March 17, 2011Complete Notes 
LEADING OFF
-No. 17/13 Missouri competes in their last tournament of the regular season this weekend, when they host North Dakota State, Western Michigan and Minnesota at University Field for the Wilson Classic. Missouri will play a doubleheader on both Friday and Saturday against North Dakota State and Western Michigan, facing off against the Bisons at 1:30 p.m. CT on and the Broncos at 4 p.m. CT on each day. The Tigers close with Minnesota at 1:30 p.m. CT on Sunday.
-After starting the year 1-2, Mizzou has won 14 straight and 16 of their last 17 to improve to 17-3 on the year.
-Missouri shut out Southern Illinois on Wednesday, beating the Salukis by a 3-0 final. Chelsea Thomas recorded the win, her seventh in a row, with four solid innings of two-hit ball. Thomas struck out six and walked one. Nottelmann closed out the game, throwing the last three innings for her second save of the season. The junior faced the minimum, allowing only one hit that was wiped out on a double play, and struck out six. Rhea Taylor went 3-for-4 at the plate, while Marla Schweisberger hit a two run home run in the first inning, her second of the season.
-The Tigers now have 10 shutouts on the year, all coming in their last 12 games. The team's earned run average is 1.16, best in the Big 12. They are also only walking just 1.1 batters a game, the best in the conference. The staff's .166 opponent batting average is tops amongst Big 12 teams as well.
-Six of the team's last nine wins have come by the mercy rule. In the month of March, the Tigers have outscored their opponents 91-4. Mizzou is averaging 7.58 runs a game this month after averaging 3.88 in the month of February.
-Thomas and Nottelmann have been absolutely lights out this year. After starting 0-2, Thomas is now 7-2 with a 0.38 ERA. She has 89 strikeouts and just seven walks with a .120 opponent batting average. She collected her first career save in Mizzou's 4-3 win over the Illini last Saturday. She has not allowed a run in her last 41.2 innings pitched. Nottelmann is a perfect 8-0 with two saves and a 1.02 ERA. She has 54 strikeouts to only eight walks while limiting opponents to a .152 batting average. Thomas' ERA is best in the league, while Nottelmann's is fourth.
-Fleming has been the Tigers' best hitter this year, as she currently leads the squad with a .436 batting average. She's tied for the team lead with 18 RBI and tied for second on the team with three home runs. She's walked 11 times to only six strikeouts, and has stolen nine bases in as many attempts.
-Marla Schweisberger homered in the first inning of Mizzou's win against SIU on Wednesday, her second of the season. She is now tied for the team lead with 18 RBI, halfway to last season's total of 36.
-After struggling at the plate for much of her career, Vock is putting together a solid season with the bat to go with her outstanding glove, as she's hitting .343 on the season. She also raised her on base percentage to .523, which is second best on the squad, after being hit by pitch four times last weekend and drawing two walks. This season, Vock has been hit by pitch six times and walked six times while only striking out on three occasions.
-Freshman Taylor Duplechain made her collegiate debut this past weekend after sitting out the first month due to injury. In her third career at bat, Duplechain slapped a liner into left field, scoring the game winning run in Missouri's 8-0 win over Illinois on Sunday for her first career hit and RBI.
SCOUTING NORTH DAKOTA STATE
North Dakota State enters the weekend with a 9-17 record, though they are riding a two-game winning streak after winning 1-0 against Missouri State and 4-3 over Northern Iowa earlier this week. Prior to that, the Bisons had dropped seven straight contests dating back to the first weekend of March.
As a team, NDSU is htiting only .210. They have an OBP of .294 and a slugging percentage of just .259. Nicole Rivera is the team's top hitter with a .345 batting average. She has one home run and eight RBI on the year. North Dakota State's team ERA is 5.16. Opponents are hitting .281 off them, and they have 110 walks to 103 strikeouts. Their top performer is Whitney Johnson, who is 4-7 on the year with a 3.61 ERA.
Missouri is 7-0 all-time against the Bison. They last faced in 2007, when the Tigers claimed wins of 5-4 and 7-1.
SCOUTING WESTERN MICHIGAN
Western Michigan has gone 4-4 in their last eight games after starting the year 0-10. They're struggling offensively, hitting .200 as a team, and have connected on just four home runs this year. Kayla Houston is the team's top pitcher, as she has a record of 2-6 with a 3.30 ERA. Opponents are hitting .249 off her, and she has 68 strikeouts to 36 walks. Missouri is 8-0 all-time against Western Michigan after beating the Broncos by a 6-1 score earlier this year at the USF Fairfield Inn and Suites Tampa North Tournament in Tampa, Fla.
SCOUTING MINNESOTA
Minnesota won eight of their last 12 games as of Wednesday, with two games to play prior to the start of the Wilson Classic. They faced Northern Iowa and Missouri State on Thursday afternoon. Last weekend at the Mizuno Classic in Stillwater, Okla, the Golden Gophers beat Northern Colorado, split with Northern Iowa, and split with Oklahoma State, earning a 1-0 win over the top-25 win on the last day of competition.
As a team, Minnesota is hitting .262 with a .374 OBP and a .365 SLG. Malisa Barnes leads the squad with a .440 batting average. She's also hit three home runs and driven in 14, while putting up a slugging percentage of .613 and an on base percentage of .566. Kari Dorle leads the team with six home runs, while Alex Davis has four homers and a team high 26 RBI. Sara Moulton is the team's ace, appearing in 23 of the squad's 26 games. She is 14-7 on the season with a 3.19 ERA. She has 152 strikeouts to 42 walks and has given up 115 hits in 132.2 innings pitched.
Mizzou holds a 9-6 lead in the all-time series against Minnesota, however, the Gophers have won the past two meetings between the two teams. Minnesota won 6-5 in 2005 and 10-4 in 2000, with the Tigers' last win coming by a 3-0 final in 1999.
FOLLOW LIVE
Each Mizzou game will have live stats and play-by-play through GameTracker. Links to each game's GameTracker can be found at mutigers.com.
LISTEN ON KTGR
Mizzou's game with North Dakota State on Friday will be broadcast live on KTGR 100.5 FM/1580 AM. KTGR is covering a handful of Tiger softball games this year. They'll also broadcast the Missouri vs. SIU-Edwardsville game on April 27 and the Mizzou vs. Western Illinois game on May 4.
WHAT'S NEXT?
The Tigers open the Big 12 season with a doubleheader against Border Showdown rival Kansas, held in Lawrence, Kan., on Wednesday, March 23. Game one starts at 4 p.m. CT.
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.
NO. 13 SOFTBALL SHUTS OUT SIU, 3-0
Senior Marla Schweisberger hit a first inning two-run home run and redshirt sophomore Chelsea Thomas combined to throw a shutout with junior Kristin Nottelmann as the No. 13 Missouri Tigers (17-3) took down the Southern Illinois Salukis by a 3-0 score on Wednesday afternoon.
Thomas threw four innings of two hit ball, allowing two hits and one walk while striking out five as she improved to 7-2 on the season. She has not allowed a run in her last 41.2 innings pitched, lowering her season earned run average to 0.38. Nottelmann recorded her second save of the year, tossing the last three innings. She faced the minimum, allowing one hit that was erased on a double play, while striking out six. Schweisberger homered in the first inning to put Mizzou up 2-0 right off the bat. Her second blast of the season scored senior Rhea Taylor, who picked up three hits on the day. Schweisberger is tied for the team lead with 18 runs batted in. Missouri tacked on an unearned run in the third when Megan Christopher drew a bases loaded walk.
TAYLOR BREAKS SCHOOL HITS RECORD, BIG 12 STOLEN BASE RECORD
Senior Rhea Taylor has rewritten the record books again, as she set a new school record for hits in a career and broke the Big 12's career stolen base mark last week. Taylor picked up three hits in a doubleheader against Drake, moving her within two of tying Mary Babb's 14 year old record of 262. Over the weekend, Taylor moved ahead of Babb with six hits in four games. The record-breaking hit came in her final at-bat against SLU, as she roped a triple to right-center field to put herself on top of the record book once again.
She also went 5-for-5 in stolen bases at the Missouri Breast Cancer Awareness Tournament, tying her for the most stolen bases in Big 12 history. She broke Texas A&M's Sharonda McDonald mark of 153 stolen bases, who set the record in 2007, with a stolen base in the first inning against Arkansas on Wednesday.
Here's a look at what records she's tracking down this season:
-Batting Average: Already the all-time leader at Mizzou with a .420 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: Taylor is now tied for sixth all-time amongst Big 12 hitters with 273 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 202 for her career and is her up to fourth 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.
EARLEYWINE TOPS 200 WINS AT MIZZOU
With Missouri's win against Illinois State on Saturday, head coach Ehren Earleywine has become the second head coach in Missouri history to surpass the 200 win mark as a Tiger. Already the second winningest coach in Tiger history behind Jay Miller (556 wins in 15 seasons), Earleywine has the highest winning percentage for a Missouri head coach at .747, ahead of Barb Wright, who went 91-32 (.740) in two seasons for the Tigers, and Miller, who had a .643 winning percentage at Mizzou. Earleywine entered the season as the 14th winningest active coach in NCAA Division I softball with a career winning percentage of .734.