May 14, 2010

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - Five members of the No. 8 Missouri softball team have been selected as members of the 2010 All-Big 12 First and Second Teams, as announced Friday by the league office.

Junior Rhea Taylor, sophomore Ashley Fleming and freshman Jenna Marston were selected to the first team, while junior Catherine Lee and freshman Nicole Hudson were named to the second team.  It is the third straight year that Taylor has been named to the All-Big Team, while Fleming, Marston, Lee and Hudson were selected for the first time in their careers.  Missouri has now had 21 All-Big 12 players since head coach Ehren Earleywine took over in 2007.  

Taylor, a 2007 All-American, is having her best season yet.  The Buford, Ga., native comes into the Big 12 Tournament sporting a .444 batting average, the highest in the conference.  She has career-highs in home runs (7) and RBI (35), and has swiped 37 bases in 40 attempts, also most in the league.  From April 11 to May 8, Taylor put together an 18-game hitting streak, the seventh-longest in Big 12 history.  Taylor also leads the Big 12 in hits (68) and triples (6).

Fleming has had a breakout sophomore season that's seen her rip nine doubles, eight home runs and 36 RBI.  She has the third-best batting average on the squad (.358) and is second with a .633 slugging percentage.  On May 4, Fleming was named the Big 12 Player of the Week and the USA Softball National Player of the Week for her performances during the previous week of play.  The lefty from Silex, Mo., went 10-for-13 (.769) at the plate with three doubles and two home runs, contributing to her 1.462 slugging percentage.  She also drew four walks, didn't strike out once, scored seven times and drove in eight.

Marston, a freshman out of St. Louis, Mo., has been a model of consistency for the Tigers this season.  In her first year she's hitting .388, the fifth-highest mark in the conference.  She's also fifth in the league in RBI with 48, and second in Big 12 play with 16 doubles, just four shy of breaking the Mizzou record for most in a single season.  She leads all Tigers with 12 multi-hit games this season, and has more walks (19) than strikeouts (18) at the plate.  

Coming over from Georgia State, Lee, a junior, has settled into Big 12 action nicely.  The first year Tiger gets awarded with Second Team honors after posting a .265 batting average with six home runs and 25 RBI during the regular season.  She's doubled five times, scored 20 runs and has an on-base percentage of .409, heavily due to her eye for the strike zone.  The catcher and first baseman has drawn a team-best 26 walks this season.

Hudson, also a freshman, rounds out the Second Team for Mizzou.  In just her first season the Webb City, Mo., native has emerged as one of the top power hitters on the team.  Her 14 doubles, the seventh most amongst Big 12 hitters, and seven home runs have helped her put up a .576 slugging percentage.  Her .321 batting average is fourth-highest amongst Tigers with more than 100 at bats, and she's one of six regulars with an on-base percentage over .400.  Her 25 walks are second-most on the team, and she's struck out just 16 times this season.

These five All-Big 12 honorees and the rest of the Tigers are scheduled to play the No. 4 seed Oklahoma State Cowgirls at 2 p.m. CT on Saturday at the 2010 Big 12 Championship.  However, all game times are tentative at this point, due to the postponement of Friday's games.  Stay tuned to mutigers.com for more information as it becomes available.