Missouri Softball Super Regional Ready
5/22/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 22, 2009
NCAA Super Regional Notes in PDF Format
After winning the program's fifth NCAA Regional title, the 11th-ranked Missouri softball team is ready to play against No. 2 UCLA in a best-of-three NCAA Super Regional series beginning Saturday, May 23, at 8:30 p.m. (CT). Games two and three of weekend series are set for 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. (CT) Sunday, May 24, with all three games televised live on ESPNU. Justin Kutcher and Texas A&M softball standout Amanda Scarborough will call the action as Missouri and UCLA battle at Easton Stadium.
In two weeks, the Tigers have captured a Big 12 and NCAA Regional title, marking the first time in program history that a Missouri softball squad has managed such a feat. Additionally, the Tigers managed win No. 48, the most in school history, with their 1-0 regional crowning victory over DePaul. Averaging .318 on the season, Missouri's best clip since finishing .318 in 1997, the Tigers are ready to rebound from an early season, 2-1, loss to UCLA.
Saturday's matchup between the two teams is the second of the season and 11th in 30 years. UCLA enters the competition as the No. 2 overall seed in the tournament, while Missouri, after besting DePaul, has assumed the No. 15 seed in the bracket. The last time Missouri made a trip to Los Angeles for postseason competition came in 2004, the final year before a super regional format was put in place. Missouri and UCLA never played each other, however the Bruins went on to win their 11th National Title.
Missouri is making its second consecutive Super Regional appearance, doing so first in 2008 with a trip to Tuscaloosa, Ala. Two wins at the UCLA super regional tournament would send the Tigers to the Women's College World Series (WCWS), held in Oklahoma City, Okla., for just the fourth time in program history and first since 1994. Missouri's first outing at the WCWS, held then in Omaha, Neb., was in 1983 under the direction of then Head Coach Joyce Compton. The Tigers finished the tournament tied for seventh.
The Tigers have displayed strength in the circle in this year's postseason competition. With a combined 0.35 ERA, Missouri's four person staff has held opponents to two earned runs in 40 innings, shutting out four of its six opponent. Opponents are averaging just .169 against the Tigers.
Riding a seven game win streak, Missouri's bats look to stay hot as they take on perennial powerhouse UCLA. Sophomore Rhea Taylor continues to lead the squad with a .422 average, finishing the three game regional tournament with a .545 mark that included the game winning, two out, home run against DePaul, May 17. In the leadoff position, Taylor is hitting .608. The 2008 All-American has opened six of Missouri's last 10 games with a single, reaching base on balls in one game. Taylor, who sits with 35 stolen bases on the year, has slowly edged her way closer to the No. 1 spot in the Missouri career stolen bases record book. The current record setter, Julie Link, set the bar with 110 stolen bases between 1985-1989.
SCOUTING THE BRUINS
Second ranked UCLA is in search of the program's 12th Women's College World Series title and will take the next step in moving towards that goal by hosting Missouri in a two-day NCAA Super Regional series. The "Sweet 16" appearances is the program's fourth since the creation of the Super Regional format in 2005.
Led by Head Coach Kelly Inouye-Perez, now in her third year with the Bruins, UCLA was one of six Pac-10 programs in the 64 team NCAA Regional bracket. All six conference squads advanced to Super Regional play. The Bruins own the fourth best RPI in the nation and have bested 11 of the nation's top-25 ranked programs.
Currently riding a nine game win streak, five members of the 18-person squad were awarded All-West region accolades, while junior Kaila Shull is one of 25 finalists in the running for USA Softball Player of the Year honors.
As a team, the Bruins are averaging .320 on the year, a clip good enough for eighth-best in the nation. Sophomore Katie Schroeder leads her team with a .409 mark that includes a squad high 14 home runs, 67 hits and 54 runs scored. Shull owns a .365 average, one of seven Bruins batting above .300, and has been credited with 57 RBI.
In the circle, junior Megan Langenfeld owns a 0.99 ERA and 16-1 record that includes three saves. Langenfeld has thrown 126.2 innings and allowed just 18 earned runs on 59 hits. Teammate Donna Kerr has also seen significant time in the circle. With a 2.65 ERA, Kerr has struck out 228 batters in 166.1 innings, holding her opponents to a .181 batting average.
UCLA advanced through its regional bracket by holding off Long Beach State, 4-2, and Fresno State, 4-2 and 9-5.
REGIONAL RECORD
In its 13 trips into NCAA postseason play, Missouri has managed a 23-18 record. This year, Missouri went 3-0 while hosting the Columbia Regional, claiming the program's fifth NCAA title in program history. Missouri's first trip to regionals came in 1982 under then-Head Coach Barb Priest. The Tigers went 1-2 to finish out the year with a 46-20 record.
MISSOURI VS UCLA IN POSTSEASON PLAY
The Tigers and Bruins have met on three prior occasions in NCAA postseason play. First battling on the diamond in 1983, UCLA handed Missouri a 1-0 loss at the Women's College World Series (WCWS) held in Omaha, Neb. Missouri went on to finish tied for seventh in its first WCWS showing. Eight years later, the two programs met again in the World Series setting. This time playing in Oklahoma City, Okla., the Bruins ended Missouri's season by way of a 5-0 victory. The final postseason meeting between UCLA and Missouri came 10 years ago on May 23. Playing in Los Angeles, UCLA again brought a halt to Missouri's run at a national title, this time by a score of 12-5.
AGAINST THE PAC 10
In 2009, the Missouri softball team has played only two Pac-10 teams, UCLA and Oregon. Both games were played at the San Diego State Classic, Feb. 27-March 1, and Missouri won its game against Oregon, 8-7, in nine innings before falling to UCLA, 2-1. The extra inning victory against Oregon was Missouri's first of four extra inning games on the year. Since the formation of the Tiger squad in 1975, Missouri has played all eight Pac-10 programs that host a softball team, but only owns a winning record, 2-1, over one school, Oregon.
MISSOURI ONE OF FIVE NON-SEEDED SQUADS TO ADVANCE TO SUPER REGIONALS
The Missouri softball team hosted 15th-seeded DePaul in the NCAA Regional tournament this past weekend at University Field. DePaul played as the No. 1 seed in the Columbia, Mo., regional and Missouri, the No. 2 seed, managed the "upset" to advance to the super regional series. Missouri is one of five non-seeded squads that will try their luck in super regionals. California, Baylor, Jacksonville State, North Dakota State and Missouri all knocked off their seeded opponents to become one of the final 16 teams searching for a National Title.
PLAYING FOR A TRIP TO THE WORLD SERIES
The Missouri softball team has made three appearances in 34 years to the Women's College World Series. The Tigers had a team-best showing of fifth in 1991 and finished seventh in 1994 and tied for seventh in 1983. In all three trips to the world series, Missouri won both the conference (Big Eight) and regional title en route to the WCWS.
