Mizzou Takes the Round Robin Championship
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Softball
February 21, 1999
Missouri entered day two of the Round Robin seeded first with a 2-0 record. They faced 0-3 Billikens and the second seed UNI Panthers (2-1) in the final.
St. Louis University Billikens vs. Missouri Tigers (2-19)
The Tigers batted through the line up one and half times in the first inning to take the lead 12-0. Play began with junior Stacy Gemeinhardt (Belton, Mo.) reaching on a hit by pitch. Batting third Christy Skouby (Marshall, Mo.), subbing for an injured Kim Slover, drove in Gemeinhardt. Freshman catcher Mary McGrane (Downers Grove, Ill.) hit the game winner to bring home junior left fielder Wendy Harrison (Yorba Linda, Calif.) and Skouby. After that the Tigers would score nine more runs in the first inning. Freshman Sara McNeal (Manchester, Mo.) racked up 6 RBI in the game to lead the team. Gemeinhardt, Skouby and sophomore Karen Williams (Gaylord, Mich.) each had 3 runs to their credit. Sophomore pitcher Jana U'Ren ( Mankato, Minn.) pitched a 3 hit 5 strike out win in 5 innings. The Tigers advanced in the tournament to meet the University of Northern Iowa in the finals.
Tournament Final - University of Northern Iowa Panthers vs. Missouri Tigers (2-4)
Sophomore Shawna Robinson's (Atascadero, Calif.) single to short started the scoring roll for the Tigers in the third inning. Junior Amy Farmer's (Ankeny, Iowa) single to right field brought in Robinson for the game's first run. Jamie Lowry (Wright City, Mo.) drove in Gemeinhardt with a single to make the score 2-0. Innings 4 and 5 went scoreless for the Tigers. Lowry and Williams scored in the sixth to make the score 4-0. The Panthers did not go quietly. They came back in the seventh inning to score two to rob sophomore Stephanie Falk (Beaverton, Ore.) of the shut out. Falk allowed only 4 hits and struck out 6 in 7 innings of play. Losing pitcher Jeannine Soncini allowed 4 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks for the Panthers.
POST GAME QUOTES
Head Coach Jay Miller
On Team play during tournament - Yeah, I think we stepped it up and swung the bats a lot better (this weekend). We got some production from the middle of the lineup. We got a little power from them and they drove in some runs. I think it was a good warm up for us after we struggled a little bit last weekend (at Metrodome Classic). Our defense played really well and we also got good pitching. Stephanie (Falk) threw two good ball games. Christy (Caccavo) and Jana (U'Ren) both pitched well also. I think it was a good warm-up for them as well.
Games against SLU and UNI (Championship) - One of the things we've had a problem with in past years is coming out early and scoring a few runs then easing up and not putting other teams away. I haven't seen that yet with this team and I think that's a good sign. We've been able to keep the pressure on and keep things going. When we get a couple of runs we don't coast. I think I saw that when we got up 2-0. In past years we would have sat back and said "that's gonna take care of it." But we got out there and scored some insurance runs and that's what we needed.
Hitting/Maturity - I think we are a little bit maturer (than last year). We're also missing Kim and that's taking a .300 hitter out of your lineup that's been able to drive in some big runs. She's been on fire all this year and that makes a difference too. But you know, (Christy) Skouby, Jamie Lowry, and Amy Farmer, kids like that are driving in some big runs for us where last year they pressed a little bit. I think when Kim got hurt last year, everybody put a little pressure on themselves especially Jamie, and she felt she had to carry the load. Hopefully, we're over that and we're maturer now.
Jana U'Ren, Sophomore Pitcher
Pitching against SLU with a 19 run lead - I was just trying to keep my focus. I think I kind of lost it there in the fourth inning when I gave up a little bit of my intensity but the team kept us in it. We just kept on scoring runs. I don't think it was too bad, I mean, it's better than a no run lead. You're free to try things out. There's no pressure for mistakes.
Sara McNeal, Freshman Catcher
On 6-RBI performance against SLU - I was just really excited to be in there hitting (against them). I don't hit very much and I just knew I had to make a chance of my opportunity when I got it. I knew what I had to do when I got in there and I just concentrated and did it.
