March 1, 2011
Complete Notes 
No. 18/17 Missouri (5-3) vs. Drake
Date: Wednesday, March 2
Time: Game one - 3 p.m. CT; Game two - 5 p.m. CT
Stadium: University Field
GameTracker: mutigers.com
Radio: KTGR 1580 AM/100.5 FM; KCOU 88.1 FM
All-Access: MUTigers.tv (Subscribers only)
LEADING OFF
-No. 18/17 Missouri is set to play at home for the first time this season, as they host a doubleheader with Drake on Wednesday, March 2 at University Field. Game one is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. CT. The doubleheader begins a stretch of 17 straight games played for the Tigers within the state of Missouri.
-The Tigers are looking to build on their 4-1 weekend at the USF Fairfield Inn and Suites Tampa North Tournament down in Tampa, Fla. Missouri opened with a pair of wins over Temple (8-7) and Illinois State (8-2) before falling to No. 5/2 Alabama by a 3-1 score. Mizzou bounced back with a 4-1 win over South Florida and a 6-1 win over Western Michigan to improve to 5-3 on the year.
-Senior Rhea Taylor had an outstanding weekend for the Tigers in Tampa, as she picked up 10 hits in 17 at bats for a .588 average. She scored seven of the team's 27 runs, doubled twice and hit her first home run of the year while driving in three runs and going 5-for-5 in stolen bases. She has hit safely in all eight games this year and has an 11 game hitting streak dating back to the end of last season.
-Junior pitcher Kristin Nottelmann went 2-0 with a save at the tournament, allowing just two runs for a 1.17 ERA on the weekend. She opened up with a save against Temple, working a perfect seventh inning with two strikeouts to preserve Mizzou's 8-7 lead, and came back later that day to throw four innings in a win against Illinois State. The following day she went the distance against South Florida, throwing all seven innings while allowing just one run on three hits, with the run and two of those hits coming with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. She struck out eight, walked zero, and set down 16 straight batters at one point to improve to 3-0 on the season.
-Redshirt sophomore Chelsea Thomas was the tough-luck loser in the game against No. 5/2 Alabama, as she allowed just three runs in a complete game effort. Thomas is 0-2 on the year, despite having an ERA of 1.40 in 15 innings. She struck out nine Crimson Tide hitters and walked none. Opponents are hitting only .170 on her this year, and she has 21 strikeouts to only four walks. However, the Tiger offense has scored just one run for her in her two starts.
-Mizzou used five pitchers over the course of the weekend, as they combined for a team ERA of 2.00 in the team's five games. Along with Thomas and Nottelmann, the Tigers also got four innings out of Ashley Fleming, 5.1 innings out of Lindsey Muller and 5.2 innings out of Nicole Hudson. Missouri is planning on using Fleming, Muller and Hudson, along with Lisa Simmons, when they can early on in the season to preserve Thomas and Nottelmann as they work their way back from injuries.
-Along with helping in the circle, Fleming and Hudson had solid weekends at the plate for Missouri. Fleming hit .467 with a double and two RBI while scoring six runs and going 4-for-4 in stolen bases, while Hudson hit .333 with a .444 on base percentage and a .667 slugging percentage, scoring four runs, hitting two doubles and her second home run of the season while driving in seven. She also swiped a pair of bases in as many attempts.
-It was a pair of firsts for two of Missouri's freshman, as Maddison Ruggeberg and Mackenzie Sykes each hit their first career home run down in Tampa. Ruggeberg's blast broke a 6-6 tie with Temple in a pinch hit effort in the top of the fifth, while Sykes hit hers in the bottom of the fourth against Western Michigan, taking a 1-2 pitch over the left field wall to increase Mizzou's lead to 5-1.
SCOUTING DRAKE
Drake comes into this midweek doubleheader with a 6-3 record on the season, though they have lost three of their last four. They opened the year winning their first five games, topping South Dakota, North Dakota, Green Bay, UTEP and Kennesaw State. After falling to Texas A&M CC, they came back to top Pacific before losing their last two contests to No. 4 Arizona by a 5-3 score and Kennesaw State 6-3.
The Bulldogs have been solid both at the plate and in the circle, as they have a team batting average of .331 and a team earned run average of 2.50. They've slugged nine home runs this year, driven in 44 and have swiped 14 bases in 18 attempts. They have four regulars in their lineup who are hitting over .400, led by Nicole Randel at .474. She's also hit two home runs and driven in eight, tied for most RBI on the team with Jenna DeLong and Erin Mollohan. DeLong is batting .440 with three bombs and two doubles, while Mollohan has a .429 average to go with a pair of home runs and three two-baggers.
In the circle, DeLong and Brynne Dordel split time, as DeLong has six appearances to go with Dordel's five. DeLong has a 4-0 record with a 1.60 ERA and three shutouts. She's struck out 41 batters and walked seven in 30.2 innings. Dordel is currently 2-3 with a 3.59 ERA, throwing three complete games and one shutout in her five starts. She has 32 strikeouts, has walked 12 and given up 18 hits in 25.1 innings.
Missouri leads the all-time series with Drake by a 19-4 margin. The Tigers and Bulldogs last met in 2008, with Missouri sweeping the doubleheader by scores of 16-0 and 5-1.
FOLLOW LIVE
Each game will have live stats and play-by-play through GameTracker. Links to each game's GameTracker can be found at mutigers.com. KTGR ESPN Radio will also broadcast game one of this doubleheader live on both 100.5-FM and 1580-AM. Fans can also tune in to KCOU 88.1 FM or at www.kcou.fm and listen to their broadcast as well. For Mizzou All-Access subscribers, you can watch live video at mutigers.tv.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Missouri heads down I-70 to St. Louis for the annual Missouri Breast Cancer Awareness Tournament, beginning on Friday, March 4. The Tigers will take on SLU, SEMO, UMKC and Missouri State over the course of the weekend.
FOLLOW MIZZOU SOFTBALL ON TWITTER AND FACEBOOK
Tiger softball fans can follow along with the season through many of the program's social media options. On Twitter, Mizzou fans can follow the entire athletic department at twitter.com/mutigersdotcom. Assistant Coach Pete D'Amour is also on Twitter at twitter.com/MizzouSBcoach. On Facebook, fans can search “University of Missouri Softball Team” to track down the team's official page.
Rhea Taylor RECORD TRACKER
Senior outfielder Rhea Taylor has done nothing but rewrite the record books in her first three years as a Tiger. As expected, she's about to do the same this year. Here's a look at what records she's tracking down this season:
-Batting Average: Already the all-time leader at Mizzou with a .422 career batting average, a record that is theoretically impossible for give relinquish before the end of the season (Jenna Marston is second all-time at .359, two others are tied for third all-time at .352), Taylor should also graduate as the Big 12 Conference's record holder as well. She currently holds that mark, ahead of former Husker Ali Viola, who hit .409 from 1996-98.
-Hits: After a 10-hit weekend in Tampa, Taylor is just five hits away from breaking Mary Babb's Missouri record of 262. Last season, Taylor broke Babb's runs scored record in the second half of the season. Taylor is now eighth all-time amongst Big 12 hitters with 258 hits. If she matches her three season average of 82 hits a year, she would find herself tied with Norrelle Dickson of Oklahoma, the conference's all-time hits leader at 328.
-Runs: Entering the season as Missouri all-time runs leader and eighth in the conference, Taylor is expected to flirt with the Big 12's all-time record as well. Dickson, who played for OU from 2004-07 and also holds the league's hits record, is the current record holder at 234. Taylor has scored nine times this year, giving her 191 for her career and bumping her up to seventh all-time in the Big 12. If she matches her yearly average of 61 runs, she'll find herself ahead of Dickson with 244 career runs scored.
-Stolen Bases: Taylor shattered the school's stolen base record early on in her junior year, surpassing Julie Link's mark of 110 on March 31, 2010. Now with 147 career stolen bases, Taylor finds herself just seven shy of topping the Big 12's record book. With seven games scheduled in the next seven days, Taylor should find herself breaking that record here in the near future.
MIZZOU FINISHES 4-1 AT USF TOURNAMENT
The No. 16/15 Missouri Tigers went 4-1 at the USF Fairfield Inn and Suites Tampa North Tournament, beating Temple (8-7), Illinois State (8-2), South Florida (4-1) and Western Michigan (6-1) while falling to No. 5/2 Alabama.
Missouri 8, Temple 7
Mizzou broke the scoreless tie in the top of the third following back-to-back singles by seniors Rhea Taylor and Catherine Lee to start the inning. Lee advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on an illegal pitch. Sophomore Nicole Hudson doubled in Ashley Fleming, who was hit by a pitch, to make it 3-0. Muller helped herself out by blasting a two-run home run over the left-center field wall, and Taylor made it 6-0 later in the inning by beating out an infield single with runners on second and third.
Temple's bats woke up in the bottom of the fourth, as they pushed across six runs to tie up the score. The Owls started things off with back-to-back singles, while an error and a single cut the lead to 6-2 and chase Muller. Hudson was brought in to pitch, and after getting the second out, gave up an RBI single and a three run home run to tie the game.
The Tigers retook the lead in the top of the fifth off a pinch hit home run by freshman Maddison Ruggeberg, the first home run of her career, pushing the Tiger lead to 7-6. Hudson helped herself out in the top of the seventh with a blast over the right-center field wall that wound up being the game winning home run, putting the Tigers back on top at 8-7. Hudson got the win, the first of her collegiate career, moving her to 1-1 on the season.
Missouri 8, Illinois State 2
The Tigers took the lead in the top of the third, scoring three runs on three hits in the frame. Taylor extended her hitting streak to eight games dating back to last season with a chopper over the third baseman's head, and then stole second base. Taylor advanced to third when Fleming reached on an error, and then came around to score on a single by Lee, tying the game at 1-1. Both Fleming and Lee touched home on Hudson's single to left-center, making it 3-1 in favor of Mizzou.Mizzou pushed four more runs across in the top of the fifth to make it 7-1.
Nottelmann picked up her second win of the year, throwing four innings of one run ball, scattering five hits and striking out four to improve to 2-0 on the season.
Alabama 3, Missouri 1
The Crimson Tide jumped ahead in the top of the third with a pair of doubles to make it 1-0. Kendall Dawson doubled to start the inning, hitting a liner to center just off the edge of a leaping Taylor's glove. After a pop out, Kayla Braud hit a double to left, scoring Dawson for the first run of the game. Jennifer Fenton followed with a single off Hudson's glove at third to put runners on the corners, and a fielder's choice pushed the Tide lead to 2-0.
An RBI single by Fleming in the bottom half of the third cut Alabama's lead in half. Taylor led off the inning with a perfectly placed bunt right in front of the plate, and stole her second base of the game. With one out, Fleming worked a full count and fouled off a few pitches before pulling one into right field, plating Taylor and trimming the deficit to 2-1.
The score remained tied at 2-1 into the sixth inning, when Whitney Larsen pulled a solo home run over the left field fence to make it 3-1 in Alabama's favor.
Dunne retired the last 10 batters she faced as she improved to 7-0 on the season. Thomas fell to 0-2 on the year, as she threw a complete game, allowing the three runs on six hits. She struck out nine and didn't walk a single batter.
Missouri 4, South Florida 1
Junior Kristin Nottelmann threw a gem, going all seven innings while allowing just one run on only three hits and striking out eight. After allowing a one out single in the second, Nottelmann set down 16 straight before allowing back-to-back two out hits in the bottom of the second.
Mizzou broke the scoreless tie with an unearned run in the top of the third, as back-to-back two out fielding errors helped the Tigers put a run across. Taylor's bunt was fielded by the third baseman, but the throw was dropped by the covering second baseman at first base, allowing her to advance to second. Lee followed with a grounder of her own to third, who then threw the ball over the first baseman's head, bringing Taylor around to score and moving Lee to second.
The Tigers tallied another in the following inning to extend the lead to 2-0. Fleming led off the inning with a double in the right-center field gap, her second of the season. After stealing third, senior Marla Schweisberger singled back up the middle to plate Fleming. Taylor made it 4-0 Mizzou with her first home run of the season, connecting on a 1-2 pitch over the right-center field fence, plating Abby Vock who was hit by a pitch to start the inning.
Missouri 6, Western Michigan 1
Missouri put up a three-spot in the first inning to take the early lead, highlighted by Hudson two-run double. Rhea Taylor and Jenna Marston each walked to start the game, and they moved up a base on a ground out to set up Hudson's two-bagger. After stealing third, Hudson was plated on a groundout by Lindsey Muller to make it 3-0.
A sacrifice fly by Muller in the bottom of the third increased Mizzou's lead to 4-1. In the bottom of the fourth, Mackenzie Sykes picked up her first career collegiate hit, run, home run and RBI as she crushed the 1-2 pitch over the left field wall, making it a 5-1 Tiger lead.
Missouri added an unearned run in the fifth to increase their lead to 6-1. Ashley Fleming tossed the last two innings, setting down all six she faced while striking out two. Muller got the win, her first of the year, throwing two innings of relief while allowing no runs on two hits with two strikeouts.
TIGERS ON TV
The Tigers will have three of their games televised this season - all of which are home games at University Field. On Saturday, April 16, Missouri and Oklahoma's series-opener will be aired live on Fox Sports Net, beginning at 3:30 p.m. CT. The second game against the Sooners, on Sunday, April 17, at 3 p.m. CT, is set to air live on ESPN. The Tigers will face off against Texas on Sunday, May 8 at Noon, also on ESPN. Missouri was televised six times last season - twice during the regular season and four times in the postseason - and went 2-4 in those games. Both wins came against Oregon at University Field in the NCAA Super Regionals.