May 20, 2004
Los Angeles, Calif. - Playing in extra innings for the sixth time of the season, the fifth-seeded Missouri softball team dropped to No. 4 seed Louisville 1-0 in the bottom of the eighth inning. Falling to 29-25 on the season, the Tigers will pair with Mississippi Valley Friday morning at 11 a.m. (CT).
Already at two outs, Louisville found its game-winning runner in outfielder Shannon Nord. After Nord ripped a double to right field, Michelle Vaszuez took her turn at the plate, driving in the outfielder with a single to right field.
"It just wasn't a very good game," Head Coach Ty Singleton said. "Neither team was doing a real good job of hitting the ball, and that's something we need to improve on before the start of tomorrow's game."
Missouri closed out the game with six runners left on base, starting with their first in the top of the fourth inning. In her second turn at bat, freshman designated player A.J. White singled to right center to get things started for the Tigers, advancing to both second and third base on wild pitches. Stuck on third, the inning came to a close after freshman Alli Kennewell struck out.
Playing in the top of the eighth, the Tigers saw the inning come to a close with the bases loaded. With two outs on the board, sophomore Kendra Power singled to centerfield running to second for her eighth steal of the season. After walking to first, freshman Leanne Bowers and Power both advanced one base on a wild pitch followed with freshman Sarah Stringer walking to first. Senior Morgan LeCluyse stepped up next for Missouri, hitting the ball hard to left field. Without the distance, the ball was caught by Nord and Missouri was forced to once again take the field.
Junior pitcher Erin Kalka made history with her 282nd strikeout of the season. Tossing to Louisville's rightfielder Candi Hicks in the bottom of the third inning, Kalka now leads the Missouri season strikeout chart, surpassing 1983 graduate Teresa Wilson's previous record of 281 (set in 1982). Kalka ended the day with four strikeouts, two back-to-back, to close out the fifth inning.
The Tigers continue to play strong defense, with Stringer and Power providing excitement in the field. In the top of the second inning, Stringer made a diving save in shallow right field to hand Louisville their first out, while Power made back-to-back outs in the fourth inning, jumping for a chopped ball to third base for the second out of the inning.
Freshman lefty Erica Peterson helped shutdown the Cardinals in the bottom of the sixth inning, striking out consecutive batters for outs number two and three. Pitching for 2.2 innings, Peterson struck out three batters but suffered Missouri's loss. Peterson is now 3-3 on the season.
The Cardinals improve to 41-17 on the season and will take on UCLA Friday at 4:30 p.m. (CT).