April 2, 2008
Columbia, Mo. -The Missouri softball team (33-10) snapped a two-game losing streak by recording back-to-back wins over Missouri Valley Conference program Drake in an afternoon doubleheader played on University Field. Run-ruling the Bulldogs, 16-0, in game one, the Tigers turned around and handed Drake its 16th loss of the season, 5-1. Senior Jen Bruck (St. Peters, Mo.) collected her eighth win of the year and recorded her second solo shutout of the campaign in game one, while junior Stacey Delaney (Freeland, Mich.) threw 11 strikeouts and improved to 15-3 after closing out game two.
Dominating the Bulldogs in game one, the Tigers put a season high 16 runs on the board, with nine Tigers combining for 11 hits. Missouri scored nine runs in the first inning, marking the ninth time this season that the Tigers have managed five or more runs in a single inning.
Sophomore Julie Silver (Chesterfield, Mo.) finished the first game 3-for-5 at the plate hitting a first inning double to left field that drove in leadoff batter Rhea Taylor (Buford, Ga.) from third. Silver scored two of Missouri's 16 runs and was credited with two RBI. By the end of the day, Silver upped her season RBI mark to 27 and stands one double away from current team leader Amanda Renth (Mascoutah, Ill.) with seven.
In the circle, Bruck threw five innings of work and struck out five of the 18 batters she faced. Bruck ended her afternoon outing with a 0.00 ERA improving to 2.27 on the season. Bruck's two-hitter, her second complete game, two-hitter this season, held the Bulldogs to a .125 average.
Within 20 minutes of the completion of game one, Missouri and Drake took the field again for the second game of the series. Delaney made her 19th start in the circle and allowed only three hits in seven innings of action. Now with 129 strike outs on the year, Delaney is still 74 strike outs away from moving into the No. 10 spot of the Missouri single season strike out record book, currently held by Erin Kalka (202).
The Tigers strung together seven hits in game two, scoring five runs for Missouri's 33rd win of the campaign. Third baseman Lindsey Ubrun (Riverside, Calif.) ended a three-game hitless drought with her first game, first inning single to left field, adding two hits, including a fourth inning home run, in game two. To date, Ubrun has notched 48 hits on the year, the second-highest total of her Tiger teammates and has swatted a team-high 14 home runs. With today's knock over the outfield wall, Ubrun moves into a tie for fifth in the Missouri single season home run record book.
Five Tigers currently own a .300 average or better, while the Tiger pitching staff has combined for a 1.86 ERA.
The Missouri softball team will return to Big 12 action when they take on 11th-ranked Oklahoma in a two-game series beginning Saturday, April 5 at Noon in Norman, Okla.