May 15, 2003
ANN ARBOR, Mich.-- - Missouri committed four errors, two in the final inning as Notre Dame defeated the Tigers 4-3 in eight innings in first round of play at the NCAA Regionals in Ann Arbor, Mich. on Thursday.
Rain delayed the start of the Tigers' first NCAA Regional game since 1999 by two hours, pushing back the tournament schedule.
Once the game started, MU struck first, scoring a run in the top of the second as junior Morgan LeCluyse singled to drive in junior Rachael McGinnis who has singled three batters earlier. LeCluyse, who was in the starting lineup for the first time since injuring her right hand on April 2, extended her hitting streak to 14 games with the RBI base hit.
Mizzou added a run in the top of the third as McGinnis reached for the second time on the day on an infield single which scored sophomore Ashley Hays to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead.
After holding Notre Dame scoreless for four innings, the Irish bats broke open in the fifth inning as they put up three runs to take the lead away from Missouri.
Needing a seventh inning rally to stay in the game, Hays lead off the inning with a her first career home run over the left field wall, making it a 3-3 game. The Tigers had the go ahead runner at second base later in the inning after Sara Vassmer doubled. Mizzou, however, was unable to drive her in and after holding the Irish scoreless in the bottom of the seventh the game went to extra innings.
Missouri was retired in order in the top of the eighth. Notre Dame then scored the winning run in the bottom of the inning with the help of two MU errors, the second allowed Liz Hartman to score and give the Irish the 4-3 win.
Sophomore Erin Kalka picked up her 23rd complete game of the year, but dropped to 19-13 on the season.
With the loss, Mizzou moves into the losers' bracket of Region 7 and will play Wright State on Thursday night. Wright State fell to DePaul in its opening game of the tournament by an 8-0 score. Due to the weather delays, the game time for the MU/WSU game has not been determined but should start around 9 p.m.