May 9, 2007
Ranked 18th in the nation and seeded third in the competitive Big 12 Conference, the Missouri softball team will open the 12th annual Big 12 Tournament Friday, May 11, at 11:30 a.m. (CT) against sixth-seeded and 18th-ranked Texas. The fourth of nine games in the single-elimination tournament will be played on the alternate field of ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Okla. Live stats will be provided for all games and can be viewed on mutigers.com.
Other schools on Missouri's side of the bracket include second-seeded Oklahoma (No. 2), seventh-seeded Kansas and 10th-seeded Iowa State. Big 12 Champions Baylor, ranked fifth in the nation, received the No. 1 seed and will take on the winner of the Thursday, May 10 game against ninth-seeded Oklahoma State and eighth-seeded Teas Tech. Nebraska (fifth-seed) and No. 8 Texas A&M (fourth seed) are also in the bracket alongside Baylor.
Not the regular season finish Missouri was hoping for, a split with the Huskers, the Tigers are now prepared to make their third Big 12 Championship game appearance in four years. The tournament title will be determined Saturday, May 12, at 3 p.m. (CT) and aired live on Fox Sports, with the winner automatically qualifying for an NCAA Regional tournament. Tracy Warren and Bill Land will provide the color and play-by-play, respectively. The semi-final game from Missouri's side of the bracket will also be broadcast on Fox Sports (Friday, May 11, at 4:30 p.m.). Check your local listings for times and details.
Missouri enters the annual post-season tournament with a 20-8 record having claimed three wins last season as the seventh-seeded team. This year, the Tigers are one of five ranked programs in the competition with Oklahoma, Missouri's potential semi-final matchup ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation.
Missouri's third seed ties the second highest seeding in program history, the highest coming in 1997 at No. 1. Missouri's has entered the tournament as the three seed on four prior occasions, 1996, 1999, 2003 and 2004.
Eleven members of this season's 20-member squad were a part of Missouri's 2005 run for a Big 12 tournament title. Of the 11, six are current seniors and six were in the 2005 starting lineup in the title game against Texas. One year prior (2004), Missouri made its second-ever bid for a Big 12 title and five starters from the Tiger's title game against Nebraska remain on the 2007 team.
Following the Thursday night games at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium, the Big 12 Conference office will announce All-Big 12 as well as Academic All-Big 12 honors. Refer to mutigers.com for details.
Upon return from the Big 12 tournament, the Missouri softball team will host an NCAA Regional Selection Show Watch Party on Sunday, May 13, (Mother's Day for all of you keeping track) at T.K. Brother's beginning at 2 p.m. ESPNews will broadcast the regional announcement regarding the 64 teams selected for post-season play at 2 p.m. so fans and members of the media may want to arrive early.
Scouting Texas
Ranked 18th in the nation, the Longhorns are down nine spots from when Missouri last met Texas in the regular season two-game series in Columbia, Mo., March 31 and April 1. Texas finished the season 7-8 after having played Missouri, suffering a five-game losing streak between April 11 and 21 that included losses to Baylor, Nebraska, Texas State and Oklahoma State. Overall, the Longhorns are 33-17 and finished Big 12 Play with an 8-10 record.
Texas enters the three-day tournament owning the most postseason Big 12 titles in the league (1999, 2002-03 and 2005). Missouri and Texas have met in postseason play three times over the past 11 years, most recently in 2005 when the teams battled for a Big 12 title. Texas is up 2-1 over Missouri in postseason play, but Missouri holds the upper hand in the all-time series, 12-10.
Having lost their regular season finale at Baylor, 5-2, three Longhorn players are batting over .300 with sophomore Shannon Thomas holding the highest average at .333. Sophomore Kacie Gaskins, Texas' six-hole hitter, leads the team with 32 RBI, while freshman Tallie Thrasher has managed 12 of the Longhorn's 40 home runs on the season.
Right-handed ace Megan Denny has made 42 appearances in the circle and owns a 1.63 overall ERA and 2.69 Big 12 ERA. 20-14 on the season, Denny was named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week two times throughout the course of the campaign, most recently May 1, and has thrown 20 complete games including 10 shutouts. Striking out 315 batters, 104 in the Big 12, Denny's Big 12 ERA is 12th best in the conference.
Being The Three Seed
Missouri enters its fifth Big 12 tournament as the No. 3 seed. Tying the second highest seeding in program history, the highest coming in 1997 at 1, Missouri was seeded third in 1996, 1999, 2003 and most recently in 2004. Of those three prior showings, Missouri's highest tournament finish came in 2004 as the second place team. Previously, Missouri finished third in 1996, fifth in 1999 and ninth in 2003.
In the 11 year history of the Big 12 Championships the third seeded team has finished third or better in the tournament on six occasions. Only twice has the third seeded team performed above their seed with the 2002 Nebraska Cornhuskers taking second and the 2005 Texas Longhorns finishing in first.