Feb. 17, 2002
Columbia, Mo.-The University of Missouri softball team took third place in the Mizzou Round Robin Sunday losing to the University of Rhode Island 6-5 and then defeating the Rams in the 3rd-place game.9-0. The Tigers finish the tournament with a 2-2 mark and are now 3-5 overall. The University of Illinois-Chicago Flames took first place in the tournament by defeating Western Illinois in the championship game.
Game 2 Missouri 9, Rhode Island 0 Junior Ingrid Werner (2-1, 2.08 ERA) was untouchable for the Tigers in the consolation game. Werner, who received nine runs of support, pitched only the seventh perfect game in Missouri softball history. The last perfect game by Missouri was on April 26, 1991, when Karen Snelgrove was perfect against UMKC. The Tigers made short work of the Rams in their second meeting of the day, winning the contest in five innings. Junior Kristen Burke was a major offensive force for Mizzou going 2-for-3 with two RBI and scored one run. Burke hit her first home run of the season and the third of her career in the fifth inning. Senior Heather Allister and junior Sara Vassmer also had quality outings, both going 3-for-4.
Game 1 Rhode Island 6, Missouri 5 Mizzou scored a run in the second, two runs in the fourth and a run in the fifth on a RBI single by sophomore Morgan LeCluyse to tie the game at 5-5. However, Rhode Island's Nicole Haywood singled to right field, scoring Kristin Havadoglous in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the Rams a 6-5 win. Several Tigers had quality offensive outings including junior Sara Vassmer, who went 3-for-5 with two stolen bases. Junior Ingrid Werner worked 6.0 innings of three-hit ball in relief of freshman Veronica Flournoy, who gave up four runs in 1/3 of an inning in the Tiger loss.
Mizzou will now travel to Columbus, Ga., for the NFCA Leadoff Classic Feb. 22-24. The Tigers will open competition in the very tough tournament taking on Massachusetts on Friday at noon. MU will then face pre-season No. 3 Stanford at 7:30 pm on Friday night. For more information and a complete box score on today's games, log onto www.mutigers.com .