Missouri Southern State University’s softball team is coming home scorching hot. Well, not home, but kind of home. The Lions are hosting the University of Missouri-St. Louis on Friday for a doubleheader starting at 3 p.m. at Joplin High School’s softball field. They’ll host McKendree University for a pair starting at 1 p.m. Saturday back at JHS.
This is due to unplayable outfield conditions at MSSU’s Pat Lipira Softball Complex.
“We’re excited to play in front of our home fans, for sure, and hoping to get a good turnout at Joplin High School,” MSSU head coach Hallie Blackney said.
Looking back, the Lions were 7-6 in 2025 before their first home games. This time around, they’ll welcome in the Tritons and Bearcats after starting with a 15-1 record and being moved into the top 10 of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association’s top 25 rankings for NCAA Division II softball this week. The Lions were featured at No. 7.
“Wow. Honestly, it’s a great feeling compared to last year,” MSSU senior shortstop Taylor Knuckolls said.
And the Lions aren’t too worried about the location of their games.
“Obviously, we’d love to be at our ‘home’ home, but this will be great. There’s going to be plenty of people here. Our families are going to be tailgating still, making dinner for us,” MSSU center fielder Maddie Rolfs said.
“Still Joplin turf,” Knuckolls said with a grin.
Missouri Southern hasn’t been ranked inside NFCA’s top 10 dating back to at least 2011 and it appears it could be the highest ever.
Those rankings and the record don’t matter so much to Blackney.
“We’re focused on ourselves and our standards and not being result-based. Yes, we want to win games but if we’re all in on our process and our standards, that’s when our end result will be what we want it to be,” Blackney said. “When everyone is clicking, it doesn’t put as much pressure on a single person.”
Everyone seems to be clicking in late February. The Lions have five players batting .400 or better with an on-base percentage of .453 or better. Their OPS (on-base plus slugging) is over 1.000 for each of them as well. The next three leaders in batting average are all hitting .325 or better and have scored runs, driven runs in, sacrificed runners over or even stolen bases.
“Everybody that’s going in is going to be doing a job. Whether that’s a pinch hit, pinch running, getting an opportunity in the lineup, I think everybody is capable of doing a job and scoring runs,” Knuckolls said.
“I think we’re working really well as a unit right now, which is super special. We have 18 girls who can pick each other up no matter what at all times during the game. I think it’s really special and it’s been really fun these first couple weekends,” Rolfs said.
Part of those 18 players, of course, include the pitching staff as well.
MSSU pitching
Southern’s pitching got off to an electric start as freshman Emily Davis was named MIAA pitcher of the week after her performances the first weekend. Davis and company held the opposition to just eight runs in five games with one shutout — a complete game shutout by Davis.
Lately, the offense has exploded. After a 5-0 start carried by strong pitching, the Lions went 5-1 in the second weekend of action and tallied 38 runs in those six games while allowing 17. They went 5-0 this past weekend and tallied 46 runs, scoring 10 or more in three games.
Overall this season, the Lions have outscored opponents 111-45. They’re winning games by an average of more than four runs per game. The pitching has allowed less than three runs per contest while the offense is scoring seven a game.
“In every game we’ve played so far this year, different people have stepped up. … We’ve been able to win in different ways, and it’s helped Katie Gray and people like that not put so much pressure on themselves. Everyone steps up in their own way, honestly,” Blackney said.
Gray leads the Lions in multiple offensive categories and did the same last year. Right now she has the best batting average (.500), OPS (1.730), OBP (.600), SLG (1.130), RBIs (21), home runs (6), doubles (7) and walks (12).
Knuckolls leads the team in runs scored (19), hits (25) and triples (3). She also leads in stolen bases where she’s a perfect 14 for 14 on attempts this season.
Sprinkle in the other productivity and you’ve got a 15-win team before a month of the season has been completed.
On the pitching side, Kiki Pickens is coming off a 2025 season that saw her named MIAA pitcher of the year, all-MIAA first team and first-team all-region by the NFCA. She was the leader in the circle for the Lions.
This year, Davis has helped by leading the team in earned run average, WHIP, shutouts, innings pitched and opponent batting average.
Davis has posted a 1.33 ERA and .86 WHIP so far through 42 innings with two shutouts. Opponents are batting just .162 against her. She’s 6-0 to start the season.
Pickens is 5-1 with a 1.88 ERA and 1.37 WHIP in 37 1/3 innings. She leads the team with 59 strikeouts and opponents are batting .229. She limits extra-base hits with just two doubles allowed and no home runs.
Add in Kadence Janney, who has a 3-0 record in 27 innings. Janney’s ERA is 3.37 and WHIP is 1.41. She has one save on the season as well.
As a group, the pitchers allowed 20 runs in total this past weekend in five games.
“I know pitchers did not perform to the level that they wanted to this last weekend, but we’re still finding ways to win,” Blackney said. “We have to make sure that our journey is we have to peak in May. However it means we get there, we just need to peak in May. Good softball, how you win championships at the end, is clicking on all three cylinders at once (defense, pitching and offense).”