Feb. 19, 2009
The 15th-ranked Missouri softball is set to resume play this Friday, Feb. 20, at the Strike-Out Cancer Tournament hosted by Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Fla. The Tigers will look to continue their winning ways as they take on teams from FIU, Florida Atlantic University, Arkansas and Providence.
The Tigers are coming off a successful showing in last weekend's Georgia State First Pitch Classic, where they recorded victories against teams from Evansville, Virginia Tech, and Georgia State. For her efforts in the tournament, sophomore Rhea Taylor was named Big 12 Player of the Week. In three games, Taylor went 6-for-11 at the plate, scored seven runs, and hit her third career home run. The Tigers also caught a glimpse of the future when freshman Chelsea Thomas threw a one-hitter and recorded three strikeouts in her first collegiate start, a 10-0 victory over defending ACC champs Virginia Tech.
The Tigers will begin the tournament in Florida against the FIU Golden Panthers, who stand at 6-4 on the season. Heading into the tournament, the Golden Panthers are 8-4 on the year, recently winning both games of a doubleheader with Stetson, Wednesday evening.
In their second game of the day, Missouri will square-off against the Florida Atlantic Owls (6-4). The Owls are looking to rebound after two straight losses against Florida and Coastal Carolina. The Owls are led by current Co-Sun Belt Player of the Week Caitlyn Bliss, who is currently batting .500 and leads the Sun Belt with 13 hits and 4 doubles. This is the second week in a row Bliss has won the award.
Missouri will open play on Saturday against the Arkansas Razorbacks (11-6), who are coming off a 3-2 showing at the Metrodome Classic in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Razorbacks closed the tournament with an 8-0 thrashing of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Junior Jessica Bachkora recorded her team-leading third home run of the season during the game. Bachkora also leads the team in hits (10) and RBI (9).
After a second game against FIU, the Tigers will close the tournament against the Providence Friars (1-3). The Friars competed in last weekend's Louisiana Classic, held in Lafayette, Louisiana, and recorded their first victory of the season against Mcneese State. Junior Christy Becker was named to the All-Tournament team, as she finished the tournament hitting .462 with one home run and three runs scored.
The Tigers' first pitch of the tournament is scheduled for Friday at 11a.m. (CST) against FIU, followed by their second match of the day against Florida Atlantic at 5 p.m. (CST). On Saturday, Missouri faces Arkansas at 8a.m. (CST) followed by FIU at 10 a.m. (CST). The Tigers close the tournament on Sunday morning against Providence at 9 a.m. (CST).
Scouting Florida International
Florida International (8-4) is coming off a two-game win over Stetson Wednesday evening. Prior to the mid-week doubleheader, the Golden Panthers managed a weekend in which they went 4-1, including a 10-9 come-from-behind victory over Florida Gulf Coast in their final game of the Blue and Gold Felsburg Memorial tournament. The Golden Panthers have won sevenof their last eight games. Leading the way for FIU so far this season have been two freshmen: 3B/C Jenny Welch leads the team in hitting with a .435 average and, with 10 hits, is only one behind the team leader despite having started in only seven of 10 games. Pitcher Jennifer Gniadek leads the team in innings pitched (28.1), while compiling a 4-2 record thus far to go along with a 1.24 ERA. She also leads the team with 30 strikeouts. The Golden Panthers are 0-2 all-time against Missouri, including a 6-4 loss in 2008.
Scouting Florida Atlantic
After going 4-1 in its first weekend of play, Florida Atlantic dropped three of their five games this past weekend in Gainesville, Fla., to bring their record to 6-4 on the season. After losing their first game of the tournament to Georgia Tech, the Owls won two in a row over Texas Tech before falling to Florida and Coastal Carolina in their final two games. Senior Caitlyn Bliss has provided much of the spark offensively for the Owls. She has been named Co-Sun Belt Player of the Week two weeks in a row and leads the team with a .500 batting average. She also leads the Sun Belt Conference in hits (13) and doubles (4), and also boasts a .731 slugging percentage. On the mound, FAU has seen four pitchers split innings fairly evenly, but have gotten the best production from freshman Carrie Ann Potter, who, in three appearances has two complete games and a 0.00 ERA. She has allowed only nine hits in 15 innings. FAU and Missouri have met only once, in 1998, which came in the form of an 8-0 loss by the Owls.
Scouting Arkansas
Arkansas (6-3) is coming off a 3-2 weekend at the Metrodome Classic in Minneapolis, Minn. After falling to Drake 6-5 in their first action of the tournament, the Lady Backs won two on Saturday, and closed out the tournament with a 1-1 Sunday, including an 8-0 win over Wisconsin-Green Bay. Senior C Whitney Cloer leads the team in several offensive categories, including batting average (.500), doubles (6), total bases (24), and slugging percentage (.800). Also contributing with the bat has been junior OF Jessica Bachkora, who leads the team with three home runs and nine RBIs. Junior P Miranda Dixon has been the go-to pitcher for Arkansas, racking up over half (34.0) of the Lady Backs' innings. She is 3-1 in eight appearances (including four starts) with a 2.26 ERA, two complete games, and three saves. Arkansas and Missouri have met five times in the past, with the Tigers holding a slight 3-2 advantage. They last met in 2007, with Missouri earning a 6-3 victory.
Scouting Providence
Providence went 1-3 in their first weekend of play last weekend in the Louisiana-Lafayette tournament. After falling to Nicholls State 3-1 in 10 innings in their first game on Friday, the Lady Friars dropped their first on Saturday 13-2 to hosts ULL, but rebounded later that day with a five-inning 9-1 victory over Mcneese State. However, Providence closed out their weekend with a 10-0 loss to Lipscomb. A bright spot on the weekend was junior IF Christy Becker, who was named to the All-Tournament team after hitting .462 with three runs and a home run during the tournament. Freshman P Alicia Grosso got the win on the weekend for her five-inning, two-hit game against Mcneese State in which she allowed only an unearned run. Providence and Missouri have never met.