May 22, 2010

Recap |  Box Score |  Quotes |  Photo Gallery 

Regional Notes:
Missouri will return to action in Sunday's Championship Game at 1 p.m. Illinois will face the winner of the Creighton - DePaul contest at 5 p.m. on Saturday.

Missouri improves to 2-0 all-time vs. Illinois and is also 2-0 vs. the Fighting Illini in NCAA Regional play. MU beat the Illini 5-1 in 2009.

Missouri is now 5-0 in NCAA Regional games at home the last two seasons.

Missouri Notes:
Kristin Nottleman notched her second win of this NCAA Regional and is now 21-7 on the year. She now has 12 complete-game wins and 31 career victories. She needed 120 pitches to complete the contest.

In her 10.0 innings of work in NCAA play Nottleman has allowed just one run and seven hits. She has also struck out 12 to lead MU into Sunday's Championship Game.

Rhea Taylor stole two first-inning bases to generate MU's first run. She now has 43 stolen bases on the year, which is the fourth highest total in school history. She will need three more swipes to move into #2, equaling Julie Link's total of 46 in 1988. Taylor owns the school single-season stolen base record with 57 in 2008.

Taylor scored her 60th run of the year in the first inning on Ashley Fleming's RBI single. Taylor is #2 in single-season history with those 60 runs scored and is just four runs off her 2008 school record total of 64.

Fleming recorded two RBIs in the game, including a key insurance run in the bottom of the sixth. Fleming now has 10 multi-RBI games this year and her season total of 41 RBIs is second on the club this season.

Missouri improved to 11-9 vs. Top 25 teams this season. The Tigers have won three of their last four vs. Top 25 opposition.

Mizzou has won 21 of its last 24 games and is now 4-1 in postseason play, including a 2-1 mark in the 2010 Big 12 Tournament.

Missouri notched its 48th win of the year on Saturday, the second most in school history. The Tigers won 50 games in 2009.

Nicole Hudson hit her ninth home run of the season to give Mizzou a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning. The blast to right field tied her for the team-lead with Ashley Fleming and Marla Schweisberger. The round-tripper was the first of the Columbia Regional.

Illinois Notes:
Although she took the loss, Monica Perry was again solid in her second start of the Columbia Regional. She allowed just three hits over 4.0 innings of work vs. Mizzou and has allowed just three runs in 11.0 innings in NCAA games vs. DePaul and Mizzou. After allowing a first-inning run to the Tigers she promptly retired eight of her next nine batters (third inning walk) before giving up the Hudson home run in the fourth.

The loss for the Fighting Illini was just their second in the last 19 games. Illinois is 17-2 in those 19 contests.

Hollie Pinchback recorded her 44th RBI of the season in the top of the third inning to tie the game at 1-1. She is now alone in seventh place in school history with those 44 runs driven in and needs just one more RBI to move into a tie for fifth.

Hope Howell led Illinois with two hits and a run scored on Saturday. The First Team all-Big 10 pick has now hit in both games of the NCAA Regional and has now hit in six consecutive contests overall.

Howell is now second on the club with those 72 hits, one behind Danielle Zymkowitz (73). Zymkowitz's 73 hits ranks #4 in school history, while Howell ranks #5 with her 72. The Illinois single-season record for hits in a season is 75 by Lindsey Hamma.

Illinois fell to 2-4 vs. Top 25 opponents this season. Four of Illinois' seven losses have come vs. ranked opposition.

Illinois is now 6-7 all-time in NCAA Tournament play.