March 28, 2003
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The Missouri Tigers, coming off a split in a doubleheader against No. 4 Oklahoma on Wednesday, will take on Texas A&M in their first home conference series of 2003 this weekend. On Wednesday, Mizzou knocked off the Sooners 2-0 in the opener of the doubleheader as Erin Kalka pitched a three hit shutout for her 11th victory of the season. It was MU's first win over a ranked opponent this year and the first time the Tigers have defeated OU since 1997. Mizzou is 18-12 on the season and 3-1 in Big 12 Conference play. Texas A&M enters the weekend with a 25-11 record and a 3-1 Big 12 mark. Following the weekend series, Missouri will travel to Cape Girardeau, Mo. for a Wednesday doubleheader with Southeast Missouri State.
A LOOK AT THE AGGIES
Texas A&M is 25-11 overall on the year and is tied with Mizzou in the Big 12 with a 3-1 conference mark.
The Aggies have won their last five games and seven of their last eight. They are coming off of a doubleheader sweep of Sam Houston State on Wednesday.
Last weekend, Texas A&M swept a two-game weekend series with No. 5 Nebraska, defeating the Cornhuskers 6-5 and 5-3 in College Station.
Following that sweep, the Aggies moved up to No. 20 in both the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll and the USA Today/NFCA poll.
The Aggies lead the all-time series with Mizzou 24-12, including a sweep of last year's series.
LAST TIME OUT
The Missouri Tigers picked up their biggest win of the season, and the biggest win in quite awhile for the Tiger program as they defeated No. 4 Oklahoma 2-0 in the opening game of a doubleheader on Wednesday in Norman, Okla.
Erin Kalka was the star for MU, starting both games of the doubleheader and recording a three-hit complete game shutout in game one for her 11th victory of the season.
Joanne Loethen was 2-for-3 with one RBI in the opener against OU ace Kami Keiter, who lost for just the second time in 2003.
The win was the first over a ranked opponent for Mizzou this season and snapped an eight game winning streak by the Sooners in the series with MU. The last Tiger win over Oklahoma was back in 1997.
The Tigers continued to battle OU through four innings of game two, until Leah Gulla connected on a three-run homerun off Kalka in the fifth to give the Sooner a 4-1 lead. They added a run in the sixth for the 5-1 victory to earn a split in the doubleheader.
Morgan LeCluyse had the big hit for MU in game two, as she led off the second inning with her third homerun of the year.
A PERFECT 10 FOR LECLUYSE
MU junior Morgan LeCluyse had one hit in each of the Tigers' games against Oklahoma on Wednesday, extending her hitting streak to 10 games.
Since the start of the streak against Pittsburg State on March 12, LeCluyse has hit .433. She has had 13 hits in the last 10 games, including two homeruns, two triples and a double.
Her slugging percentage during the streak is an extrodinary .800. She is also a perfect 6-for-6 in stolen base attempts in the last 10 games.
For the season, LeCluyse is hitting .333 with three homeruns a 17 RBI. She is tied or the Big 12 Conference lead in triples with three and her slugging percentage of .587 is tenth best in the conference.
LET'S PLAY TWO
Erin Kalka has taken Ernie Banks' famous quote, "Let's play two" to heart.
Two times this season Kalka has stepped into the pitcher's circle in back-to-back games against some of the best teams in the nation and has been dominate.
Kalka took the ball in the first of two games on the final day of the UCLA Tournament, and was still in the circle when the second game ended.
Kalka pitched back-to-back complete games, striking out 16 batters and giving up no earned runs in 13 innings of work on the day.
She picked up a win in a four hit shutout against Boston College to start the day.
Then, against the No. 1 ranked UCLA Bruins, Kalka gave up no earned runs and struck out 10.
Last Wednesday, Kalka again took the start in both games of a doubleheader, this time against No. 4 Oklahoma. Like she did in Los Angeles, Kalka was 1-1, pitching a three-hit shutout in the first game, as she struck out six Sooners and walked only one.
She then held OU to only four hits and one run through four innings in the nightcap, before OU's Leah Gulla connected on a three-run homerun, the first big hit for Oklahoma on the day against Kalka.
THE MAC ATTACK
Mizzou junior Rachael McGinnis' name can be found among the leaders in the Big 12 Conference statistical categories.
She is currently sixth in the conference in batting with a .344 mark. McGinnis is eighth in on base percentage (.422) and eighth in the Big 12 in slugging percentage (.611).
She is also, once again, at or near the top of nearly every offensive categories for MU.
McGinnis leads the team with a .344 batting average. She also leads MU in hits (31), homeruns (5) and runs scored (19). She is second on the team in triples (2) and RBI (17) and is third in stolen bases (6) and doubles (5).
HITS KEEP COMING FOR KUNKEL
Of Heather Kunkel's 27 hits this season, 10 have gone for extra base hits and her 20 RBI leads the team.
Kunkel is tied for the team lead in doubles with six on the season and has three homeruns and one triple.
She is hitting .293 heading into the weekend series with Texas A&M.
She opened the season with a five game hitting streak and currently has a six game hitting streak on the line.
Kunkel is also a perfect 3-for-3 in stolen base attempts on the season.
IT'S A GO FOR J-LO
Freshman Joanne Loethen has been arguably the Tigers' most consistent player this season.
The freshman is hitting .304 heading into this weekend. She is tied with Heather Kunkel for the team lead in doubles with six and has stolen six bases on eight attempts.
She has had a hit in 20 of Mizzou's 30 games this season and at one point had a seven game hitting streak. She has also had eight multiple hit games this year.
ON TAP
Missouri will step out of conference next Wednesday for a midweek doubleheader against Southeast Missouri State in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Game one will begin at 3 p.m. on Wednesday with game two to follow.
MU returns to Big 12 play next weekend as Texas visits Columbia for a two game set at University Field.