April 9, 2003
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The Tigers look to extended their winning streak to six games on Thursday as they host Iowa State in a doubleheader at University Field. Mizzou is 22-13 on the year and 5-2 in Big 12 Conference play. Missouri is receiving votes in both the ESPN.com/USA Softball and the USA Today/NFCA polls. Iowa State enters Thursday's doubleheader with a 14-20 overall record and a 2-5 Big 12 mark. The Tigers lead the all-time series with the Cyclones 32-28. MU has had it last three games cancelled due to inclement weather. Before that, it had won four straight, including a win over No. 5 Texas last Saturday.
A LOOK AT THE CYCLONES
Iowa State enters Thursday's doubleheader with a 14-20 record on the season and a 2-5 Big 12 Conference mark.
The Cyclones split a two-game series with No. 4 Oklahoma last weekend. They also split a series with Kansas earlier in the year.
At one point this season, ISU put together a six-game winning streak, but followed that with an eight-game losing streak.
Erica Martinez leads the Cyclones' pitching staff. She has a 2.41 ERA and an 8-7 record this year.
Martinez has made 20 appearances for ISU, starting 13 games. She has 116 strikeouts in 104.2 innings pitched.
At the plate, Martinez is hitting .243 with one home run, one triple and five doubles.
Julia Lindsey leads Iowa State with a .324 batting average.
Lindsey Herrin has a team-leading four home runs and is tied with Martinez with 12 RBI on the year.
Ruth Crowe is in her seventh year as the head coach at Iowa State. She has compiled a 121-182 record with the Cyclones.
Crowe has a career record of 223-255 in 10 seasons as a head coach.
Mizzou holds a 32-28 lead over the Cyclones. MU and ISU faced each other five times last year with Iowa State taking three of the five games.
ON TAP
Mizzou will travel to Stillwater, Okla. for a series with Oklahoma State this weekend.
The Tigers then return home for back-to-back doubleheaders against UMKC on April 15 and Saint Louis University on April 16.
MU also has trips to Baylor and Kansas left on the schedule, as well as a home series with Nebraska.
LAST TIME OUT
Missouri recorded its third win over a ranked opponent in the past two weeks by defeating No. 5 Texas, 1-0, on Saturday.
The Tigers scored the game's only run when Ashley Hays drove in Daisy Mettlach with a single in the bottom of the sixth inning off Longhorn pitcher Cat Osterman.
Erin Kalka pitched a three-hit shutout and struck out eight for her 12th victory of the season.
The Tigers defeated No. 4 Oklahoma on March 26 and No. 20 Texas A&M on March 30 and have yet to lose a Big 12 series this season.
Sunday's game against UT was rained out and will not be rescheduled.
Mizzou was also rained out of a doubleheader on Tuesday, as its games against Southwest Missouri State in Springfield were cancelled. Those games will also not be rescheduled.
KALKA RECEIVES BIG 12 HONOR
Erin Kalka was selected as the Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Week on Tuesday after she led Mizzou to a 1-0 win over No. 5 Texas last Saturday.
The shutout was her seventh of the season as she struck out eight and allowed just three singles to the Longhorns.
The win marked the second three-hit shutout over a ranked opponent for Kalka in the past two weeks. On March 26, she recorded a three-hit shutout over No. 4 Oklahoma.
For the season, Kalka is 12-7 with a 2.11 ERA. She has struck out 144 batters in 129.2 innings pitched.
Opposing batters are hitting just .197 off Kalka, and she leads MU with 14 complete games this season.
THE VOTES ARE IN
Missouri received votes in both the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll and the USA Today/NFCA poll.
The Tigers received 15 votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll, placing it 27th in the nation.
Mizzou is ranked 33rd in the USA Today/NFCA poll, receiving four votes in this weeks poll.
TO BE THE BEST, YOU HAVE TO BEAT THE BEST
With its 1-0 win over No. 5 Texas last Saturday, MU has now won its last three games against ranked opponents.
The Tigers defeated No. 4 Oklahoma by a score of 2-0 on March 26 in Norman, Okla.
The following weekend, MU took a game from No. 20 Texas A&M, defeating the Aggies 6-5 in ten innings in the second game of a two-game series.
Missouri is 3-6 against Top 25 teams and 2-3 against teams in the Top 10.
FLEE BATTERS, FLEE
Samantha Fleeman struck out ten batters as she no-hit Southeast Missouri State in the opening game of a doubleheader On April 2.
Fleeman picked up her fifth victory of the season with the win. She walked four, which were the only base runner to reach base for the Otakians.
The last no-hitter at MU was thrown by Ingrid Werner last season. Werner actually recorded a perfect game against Rhode Island on Feb. 17, 2002.
After winning in her first two starts of her collegiate career, Fleeman did not pick up win number three until she had a complete game one hitter against Pittsburg State on March 12, striking out ten in that game also.
For the season, Fleeman has two shutouts and has struck out 59 batters while walking just 21.
THE MAC ATTACK
Mizzou junior Rachael McGinnis' name can be found among the leaders in the Big 12 Conference statistical categories.
She is currently third in the conference in batting with a .371 mark. McGinnis is third in on base percentage (.445) and second in the Big 12 in slugging percentage (.686).
McGinnis leads the team with a .371 batting average. She also leads MU in hits (39), home runs (8), RBI (24) and runs scored (25). She is second on the team in triples (2) and is third in stolen bases (6) and doubles (5).
GONE FISHING
Well actually Melaine Fisher was not gone fishing for the first 30 games of the season.
Fisher, also a member the Mizzou women's basketball team, did not join the Tigers softball team until the basketball season concluded on March 27.
She averaged 5.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per game with the basketball team helping the Tigers reach the quarterfinals of the WNIT.
Fisher joined the softball Tigers in time for their series with Texas A&M and saw action in both of the games against the Aggies.
She picked up her first hit in a big way as she connected for a two-run home run in the top of the second inning in the opening game of the doubleheader against Southeast Missouri State.
Fisher finished 4-for-6 with one home run, two RBI, two runs scored in the two games against SEMO.
UNLUCKY 13 FOR LECLUYSE
MU junior Morgan LeCluyse's double in the Tigers' first games against Southeast Missouri on April 2, extended her hitting streak to 13 games.
Unfortunately 13 turned out to be unlucky. LeCluyse had to leave the game after she dove back to the third base bag on a pick-off attempt and jammed her hand into the base.
For the season, LeCluyse had been hitting .337, which is ninth best in the Big 12 Conference, and has four home runs and 18 RBI.
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.
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.
Kalka again took the start in both games of a doubleheader, this time against No. 4 Oklahoma. Like she did in Los Angeles, on March 26.
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 home run, the first big hit for Oklahoma on the day against Kalka.
Kalka recorded another shutout over a top five team last Saturday as she pitched a three-hit shutout against No. 5 Texas.
Kalka is 12-7 on the season with a 2.11 ERA. She has 144 strikeouts in 129.2 inning pitched, which is 1.11 strikeouts per inning.