March 31, 2000
The Tigers (25-15, 1-3) take on the Texas Longhorns this weekend at University Field. Missouri is looking to even out their conference record with two home wins over the top team in the Big 12. Games will be Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m. They will be broadcast live on KCOU 88.1.
Missouri is coming off a rough spring break road trip to Lincoln, Neb., Ames, Iowa and Iowa City, Iowa. The Tigers went 1-5 on the trip. Their only win was a 6-3 conference victory over Iowa State.
The Tigers are hitting .284 as a team. The Tiger pitchers have held opponents to a .201 average and have a 1.58 ERA.
The Low Down on the Opposition
Texas comes to Columbia as the top team in the Big 12. They have a 18-18-1 overall record and a 3-0 record in the Big 12. Thier last game was a 8-0 win over Texas A&M.The Longhorns have two players hitting above .300. Freshman second baseman and lead off batter, Lindsay Gardner, leads the team with a .388 average. She leads the team in hits, runs and at bats. She also leads all Big 12 players in hits. Senior third baseman Keely Franks owns a .322 average and leads the team in doubles, homeruns and RBI.
The Longhorn pitching ace is junior Charla Moore. Moore has a 1.60 ERA and a 14-9 record. She is not a big strikeout pitcher as she has only 81 in 157.2 innings, but she lets her defense work for her.
The Coaches
Missouri head coach Jay Miller is one of the most respected and winningest active coaches in division I softball. In addition to 13 seasons at Missouri, Miller has coached on the international level as well. Most recently he coached USA Blue, the Olympic alternate team, this summer in a series against the Olympic team. Miller has a 640-542 record overall and a 487-236 record at Missouri.Texas head coach Connie Clark is one of the Big 12's younger coaches. A former pitcher herself, Clark coached Christa Williams, the 1998 Big 12 Newcomer of the year and a 2000 Olympian. In her second year at the helm of the Texas program, and the second year of softball as a varsity sport at UT, Clark led the Longhorns to their first WCWS appearance, making them the youngest team in NCAA history to accomplish that feat. Clark has a 142-75-1 record in her time as a head coach.
Last Time Against the Longhorns
The Longhorns and the Tigers failed to meet in regular season play last year. The doubleheader schdeuled to be played in Columbia was cancelled due to rain. The two teams did see each other in their second game of the Big 12 Tournament in Oklahoma City, Okla. on May 13.The Tigers took a 5-3 lead after four innings, and the Longhorns decided to bring in their ace, pitcher Christa Williams. The Tiger bats were slowed by Williams in the fifth, but they were able to score one more run in the sixth.
The Longhorns came back to tie the game at 6-6 in the bottom of the seventh inning. Missouri, led by their pitcher Stephanie Falk fought hard in the extra inning, but were unable to stop the Longhorn attack. Texas' All-American, Nikki Cockrell, hit a two run homer in the bottom of the inning to win the game.
The Tigers went on to be eliminated by Kansas the nex day, while Texas ended up winning the tournament.
Gemeinhardt Gets On
It's a rare game when senior center fielder Stacy Gemeinhardt doesn't get on base. She leads the Tigers with a .427 on base percentage.Gemeinhardt has a .344 batting average and leads the team in at bats, hits, runs, triples, walks and stolen bases. Twelve of her hits are extra base hits, five doubles and seven triples.
Gemeinhardt is in the top 10 all-time in every Missouri batting category, and the top five in most. To see the details, check out the "Records Watch" section on page five.
She also ranks very high in the Big 12 in many categories. To see where she ranks, read "Tigers in the Big 12 on page six.
Gemeinhardt was honored for a stellar performance against Pacific by being named Big 12 Player of the Week for the week of March 5.
Speedy Little Sara
Sara Vassmer is defeinitely a speedy little thing. She is just over five feet tall, but is probably the fastest athelte on the Tiger squad. There ahve been several throws she has beat out this season, just from pure speed.Vassmer has the second best on base percentage on the team with a .404. She is third in stolen bases with seven. Vassmer also leads the team with a .367 batting average, which is proabbly enhanced by her speed.
Swarts Is Swingin'
It has taken a few years, but senior short stop Linda Swarts has developed into one of the Tigers' top hitters. Swarts has gone from playing in only 16 games her freshman season to starting all but one game for the Tigers this season.Swarts is hitting well above her career average .266. Currently, she is batting .325, which givees her the third highest percentage on the team. She also leads the team in home runs and RBI.
Werner's Winning Ways
Just as Stephanie Falk was Missouri's shining star in her freshman campaign, so Ingrid Werner is in hers. Of course, she has a more experienced and talented pitcher in front of her than Falk did, but this California kid can hold her own.Werner shows extreme maturity on the mound, and has proven able to hold the Tigers together in some sticky situations. She pitched the Tigers only win on their spring break trip. Werner leads all Tiger pitchers with a 1.43 ERA and an 11-6 record in 21 appearances. Her more laid back style, which allows the Tiger defense to work, compliments Falk's intense strikeout-focused pitching.
Despite her youth, Werner helps make MIssouri's pitching staff one of the top in the country. She was recognized for this earlier in the seson when she was named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week for her performance in the Mizzou Round Robin.
Outstanding Outfield
The outfield seems to be where its at for the Tigers this season. Three of the Tigers' top four hitters are starters in the outfield. Vassmer and Gemeinhardt are the top two hitters, while Karen Williams is fourth with a .322 average. The three outfielders also have the top three on base percentages and are the three leading base stealers on the team.In addition to their stellar hitting and running abilities, the players in the outfield are top defensive players. They have 52 putouts, six assists and only one error between them. They are some of the teams fastest players and can cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time. Not to mention the fact that all three of them are willing to sacrifice their bodies to make a catch.
Seniors Are Supreme
All four Tiger seniors who bat are in the top half of Missouri's batters. Collectively, the seniors are hitting .301 for the season.The seniors have half of Missouri's hits and have scored 65 runs this season, over a third of Tiger runs scored. Recently pitcher Christy Caccavo has gotten in on the action as well. Caccavo has served as a pinch runner twice this season. The first time she scored her first career run.