May 13, 2010
Complete Game Notes 
WHAT: 2010 Big 12 Championship
WHERE: ASA Hall of Fame Stadium - Oklahoma City, Okla.
WHEN: Friday, May 14 - Sunday, May 16
LIVE STATS: Big12Sports.com and MUTigers.com
LIVE VIDEO: Big12Sports.com (Main Field games only)
ADDITIONAL INFO: Big12Sports.com
With the regular season now complete, the Missouri softball team looks towards the postseason, which will begin with the 2010 Big 12 Championship. The three-day, single-elimination tournament begins on Friday, May 14 and runs through Sunday, May 16, with all games played at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Okla.
The Tigers enter this season's tournament as the No. 5 seed after posting an 11-7 record in Big 12 play this season. They'll take on No. 4 seed Oklahoma State in first round action on Saturday, May 15, at 2 p.m. CT. Should the Tigers win and advance, they'll play in the semifinals at 7:30 p.m. that same day. The Championship will take place Sunday at Noon and will be televised nationally on Fox Sports Net.
This is the 15th annual Big 12 Softball Championship, making it the longest running championship in Big 12 history. However, the softball championship's run will end at 15 seasons, as this is the last year for the event.
MISSOURI VS. OKLAHOMA STATE
The Tigers come into this opening round matchup hoping to get revenge on the Cowgirls, who swept Missouri in a two-game set in Columbia earlier this season. After overcoming an early 3-0 MU lead for an 8-3 win in game one, Oklahoma State took the sweep with a 1-0 pitcher's duel victory in game two to complete the sweep.
The Cowgirls come into the tournament as the No. 4 seed, after finishing the regular season with a 43-13 overall record and 12-6 in Big 12 play. Oklahoma State came out red-hot to start the season, and reached a ranking as high as No. 7 in the USA Today/NFCA in the midst of their 17-game winning streak, which ran from March 20 through April 20. However, the Cowgirls have sputtered as of late, as they are 4-6 in their last 10 games. Their offense has struggled in those games, averaging just 1.9 runs per game. They've scored one run or less in eight of the 10 games. The only two times they scored more than one run were in 4-0 and 8-0 wins over Nebraska a few weeks back.
Oklahoma State ranks eighth in the conference in team batting average (.280) but comes in at second in team earned run average (2.04). The two main Cowgirl pitchers are Kat Espinosa, who is 19-5 with a 1.53 ERA and a .198 opponent batting average, and Anna Whiddon, who is 21-7 with a 2.21 ERA and a conference-best six saves. The two have combined for 13 shutouts this season.
Mariah Gerhart is tied for second in the league with 22 stolen bases and is third with 48 runs scored. Julie Ward leads the conference in doubles (20) and is third with 52 runs batted in, while coming in at eighth in slugging percentage (.667). As a team, the Cowgirls lead the Big 12 Conference with a .977 fielding percentage.
MIZZOU AT BIG 12'S
The Tigers are 24-20 all-time in the Big 12 Championship, dating back to the inception of the league in 1996. The Tigers have won the tournament twice - once in 1997 and once in 2009. Here is a breakdown of Mizzou vs. their conference opponents all-time at the Big 12 Championship.
▪ vs. Baylor - 4-2
▪ vs. Iowa State - 0-2
▪ vs. Kansas - 1-2
▪ vs. Nebraska - 2-4
▪ vs. Oklahoma - 3-4
▪ vs. Oklahoma State - 6-1
▪ vs. Texas - 2-2
▪ vs. Texas A&M - 3-2
▪ vs. Texas Tech - 3-1
Last season, Missouri knocked off Oklahoma State, Baylor and Oklahoma en route to their second Big 12 Tournament Championship in program history. They defeated OSU by a 10-0 run-rule final, slipped past Baylor by a 1-0 score and beat Oklahoma in the championship, 5-0. Chelsea Thomas was named MVP of the tournament, while Megan Christopher, Stacy Delaney and Rhea Taylor were all selected to the All-Tournament team.
In 1997, the tournament was formatted as a double-elimination event. The Tigers finished 4-1 in the tournament on their way to the first Big 12 Tournament Championship in school history. Mizzou defeated Baylor in the opening game by run-rule, 10-2. They then beat Oklahoma State by a 6-2 score, before losing to Oklahoma 2-0. The Tigers were able to get revenge, however, as they bounced back to eliminate Oklahoma 6-1 before defeating Oklahoma State 3-1 in the championship. The Tigers had four players make the all-tournament team, including Barb Wright, who was named as the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
FOLLOW THE GAMES
Live stats for all of the Big 12 Championship games will be provided at Big12Sports.com. Missouri games will also be have live stats provided through GameTracker at MUTigers.com. Games featured on the main field can be watched live for free at Big12Sports.com. The Championship Game will air nationally on the Fox Sports Network.
2009 BIG 12 TOURNAMENT REVIEW
Game 1: No. 7 Oklahoma State def. No. 10 Texas Tech, 7-0 (TTU eliminated)
Game 2: No. 8 Iowa State def. No. 9 Kansas, 2-0 (KU eliminated)
Game 3: No. 2 Missouri def. No. 7 Oklahoma State, 10-0 (5 innings) (OSU eliminated)
Game 4: No. 3 Baylor def. No. 6 Texas A&M, 5-4 (TAMU eliminated)
Game 5: No. 1 Oklahoma def. No. 8 Iowa State, 3-0 (ISU eliminated)
Game 6: No. 4 Texas def. No. 5 Nebraska, 10-5 (NU eliminated)
Game 7: No. 2 Missouri def. No. 3 Baylor, 1-0 (BU eliminated)
Game 8: No. 1 Oklahoma def. No. 4 Texas, 6-2 (UT eliminated)
Championship: No. 2 Missouri def. No. 1 Oklahoma, 5-0
EIGHT NAMED TO ACADEMIC ALL-BIG 12 TEAM
The Big 12 Conference named 61 student-athletes to its 2010 Academic All-Big 12 Softball Team, as announced Wednesday afternoon by the league office. Of those 61, eight were from Missouri, the second-most by any team in the conference. Baylor led all teams with 10 selections.
Mizzou seniors Jana Hainey, Michaele Vock and Gina Schneider, juniors Marla Schweisberger and Abby Vock and sophomores Ashley Fleming, Chelsea Thomas and Kristin Nottelmann were all named to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team. The eight members from the 2010 squad tie for the second most in Missouri history. The 2006 team also had eight, while last year's program had 12 student-athletes selected.
TIGERS MOVE UP ONE AGAIN
Though they dropped a game last week, Mizzou's 3-1 record in the last week of the regular season was good enough to bump them up a spot in the USA Today/NFCA poll for the third consecutive week. Three weeks ago, Missouri moved from No. 11 to No. 10, last week from No. 10 to No. 9, and this week from No. 9 to No. 8. The Tigers received 499 points this week, five more than No. 9 Georgia. Arizona State fell from No. 7 to No. 10 after a 1-2 week, allowing the Tigers to move up a spot.
In the ESPN.com/USA Today poll, Missouri ranked in at No. 14 for the second straight week. The Tigers sit just seven points back behind California, who jumped Mizzou into the No. 13 spot this week.
SLUGGERS BATTLING FOR TOP SPOT
The Missouri home run hitters are battling for the most home runs on the club with the end of the season closing in. Through May 9, Marla Schweisberger has connected with nine to lead the team. Fleming sits in second with eight, while Rhea Taylor, who is usually known for her slapping, has come out of nowhere to move into second on the team with seven, joining Nicole Hudson who hit her seventh against WIU. Since April 13, Taylor has connected on five home runs to raise her total. Coming into this season, Taylor had just five career home runs in her first two seasons combined. Catherine Lee, who hit 22 home runs in her first two seasons at Georgia State, has come on strong as of late and now has six home runs in her first season as a Tiger.
IN THE CLUTCH
While many teams may struggle in what is considered the "clutch" situations, the Tigers have thrived in them this season. With runners on base this season, Missouri as a team is hitting .317. With the bases loaded they are doing even better, as they are hitting .438. When there are runners in scoring position,Mizzou buckles down, as the team is hitting .326 in those situations. When Missouri has a runner on third and less than two outs, that runner is brought home over 64% of the time. To compare, Mizzou opponents score in that situation just 41% of the time.
FANTASTIC FIFTH
The fifth inning has been the breakout frame for Missouri for much of this season, as they've scored 75 runs in fifth innings this year. Those 75 runs make up 21.7% of the team's overall total, and is the most scored by Mizzou this season in any inning. To add to that, the Tigers have limited opponents to just 17 runs in fifth innings, making the frame a pivotal time for Missouri to add to their leads or close the gap when trailing late in the ball game.
SHORTENING THE GAMES
Missouri has made it extremely difficult on teams trying to come back on them this season, as they are 35-0 in games that they lead after four innings of play. When they lead after five innings, the Tigers are 27-0, and when they lead after six innings they are 26-0. Between the fourth and seventh innings this season, the Tigers have outscored opponents by a 199-72 margin
OVER BEFORE IT STARTS
When Missouri has taken the lead after the first inning this season, that usually spells doom for their opponents. Mizzou has entered the second inning with the lead 22 different times this season, and they've won all 22 games.
OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION
After struggling earlier in the year offensively, the Missouri offense has exploded as of late, so much so that they now lead the Big 12 for most runs per game this season at 6.39. In the team's last eight Big 12 games, the Tigers have scored 73 runs for an average of 9.13 per game. They've only scored less than five runs one time during that stretch, which came in a 5-2 loss to Nebraska. During Mizzou's current 19-game stretch that has them 17-2 overall, the Tigers have scored 146 times, totaling an average of 7.68 runs per game in those contests.
DOUBLE J
Missouri freshman Jenna Marston, who goes by the nickname of "JJ," is quickly climbing up the doubles charts in both Missouri history and Big 12 history. The freshman phenom has raced into second 16 different times this year, tying her for second-most among Big 12 batters. The 16 doubles are the third-most in a single season at Missouri, with Mary Babb holding the record with 19 during the 1995 season. The Big 12 record is held by OSU's Jaime Foutch, who hit 22 doubles in 1997.
TAYLOR TRACKER
Outside of the numerous records and achievements Rhea Taylor has set at Mizzou this season, the Buford, Ga., native is also flirting with some Big 12 records as well. Though she still has more than a season left in her career, Taylor is currently the conference's all-time leader in batting average, with a .415 career mark. Her six triples this season tie her for sixth-most in a season in Big 12 history, while her 13 career three-baggers move her into a tie for fourth most in a career in the conference. By this time next season, the speedster will be the conference's all-time leader in stolen bases, as she's just 23 shy of breaking Sharonda McDonald's record of 153 career stolen bases. McDonald played at Texas A&M from 2004-2007.
NOTTIE EYEING 20
Sophomore pitcher Kristin Nottelmann is closing in on her first career 20-win season, as her record currently stands at 18-6. If the righty can pick up two more wins before the end of the season, she'll become just the sixth Tiger pitcher since 2000 to pick up 20 or more wins in a single season, and the first to do so since Stacy Delaney, who went 20-4 in 2008.
SCHWEISBERGER EARNS ACADEMIC HONOR
Missouri junior Marla Schweisberger to the 2010 CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District 7 Second Team for her work in the classroom. Schweisberger becomes the 16th Tiger to earn the award, and marks the fourth straight season that the Mizzou softball program has had a player selected.
Schweisberger, a psychology major, has put together a cumulative GPA of 3.30, and is one of 14 players from the Big 12 to be selected. She is also one of five Big 12 players to be selected to the District 7 Second Team. Schweisberger is hitting .281 on the season with nine home runs, most on the team, and 30 RBI. Her home run against Western Illinois on Wednesday moved her into a tie for 10th all-time at Missouri with 17 career homers.
FLEMING EARNS BIG 12, NATIONAL ACCOLADES
After putting up a batting average of .769 during the week of April 26-May 2, sophomore Ashley Fleming was rewarded for her outstanding performance by being named the Big 12 Player of the Week and the USA Softball National Player of the Week. It is the first career Big 12 weekly award for Fleming, and she becomes just the second Tiger to ever win the USA Softball award.
The sophomore out of Silex, Mo., finished the week with 10 hits in 13 at-bats, which included three doubles and two home runs. She also scored seven times and drove in eight runs, while going a perfect 3-for-3 in stolen bases. Her on-base percentage for the week was .789, and her slugging percentage was an astounding 1.462.
Fleming is the third Tiger to win a Big 12 Player of the Week award this season. Junior Catherine Lee won the award back on April 20, while sophomore Chelsea Thomas was named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week on March 2. Janessa Roening is the only other Tiger to be named USA Softball Player of the Week, which came back in 2005.