May 19, 2007
Carbondale, Ill. - In a rematch between No. 19 Missouri (40-23) and No. 24 Southern Illinois (41-16) the Tigers kept their regional championship hopes alive with a 7-4 win over SIU at Charlotte West Stadium in Carbondale, Ill. The win sends Missouri to its second NCAA Regional Championship game in three years and will pit the Tigers against 14th-ranked and No. 1 seeded DePaul Sunday, May 20, at Noon.
Junior All-Big 12 honoree Amanda Renth (Mascoutah, Ill.) ended a 17-game drought in which she failed to hit a home run by crushing her 14th blast of the season in the top of the first. With freshman Julie Silver (Chesterfield, Mo.) reaching base on balls, cleanup hitter Renth crushed a home run deep over the fence in left center. Eight pitches later, SIU was forced to its bullpen when senior Cassidy Scoggins entered in relief of Ashley Hamby. Scoggins, brought an end to the inning by striking out senior catcher Kathy Masterson (St. Louis, Mo.) in three pitches.
The Tigers tacked on one run in the second when third baseman Allison Kennewell (Eden Prairie, Minn.) scored on a groundout to second base by designated player Jen Bruck (St. Peters, Mo.).
Silver became the seventh Tiger to score a run in the three-day regional tournament. Doubling to center field in her third at bat of the game, Silver advanced home on Bruck's fourth inning single to left center. Bruck finished the day with two RBI.
Missouri added three runs on two hits and one Saluki error in the top of the sixth. Leadoff batter Sarah Stringer (Auxvasse, Mo.), who reached base on balls, two-hole hitter Silver, who reached on an error, and cleanup batter Renth all scored giving the Tigers a 7-1 advantage.
Charging back in the bottom half of the inning, Southern Illinois scored three runs, all earned, to pull within three of the Tigers.
Making her first NCAA Regional Tournament appearance, freshman lefty Jana Hainey (Raymore, Mo.) threw five complete innings against the Salukis and struck out three to improve to 7-5 on the season. Hainey becomes Missouri's first freshman softball pitcher in over 10 years (six regional appearances) to win a regional game. Sophomore Megan Dennis (Liberty, Mo.) entered in the top of the sixth and allowed two of SIU's four runs. Bruck, credited with her second save of the season, entered the game in the seventh, striking out the leadoff batter, forcing both the nine-hole hitter and leadoff batter to groundout.
Missouri's 40th win of the season marks the 11th time in program history that the Tigers have won 40 or more games in a campaign and Head Coach Ehren Earleywine's fourth consecutive 40-win season. In addition, this makes Earleywine just the fourth Tiger softball coach (of eight) to win 40 or more games.