Feb. 14, 2011

The 2011 Missouri softball season is just days away at this point, so we're going to take an in-depth look at how the Tigers stack up this year position-by-position.  In the first part of this two-part series, we'll look at how the infield and catchers will shape up.  Tomorrow, we take a look at the outfielders, pitchers and schedule.

The Tigers are ranked No. 7 in the country according to the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll and come in at ninth in the ESPN.com/USA Softball rankings.  Missouri opens their season this Friday, Feb. 18 with a doubleheader against Fresno State and No. 12 California at the San Diego Classic I.  Throughout the rest of the weekend they'll take on No. 10/11 Washington, San Diego State and Sacramento State.

Last year, Mizzou advanced to their second straight Women's College World Series and finished the year with a school record 51 wins.  Missouri went 3-0 in the NCAA Regional round and swept Oregon in two games in the NCAA Super Regionals, both of which were held in Columbia, Mo.  The Tigers return 17 of their 22 players from last year, including three of their four pitchers and eight of their nine starting hitters.

Catcher
In 2010, the Tigers mostly went to battle with a platoon behind the plate, with Megan Christopher and Catherine Lee seeing most of the action.  They'll do the same this year, however, Lisa Simmons figures to see quite a bit of time back there, along with Lee.

Senior Lisa Simmons will find herself behind the plate in 2011

Simmons started 16 games last year and played in 45 of the team's 64 contests, most of those coming in the outfield.  She batted .267, hit a couple of home runs and got on base at a .441 clip while posting a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.  For Simmons, consistently being behind the plate this year should prove to be beneficial for her.

"With the repetitions and the games we've given her behind the plate she looks like she's been doing it her whole life," said head coach Ehren Earleywine.  "Lisa's vocal and she's smart, so it's really been nice having her back there. I asked Chelsea (Thomas) the other day, `how do you like throwing to her?' and she said `I love it. She frames the ball well, she blocks the ball well.'"

Lee, who will also find time at first base, figures to give Simmons some time off behind the plate, and according to Earleywine it will be too tough to keep her bat out of the lineup.

"It's going to be nearly impossible to keep Cat's bat out of the lineup the way she's been hitting it this year," said Earleywine.  "She kind of got back to her stance at Georgia State, which fundamentally-speaking isn't all that sound, but it works for her, and she's pulverizing the ball right now."

Last season, Lee posted a batting average/on base percentage/slugging percentage line of .246/.384/.446 to go along with six home runs, eight doubles and 28 runs batted in.  One of her biggest strengths at the plate is her ability to draw walks.   Last year, she took 30 base on balls, the second most on the team and the seventh most in a single season at Missouri.

Lee's catching counterpart last year, Megan Christopher, suffered an injury in the offseason and will redshirt this year, giving the Tigers some much needed experience behind the plate as this year's squad graduates eight players, including both Lee and Simmons.

A healthy Lindsey Muller could give the Tigers another power hitter in the lineup

First Base
First base will probably be a platoon position for the Tigers this season, as Lee, Lindsey Muller and Marla Schweisberger all figure to find time on the right corner of the infield.

"Those kids are going to be fighting it out," said Earleywine. "One of them can play DP (designated player) and one can play first base. Now the thing that we've also thrown into the mix is Marla in left, and obviously Cat can catch, so that just gives you a lot of options. We're going to mix-and-match for a little bit.

Muller, a sophomore, battled through a shoulder injury for much of last season, as she picked up just 84 at bats in 42 games played.  In those 84 at bats, Muller posted a line of .262/.392/.476 with four home runs and 21 runs batted in.  Of her 22 hits, 10 were of the extra base variety, as she picked up six doubles to go with her four long balls.

"Before last year, I said the X-Factor for the season was Ashley Fleming," stated Earleywine.  "Fleming had a good year and we did pretty well. This year, it's Muller. If Muller mashes, then you've got another one of those boppers. She could change the whole complexion of our lineup.  She's a kid that can hit double digit home runs for us."

Also expected to find time at first will be Schweisberger, one of the nine seniors on the team.  A 2009 Second Team All-American, Schweisberger hit nine home runs, nine doubles and drove home 36 RBI last year while putting up a line of.282/.342/.535.  The righty gives the Tigers a lot of options, as she could find herself at first, in left or at designated player.  Earleywine projects her to bat in the lower third of the lineup, and that her experience will prove to majorly benefit the team.

"I think if you can put a kid like that with four years of experience in your seven or eight spot, it says something about your lineup. That's not a knock against Marla, I think it says something about the rest of your team when you can put a kid with four years of experience, was an All-American and has been to two World Series in the seventh or eighth spot in the lineup. That's something special."

Second Base
With the departure of senior Gina Schneider, the lone starter in the lineup who was lost to graduation, the Tigers have a hole to fill at second base.  Three have risen to the challenge in senior Abby Vock, sophomore Princess Krebs and freshman Maddison Ruggeberg, as all figure to compete for time at the position this year.

Vock's strength is her glove, as she's widely considered the best defensive infielder on the team and has been for quite some time.  Last season, she committed just one error in 99 chances.

"I think what we're going to do is start off with Abby playing second base," said Earleywine. "If she's able to show she is someone that can give us good at bats, defensively there is no one better. But if her hitting doesn't pan out the way she wants it to and the way we want it to, then we have options."

Princess Krebs gives the Tigers options at both second base and in left field

One of those options will be Krebs, who spent her freshman season as a backup shortstop and one of the first pinch run options off the bench.  Between second base and left field, her role will certainly be expanded in 2011.

"Princess is probably the number two option right now, and in addition to that she's probably a very likely candidate to start in left field," said Earleywine. "For anyone that knows me, I'm trying to get my nine best bats in the lineup any way I can. We had Krebs sitting there behind JJ (Jenna Marston), basically just dying as a backup shortstop and we played these intersquads and she'd get three hits, two hits, couple walks, hit a bomb and we're like `wait a minute, we got to start moving this kid around a little bit.'"

Ruggeberg, a freshman, remains the third option at the position, though Earleywine says that he thinks he'll play the matchup game at times to get all three of the options some experience at second.

"Those three kids will all get opportunities, and my job is to figure out what opportunities are best suited for them. Maddison is a good high-ball hitter so I've got to try to match her up with that. Abby's a better low-ball hitter and good bunter, and "P" (Princess) is more of a grip-and-rip, no think, just hit, and she hits good pitchers because of that. So I'm just going to try and match those kids up and whichever one is more successful at what they do by the time I get to conference play I'll probably try to lean on them a bit more often."

Shortstop
The first locked up position for the Tigers comes at shortstop, where 2010 First Team All-Big 12 selection Jenna Marston holds down the fort.  Last season, the freshman put up a line .366/.450/.543 with five home runs, 15 stolen bases, 22 walks and team-highs in doubles (16) and runs batted in (52).  She hit an astonishing .473 in Big 12 play, the tops in the league.  From the day she's stepped on the field, Earleywine's touted that she'll be a double-digit home run player as her career progresses, much to the surprise of others, and he thinks she'll take that step forward this season.

"I think she'll hit double digits this year," said Earleywine. "I think eventually she's going to be a 15-18 home run kid and people are always like, `really, JJ?' But JJ's bigger than people think, and she's strong, and she's got a nice stroke. Once she gets out in front and pulls the ball, she's going to hit some bombs."

With her improvements on defense, Jenna Marston could be one of the most complete players in the Big 12

Spending much of the offseason working on pulling the ball a bit more, Marston also spent a significant amount of time trying to improve her defense, which was her one glaring weakness from her freshman campaign.  She'd often flash the leather and make some incredible plays due to her range and arm strength, but found herself having trouble with the routine ground ball.

"She's worked on it hard, and there's a big, big difference from last year," claimed Earleywine. "I think on the routine ball what she had been doing was sitting back initially, and then as the ball got in its transition from the plate to her she would know that she had sat back too much and would then hit the panic button and overcharge balls and that made her hard-handed running up into balls. What we're doing now is reversing that, so that ball is hit, she's aggressive out of the chute, and then she sets up softly. This spring, she's unrecognizable in making the routine play compared to last year."

Third Base
Another fixture for Missouri for the second straight year will be Nicole Hudson, who led the team in home runs last season with 10.  Her 10 bombs made her the first true freshman since Jen Bruck in 2005 to hit double digit home runs in a season.  On top of that, she posted a line of .323/.446/.602, as she also clubbed 15 doubles.  She plated 41 base runners, and posted an impressive walk-to-strikeout ratio of 31:19. 

Nicole Hudson looks to built on her double-digit home run season in 2010

This year, Earleywine says she's in the best shape he's ever seen her, and that's only going to improve her overall game this year.  At the end of last year, the team flirted with the idea of moving her to one of the corner outfield spots, but those plans have changed.

"She came back this fall in the best shape I've ever seen her, and came back in Christmas break even better than that," said Earleywine. "Because of that, her lateral movement has gotten better, her ability to cover bunts has gotten better and I think if everything stays the same she should not only be able to play third base but do a significantly better job this year than she did last year at that position."

Her power, plus her addition of speed and quickness on both defense and at the plate gives Earleywine a lot of options on where to hit her in the lineup.  With her ability to read the strike zone, along with her being a tough batter to strike out, she could find herself anywhere between second in the lineup and fifth."

"Typical power hitters are feast or feminine, not a lot of walks. With her ability to see the strike zone it almost makes her a viable option for the two-hole, because you want someone there who will see pitches, draw walks, that kind of thing. But then you wonder, `does this kid have too much power to be sitting in the two-hole? Should she be three-through-five?' She's right on the cusp."

Check back tomorrow for part two, which will feature a look at the team's pitching rotation, outfielders and the 2011 schedule.