’t met in the regular season since 2015, when the Tigers blanked the Bears 6-0 in Springfield. However, the two teams are familiar due to offseason scrimmaging.

“They would like nothing better than to come into our house and ruin it for us,” Missouri coach Larissa Anderson said. “We have to realize that they’re going to have an unbelievable amount of energy.”

NCAA Softball Tournament: How to watch, stream Mizzou Tigers vs. Missouri State Bears

Missouri State earned its bid by winning the Missouri Valley Conference championship. The Bears capped off their tournament run by beating Northern Iowa 10-4, giving them their first chance in the NCAA regionals since 2011.

Like the Tigers, Missouri State also suffered through a rough beginning to the year, stumbling to 2-9 out of the gates. The Bears were able to recover, finishing the season 27-18 overall and 18-7 in the MVC.

In the MVC Tournament, Missouri State ran through Illinois State before playing Northern Iowa in the finals. In that game, the Bears trailed early, before a fifth-inning home run by senior Madison Hunsaker put them ahead for good.

Missouri State softball clinched its first trip to the NCAA Tournament in 11 years with a 10-4 win over Northern Iowa on Saturday afternoon at Killian Stadium in Springfield.
Missouri State softball clinched its first trip to the NCAA Tournament in 11 years with a 10-4 win over Northern Iowa on Saturday afternoon at Killian Stadium in Springfield.

Hunsaker, pitcher Steffany Dickerson and shortstop Daphne Plummer earned first-team all-MVC honors, while third baseman Olivia Krehbiel was named to the second team.

Dickerson was also given the conference’s pitcher of the year award, and catcher Alex Bose was named to the MVC all-defensive team.

Missouri and Missouri State will play at 1 p.m. on Friday. The game will be televised on the SEC Network.

More: 3 takeaways from Missouri softball's SEC tournament upset of Alabama

Arizona softball

In contrast to Missouri State’s drought ending, Arizona will play in its 35th consecutive NCAA Tournament when it takes on Illinois in its first game of the Columbia regional.

The streak is the longest in the nation and an NCAA softball record. The Wildcats finished the regular season with a 33-20 overall record and went 8-16 in the Pac-12.

Arizona has historically seen success in the first part of the NCAA Tournament, advancing out of 31 of 34 regionals since 1987. During that same time period, the Wildcats earned a 98-12 record in regional play.

Arizona's Jessie Harper (No. 19) comes to home. Alabama softball defeated the Arizona Wildcats 5-1 at the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City on Thursday, June 3, 2021.
Arizona's Jessie Harper (No. 19) comes to home. Alabama softball defeated the Arizona Wildcats 5-1 at the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City on Thursday, June 3, 2021.

This year’s Arizona squad has been defined by a powerful offense, averaging .329 at the plate as a team, good for 10th in the nation. The team also ranked ninth nationally in home runs, with 86.

Sophomore Allie Skaggs co-led the conference in homers with 22 on the year.

The Wildcats will enter the regional fresh off of a home series loss to Stanford, including one game in which Arizona went down 10-0 in five innings.

More: Mizzou softball is hosting an NCAA Tournament regional. Here's who will come to Columbia

Illinois softball

Arizona’s first opponent in the Columbia regional will be Illinois. The Illini have never advanced to a super regional.

Illinois enters the tournament with a 34-20 overall record, 15-6 in the Big Ten. The team fell 5-1 in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals to Ohio State.

Senior Avrey Steiner was named first-team all-Big Ten. She led the conference in hits with 73 on the season, batting for a .390 average.

Pitcher Sydney Sickels made second-team all-Big Ten after finishing sixth in the conference in strikeouts with 181 and finishing the year with a 1.98 ERA.

Also on the all-Big Ten second team was Kailee Powell, who finished fifth in the conference in doubles with 15 on the year. Powell is currently batting .312.

The Illini and Arizona will play Friday, with the game scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN+.

Matt Stahl is the Missouri athletics beat reporter for the Columbia Daily Tribune. Follow him on Twitter @mattstahl97.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Mizzou softball's NCAA tournament opponents include Arizona, Illinois