March 9, 2005

Columbia, Mo. - Currently ranked No. 21 in the nation, the Missouri softball team (15-2) will open the home portion of its schedule today in a doubleheader against Ball State (3-9) slated to begin at 2 p.m., (CT) on University Field. Gametracker and a live radio broadcast, courtesy of KCOU, will be available online at www.mutigers.com, or on air at 88.1 FM.

Now 15-2 on the season, the Missouri softball team is coming off of a successful 4-0 weekend in which they captured their third tournament title of the season at the Coaches Against Cancer tournament hosted by the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC), in Kansas City, Mo. Throughout the two-day tournament, the Tigers shut out Southeast Missouri (SEMO), Southwest Missouri State (SMS) and UMKC by scores of 8-0, 8-0 and 11-0, respectively. In the championship game, Missouri finished off SEMO, 6-2, in their only seven-inning game of the weekend. MU pitchers freshman Jen Bruck (St. Charles, Mo.) and sophomore Erica Peterson (Irving, Texas) combined for their first no-hitter of the season after closing down SEMO in five innings of the tournament opener. Also of note, redshirt freshman Micaela Minner moved to sixth in the Missouri season home run record book after pounding her seventh homer in four weeks. Also climbing in the record books, senior shortstop Heather Kunkel is now tied at fifth with her career doubles record of 34.

Missouri and Ball State last met Feb. 26, at the Louisville Courtyard Red & Black tournament in Louisville, Ky. The Tigers won the game, 13-1, in five innings and Kunkel pounded her second of three home runs this season far over the outfield fence. To date, Missouri leads the series with Ball State, 3-0.