Feb. 8, 2007
Columbia Mo. - The Missouri softball team is set to kick off its 33rd year of competition Friday, Feb. 9, when they take on Centenary College at 1:15 p.m. (CT) at the eighth annual Easton Tiger Classic in Baton Rouge, La. One of five teams competing for the tournament title, the Tigers will play two games on Friday, the second beginning at 8:05 p.m. (CT) against Middle Tennessee State. Games three and four for Missouri will begin at 11:15 a.m. (CT) Saturday, Feb. 10, against Memphis, with a 1:30 p.m. (CT) start time set for the Tigers' game against ninth-ranked host, Louisiana State (LSU).
"This team is definitely ready for something other than intersquads and practicing indoors," Head Coach Ehren Earleywine said. "We haven't had any chance this year to get outside for practice, so the team hasn't seen any ground balls or played on a normal surface. Obviously we have an obstacle to overcome having not played outside, but we're excited and anxious for the season to start."
The Tigers played in the inaugural Easton Tiger Classic in 2000, finishing with a 2-1 record that included wins over Pacific (7-2) and San Jose State (2-1).
Missouri returns eight starters for the 2007 season including five All-Big 12 honorees and six seniors. Led by Earleywine, the Tigers are looking to improve on their 26-27 season and seventh place Big 12 showing from one year ago.
Opening the 2007 campaign against Centenary College, this marks the second meeting between the Tigers and Ladies. The two teams last squared off in 1999, when the Tigers shutout the Ladies, 8-0, at the Frost Cutlery Tournament in Chattanooga, Tenn. Centenary College notched a 31-23 record last year and returns three of its top four hitters including Mid-Continent Conference Newcomer of the Year Emerald Doria and second team All-South region honoree Micah Rhodes. The Ladies of Centenary were picked to finish second in the preseason Mid-Continent Conference Coaches Poll.
Up next for the Tigers is an evening game against Middle Tennessee State. Now in their 14th season of competition, the Blue Raiders were selected to finish sixth in the Sun Belt Preseason Coaches Poll with shortstop Shelby Stiner named to the Preseason All-Conference team. The Blue Raiders went 8-0 in the fall with seven members of the squad recording a .300 batting average or above. Led by the strong arm of left-handed pitcher Lindsey Vander Lugt, the freshman threw two complete shutouts and combined with Samantha Floyd for one.
Memphis, picked to finish fifth in the preseason Conference USA coaches poll, will mark the second team that Missouri will face for the first time. The Tigers of Memphis are in their second year of exsistence and finished 2006 with a 28-26 record and seventh place showing in Conference USA.
One of 16 teams to advance to the 2006 NCAA Super Regionals, the Tigers of LSU return two All-Americans in outfielder Leslie Klein and pitcher Emily Turner. LSU has claimed five of the past eight Easton Tiger Classic titles.
The five-team tournament will feature round robin play on Friday and Saturday with the championship game slated for Sunday, Feb. 11 at 2 p.m. (CT). Live stats will be available at the LSU athletics website