The University of Missouri softball team registered a 4-1 mark last week improving their record to 28-29 overall and 4-12 in the Big 12.The University of Missouri softball team registered a 4-1 mark last week improving their record to 28-29 overall and 4-12 in the Big 12.
Softball

Tigers Welcome SLU To University Field For Final Home Games Of 2002

April 23, 2002

Tigers Welcome SLU to University Field for Final Home Games of 2002

The University of Missouri softball team (28-29 overall, 4-12 in the Big 12) will play its final home contests of 2002 today as it welcomes in state rival Saint Louis (21-23 overall, 5-14 in Conference USA) to University field for a doubleheader. First pitch of Game 1 is scheduled for 5 pm. Both games can be heard on 1580 KTGR in Columbia or at www.mutigers.com with Tex Little calling all of the action.

Mizzou is coming off of a split with the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Sunday. The Tigers have won five of their last six contests including five straight games last week.

Tiger Tid Bits

The University of Missouri softball team registered a 4-1 mark last week improving their record to 28-29 overall and 4-12 in the Big 12...Over the course of the last week, Mizzou recorded its second longest winning streak (5 games) of the season...The Tigers had a solid week at the plate hitting .303 as a team with seven doubles, a triple and three homeruns...Junior Sara Vassmer had a great week hitting .500 (7-for-14) with a stolen base and three runs scored...She is in the midst of a seven-game hitting streak...freshman Erin Kalka also had a good week going 3-0 in four appearance...Kalka had a 23.0 inning scoreless streak broken up in the Tigers loss to Texas Tech.

A Look at the Billikens

The Billikens enter Teusday's contests winners of nine of their last 13 games. Since playing Mizzou back on April 2 in St. Louis, SLU has went 8-6. They have an overall mark of 21-23 and a 5-14 record in Conference USA including a 9-9 mark on the road. SLU is coached by sixth year head coach Jim Malloy. They are led offensively and in the circle by junior pitcher Nicole Boehnstiehl. She boasts a .328 batting average with five homeruns and eight doubles. She also leads the team in ERA (2.25), innings pitched (164.2) and strike outs (163) while limiting opponents to a .221 batting average.

Earlier this Season Against SLU 

	April 2 in St. Louis
		St. Louis 5, Missouri 4
		Missouri 5, St. Louis 2

Who's En Fuego

* Senior Heather Allister has recorded a hit in six of her last 13 at bats.

* Freshman Erin Kalka has given up only 12 hits and no earned runs in 15.0 innings of work in her last three outings. She is now 13-11 on the year.

* Sophomore Morgan LeCluyse currently has a four-game hitting streak going.

Sophomore Rachael McGinnis has registered a .417 batting average in the last four games and has recorded a double, a homerun and five RBI.

* Junior Sara Vassmer has scored a hit in seven straight contests.

The State of Season Address

The Tigers are currently in 9th place in the Big 12 with a 4-12 league mark after splitting last weekends series with Texas Tech. The Tigers are a game behind Iowa State after the Cyclones dropped both games of a double header with Oklahoma State in Ames yesterday for the eighth spot.

They are three games behind Kansas for the seventh spot in the league. After today's non-conference matchup with Saint Louis, Mizzou will travel to College Station to take on Texas A &M this weekend. However, it looks like Mizzou will not be able to avoid playing in the play-in game of the Big 12 Tournament on opening day of the Tournament at 5 pm. Mizzou could face any of four teams in the contest including Texas A & M, Kansas, Iowa State or Texas Tech. Stay tuned.

If Mizzou wants to make a run at improving its seed in the Big 12 Conference Tournament next month, now is definitely the time.

Spinning Your Favorite Records Every Season, Your Listening to the Missouri Softball Network

Several Tigers are making major moves in the Mizzou softball record books. Here is a breakdown of some of the movers and shakers.

Rachael McGinnis ranks... -7th on the single season RBI charts (43). -would rank second on the Mizzou charts in single season slugging percentage if the season were to end today (.648). - 6th on the single season home run charts (7). -tied for 10th on the Mizzou career homerun charts (9).

Ingrid Werner ranks... -tied for eighth on the career appearance chart (95). -10th on the career innings pitched (403.0). -8th on the career strike outs charts (211).

Erin Erickson ranks... -6th on the career doubles charts (33) -5th on the career homerun charts (14) -5th on the career put outs charts (969)

Mary McGrane ranks -8th on the career put outs charts (750) -1st on the career fielding percentage charts (.995)

The Hits Just Keep on Coming

Sophomore Rachael McGinnis, who currently ranks sixth in single season home runs at MU with seven, showed signs of heating up again going 2-for-3 with a homerun and three RBI on Thursday against Kansas. She also had a good series with Texas Tech on Sunday going 2-for-4 with a walk and her team-leading 10th double of the season. She is second in the league in hitting (.395), and leads the league in hits (664), triples (5, tied with senior teammate Lindsey Jacoby) and total bases (105).

McGinnis has recorded two or more hits in 19 games this season and recorded a 13-game hit streak earlier in the year. If the season were to end today, McGinnis' .395 batting average would rank third on the MU single season charts.

Swingin' For the Fences After not hitting a home run in three straight contests earlier this month, the Tigers have exploded for five crush jobs in the last seven games.

Junior Melanie Fisher was the first to break out with her second home run of the season in the top of the first inning against Nebraska (4/14) giving Mizzou a 1-0 lead.

Fisher would hit her second in as many games in the Game 1 of Mizzou's series with UMKC, a majestic game-winning shot to center field.

Seniors Erin Erickson and Lindsey Jacoby would also get in on the act. Erickson hit her second of the year in the fourth inning on Sunday against the Huskers (4/14) which plated two Tiger runs. Jacoby broke out of an 0-16 slump with an opposite way job in Game 2 of the Tigers series against UMKC (4/16) in Independence.

Sophomore Rachael McGinnis kept the power surge going last Thursday when she recorded her seventh round tripper. Mizzou has now hit 25 home runs as a team on the season, which ranks sixth in the Big 12 and is already more than double the number of home runs the Tigers hit in 2001.