Feb. 17, 2007
Palo Alto, Calif. - The Missouri softball team (5-5) won game three of the Stanford Invitational, 8-2, over Santa Clara (0-8) scoring five runs in the bottom of the third inning to take the lead and eventual win. Junior Jen Bruck (St. Peters, Mo.) improved to 2-0 on the season, hurling four innings of work, striking out one and allowing only one earned run on two hits. At the plate, Bruck was 1-for-3, scoring one Tiger run and credited with one RBI.
Down 1-0 entering the bottom of the third, Missouri scored five runs on six hits and one Santa Clara error to take the lead. With one out on the board, sophomore shortstop Andee Allen (Barnhart, Mo.) began a string of five consecutive Tiger singles to reach first. Allen stole her fourth bag of the season to take second. Redshirt junior Micaela Minner (Sanger, Texas) was next to the plate and singled to right field driving in Allen. Junior first baseman Amanda Renth (Mascoutah, Ill.) took her turn against Santa Clara pitcher Kaitlyn Rauschnot, singling up the middle and sending Minner to second. After allowing four hits on the day, Rauschnot was relieved by Lauren Passafume, while offensively, freshman Micaele Vock entered to pinch run for Renth. Missouri's leading batter Kathy Masterson (St. Louis, Mo.), singled to load the bases for Bruck, who singled to right field allowing Minner to run home. With the bases again loaded, junior Alli Kennewell (Eden Prairie, Minn.) came through with a single up the middle advancing to second on a throwing error by center fielder Angela Kabanuck while Missouri's runners on first, second and third scored Missouri's third, fourth and fifth runs of the game.
Capitalizing on Santa Clara errors, Missouri tacked on an additional two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Returning to the top of the order, senior Leanne Bowers (Arnold, Mo.) was hit by pitch and awarded first base. Only briefly at first, Bowers stole second while Allen was at the plate and took third and scored on an error by third baseman Ashley Blier. The error allowed both Allen and Bowers to score unearned.
Together, the Tigers combined for 10 hits in the game, tying the season high set Feb. 9, against Middle Tennessee State at the Easton Tiger Classic.
Missouri's next game is slated for a 6 p.m. (CT) start against Pacific.