Missouri softball returns home this weekend riding its longest win streak of the season as the Tigers prepare to host No. 6 Alabama in a three-game home series at Mizzou Softball Stadium.

After going 4-0 in the Mizzou Bye-Week Series, the Tigers swept Illinois on Wednesday in Champaign, Illinois, and extended their win streak to seven. Missouri is now 14-16 and inching closer to .500, a threshold required for postseason play.

During the win streak, Missouri hit .376 at the plate and the team’s ERA was 2.02. Marissa McCann, in particular, has produced one of the best stretches of her career, with 19 strikeouts, four walks and a 0.37 ERA through her last three starts.

Alabama, meanwhile, received its first loss of the season Saturday against No. 9 Arkansas. The Crimson Tide responded well, winning game three of the series before beating Louisiana Monroe 4-1 on Tuesday.

Jocelyn Briski, the reigning SEC Pitcher of the Week, has anchored Alabama’s pitching staff and is a big reason the Crimson Tide have stayed so competitive. Briski went 2-0 against Arkansas, striking out 24 with just two runs earned through 14 innings. On the season, she has a 1.20 ERA and is fourth in the SEC in strikeouts with 94.

Offensively, Alabama features one of the most complete lineups in the SEC. Two players have already hit double-digit home runs, with Alexis Pupillo (.481, 34 RBI) and Brooke Wells (.479, 31 RBI) both at 10.

Freshman Ambrey Taylor has emerged as one of Alabama’s most productive batters, batting .455 with four home runs and a team leading OPS of 1.702. She made history over the weekend, becoming the first player in program history to hit multiple home runs as a pinch hitter.

Alabama has struggled to find a consistent third baseman this season and Taylor may be the answer. She started at third base in the Louisiana Monroe game, hitting a two RBI triple to start the first inning. 

The Crimson Tide currently sits sixth in the SEC in batting average, fifth in on-base percentage, third in home runs and sixth in RBI.

For Missouri and its pitching staff, they’ll need to keep up pressure offensively if they want to compete with Alabama. The series represents an opportunity for Missouri to change its early season narrative and get back into postseason contention.

The Tigers started the season with a difficult stretch, staying competitive against top teams, yet ultimately struggled to capitalize late in games. The Tigers were swept in a competitive series against No. 8 Florida, lost in the final two innings against No. 7 UCLA and fell 5-4 to No. 20 Duke to start the season.

A young core has since emerged for Anderson and the Missouri coaching staff, and they have served as a spark plug for the rest of the team. Freshman Sidney Forrester is leading the team in home runs at seven, hitting her first career multi-home run game Wednesday against Illinois. In the leadoff role, another freshman, Addy Waits, has reached base safely in 18 straight games and leads the SEC in hits by pitch with eight.

Two-way player Abby Carr, another freshman, is contributing as well. In the circle, she leads the team in ERA at 2.28 though 40 innings pitched, while also batting five home runs and a team leading 25 RBI.

Missouri is 11-23 all-time against Alabama. Since becoming head coach in 2018, Larissa Anderson is 3-11 against it. The last time the Crimson Tide made a trip up to Columbia was in 2023, where they won the first two games before the Tigers responded in the third to run-rule Alabama 11-3 in five innings. It was the only time Alabama lost in run-rule fashion that season.

The Tigers are ranked at No. 70 in RPI while Alabama is ranked No. 2. Alabama will need to sweep Missouri if it wants to maintain its position at the top of the rankings. 

Meanwhile, Missouri will look to translate its progress into a win against one of the top teams in the nation. The Tigers notably beat two No. 1 ranked teams last season and will look to do something similar again this weekend. Even just one win against Alabama will serve Missouri well as it fights to get into the postseason.

“Be the underdog and wreck everyone’s season and continue to fight,” Anderson said in a news conference following a loss to Miami (Ohio).

The series begins at 5 p.m. Friday, continues at 2 p.m. Saturday and concludes at noon Sunday at Mizzou Softball Stadium. All games will be streamed to SEC Network+.