April 4, 2008
COLUMBIA, Mo. - In what will be the second consecutive weekend that it has taken to the road to face a ranked Big 12 opponent, the Missouri softball team (33-10) continues conference play on Saturday, April 5 in a two-day road series with the No. 11 Oklahoma Sooners. First pitch at the OU Softball Complex is scheduled for noon CST.
After falling to an even conference record last weekend as a result of two losses to sixth-ranked Texas A&M on the road, the Tigers returned home to crush Drake in Wednesday's doubleheader. The team run-ruled the Bulldogs, 16-0, in the day's first game and threw the knockout punch with game two's, 5-1, victory.
Heading into Norman, the Tigers are led at the plate by freshman Rhea Taylor. The Georgian owns a team best .386 batting average, which includes 14 RBI off a squad-leading 56 hits. With her 41 runs, Taylor has also crossed the plate more times than any other member of the roster.
Junior transfer Lindsey Ubrun has done her fair share of damage at the plate as well. The Riverside, Calif., native has driven in a team-leading 14 home runs and 48 RBI off 44 hits. Ubrun and Taylor are among two of five Tigers to have maintained above a .300 batting average this season.
Classmate Stacey Delaney has proven a formidable force on the mound with a 1.43 ERA, which has led her to a team-best 14 wins on the season. The Tiger ace has gone the distance and thrown 13 complete games in her 19 starts this season. In her 117 innings pitched, she has tallied 129 strikeouts and just 29 walks.
Senior pitcher Jen Bruck, the league's reigning player of the week, is coming off of a stellar weekend in the state of Texas. In the Tigers' four-game Lone Star State swing, Bruck went 6-for-12 from the field, with four of her six hits going yard. The program's current home run leader with 46, Bruck has cracked 13 home runs this season, while also helping lead her team to a season ERA of 1.86.
The Tigers climbed to 30-7 after taking a pair of conference-opening home wins against Oklahoma State two weeks ago. The team owns an even 3-3 record since.
The Sooners will be a tough test for the Tigers, especially at home on Marita Hynes Field where they are currently 13-1. Oklahoma enters the home series boasting an overall 30-8 record and an undefeated 4-0 conference record after knocking off Big 12 North foes Kansas and Nebraska in each of the past two weekends.
Helping Oklahoma to its No. 11 ranking is sophomore outfielder Amber Flores, who leads the team with an impressive 4.30 season batting average. She has plated a team-best 12 home runs and driven in 35 batters on 46 hits. Both figures lead the team.
Senior infielder Savannah Long has been on fire in the team's first four conference contests, amassing a squad-leading .615 batting average, eight hits, and three home runs along the way. Along with Flores, Long and junior infielder Jessica Legendre own above a 4.00 in conference play.
The team itself has plated its way to a .308 season batting average and a .336 average in its four conference games.
Junior D.J. Mathis has asserted herself as the team's go-to pitcher on the mound. Mathis leads the Sooners with a .86 ERA and an 18-3 season record. Senior Lauren Eckermann has also been solid on the mound, earning her 10th win of the season in Saturday's game against Nebraska. Both pitchers own perfect 2-0 records in conference play and have helped lead the team to an overall 1.37 ERA this season.
Oklahoma leads Missouri, 37-34, in the all-time series and is 4-6 against the Tigers in the past five seasons. The Tigers have got the best of the Sooners in the previous two regular seasons though, taking the season series in 2005-06 and earning a season split in 2006-07. The two teams have also faced off at the Big 12 Tournament in each of the past two years, both games being won by Oklahoma.