March 6, 2005
Kansas City, Mo. - Earning their third tournament title of the season, the No. 22 Missouri softball team improved to 15-2 after finishing 4-0 at the Coaches Versus Cancer tournament this weekend in Adair Park of Kansas City, Mo. Topping teams from the University of Kansas City Missouri (UMKC, 11-0), Southwest Missouri State (SMS, 8-0) and Southeast Missouri State (SEMO) in two games (8-0 and 6-2), the Tigers are off to their best start in nearly 20 years.
Opening the four-game tournament Saturday morning against in-state opponent Southeast Missouri State, freshman pitcher Jen Bruck (St. Charles, Mo.) and sophomore Erica Peterson (Irving, Texas) combined for Missouri's first no-hitter of the season. Bruck, who was credited with the win, tossed four innings of action, and fanned four batters, while Peterson smoked the final three SEMO batters to help shutout the Redhawks, 8-0.
Helping close down the game in five innings, six Tigers combined for eight hits. Junior Kendra Power (Kansas City, Mo.) and sophomore Kathy Masterson (St. Louis, Mo.) both recorded two-hit games. MU's leadoff batter in the fourth inning, Power ripped her third double of the season. Two Tiger freshmen came through with big hits, Bruck and first baseman Amanda Renth (Mascoutah, Ill.) launched homers in the second and fifth innings, respectively. The moonshot was Renth's first of her Tiger career.
Missouri's Saturday afternoon game paired the Tigers with Southwest Missouri State and MU again came out ahead, 8-0, in five innings. Scoreless through two innings, redshirt freshman Micaela Minner (Sanger, Texas) stepped up in a two-out top of the third situation and crushed her seventh yard ball of the season over the Adair Park fence. With the bomb, Minner moves to sixth in the Missouri season home run record book and is tied with two former Tiger players. At the close of five innings, Minner had tallied three hits, one run and three RBI. Taking pitches from SMS starter Melissa Porche, four Tigers pounded doubles in the fourth inning, starting with senior short stop Heather Kunkel's (Oak Forest, Ill.) leadoff hit to left field and followed by two-out doubles from Power, sophomore second baseman Sarah Stringer (Auxvasse, Mo.) and Bruck.
On the mound first for MU was left-handed Peterson. Twirling for three innings, Peterson struck out four batters and earned her eighth win of the season. Bruck entered the game in the bottom of the fourth inning and struck out three, allowing only one hit.
After a night of rest, Missouri returned to Adair Park for a morning game against host school UMKC. The 11-0 shutout was Mizzou's fifth shutout of the season and tied for the second highest scoring game of 2005. Scoring 11 runs off of 11 hits, the Tigers closed the game in five innings, for their fifth five-inning game of the season.
Sophomore Leanne Bowers (Arnold, Mo,) opened the game with her third home run of the season and second as leadoff batter in 2005. The centerfielder totaled three hits in the game, scoring two runs and three RBI. Freshman Sara Simons (Kearney, Mo.) entered the game in the fourth inning and recorded her first double of the season. The crack to left field brought in two of Missouri's five, fourth inning runs and Simons scored MU's final run of the game after advancing home on a throwing error by Kangaroo pitcher Veronica Weaver.
Missouri's pitching staff, Bruck and Peterson, combined for a three-hit game. Peterson mowed down five opponents in the final three innings of play, while Bruck opened the game and struck out two for her sixth win of the season.
Mizzou battled with Southeast Missouri State in the championship game and won, 6-2, for their third tournament crown this season. Bruck improved to 7-1 on the year and Peterson was credited with her third save of the season.
The Tigers put up four runs in the bottom of the second inning and two in the fifth. Missouri's final run of the game came as Kunkel smashed her 11th career home run and third of the season out of the park. Kunkel is now tied with former Tiger Linda Swarts (1997-2000) at seventh for most MU home runs in a career.
Returning to Columbia, the No. 22 Tigers will host their first home game of the season, this Wednesday, March 9, with a double header against Ball State slated to begin at 2 p.m. (CT) on University Field.