March 22, 2011
LEADING OFF
-The No. 16/T13 Missouri softball team opens up Big 12 Conference play this Wednesday when they take on Border Showdown rival Kansas in a doubleheader in Lawrence, Kan. Action begins at 4 p.m. CT with the first game, with game two starting at approximately 6 p.m. CT.
-Missouri is 5-2 in the opening Big 12 series under head coach Ehren Earleywine. Last season, Mizzou split with Oklahoma down in Norman, winning 11-6 and losing 9-0.
-After starting the year 1-2, Mizzou has won 19 straight and 21 of their last 22 to improve to 22-3 on the year. The all-time school record for most consecutive wins is 20, set by the 1995 squad that went 47-19.
-The Tigers went 5-0 last weekend at the Wilson Classic, winning three of the games by run-rule. Missouri opened with a 4-3 win over North Dakota State and followed that up by beating Western Michigan 10-0 in five innings. On Saturday, Mizzou dropped North Dakota State, 11-2 in five, and was up 10-1 on Western Michigan before rain postponed the game until Sunday. The 10 runs Missouri scored all came in the first inning, the most runs in one inning for the Tigers since Feb. 21, 2007 against Saint Louis when they scored 12 in the fourth. Missouri and Minnesota closed out the tournament in a tight pitcher's duel, with the Tigers coming out ahead 2-0 on a sixth inning Ashley Fleming home run.
-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 12 shutouts on the year, all coming in their last 17 games. The team's earned run average is 1.08, best in the Big 12. They are also only walking just 1.24 batters a game, the best in the conference. The staff's .159 opponent batting average is tops amongst Big 12 teams as well.
-Nine of the team's last 15 wins have come by the mercy rule. In the month of March, the Tigers have outscored their opponents 128-10. Mizzou is averaging 7.53 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 9-2 with a 0.42 ERA. She has 112 strikeouts and just 11 walks with a .117 opponent batting average. She has two saves on the year, and has allowed only one run in her last 53.0 innings pitched. Nottelmann is a perfect 10-0 with two saves and a 0.97 ERA. She has 65 strikeouts to only 13 walks while limiting opponents to a .142 batting average. Thomas' ERA is best in the league, while Nottelmann's is fifth.
-Fleming has been the Tigers' best hitter this year, as she currently leads the squad with a .439 batting average. She's tied for the team lead with five home runs, and leads all Tigers in runs (28), doubles (nine), runs batted in (29) and slugging percentage (.833). She's walked 11 times to only six strikeouts, and has stolen 10 bases in as many attempts. Last weekend she hit a grand slam in Missouri's 10-run first inning against Western Michigan and slugged a game winning two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth against Minnesota.
-Sophomore Jenna Marston drew an incredible nine walks in six games last week. She now has 23 on the year, tied for third most in the Big 12. She took 22 walks all of last season. The school record for most walks in a season is 43. Marston is on pace to draw 49 walks through the regular season.
-Senior Lisa Simmons had a rough start at the plate this season, starting the year 0-for-20. However, she's turned it on as of late, as she has seven hits in her last 14 at bats, which includes a home run and nine RBI.
-Rachel Hay connected on her first career home run in the top of the fifth inning against Western Michigan on Friday. The Tiger sophomore connected on a 1-2 pitch, sending it off the scoreboard in straightaway center field.
SCOUTING KANSAS
The Kansas Jayhawks are off to their best start in program history, already surpassing last year's win total with 26 wins in 29 games. They have already hit more home runs, stolen more bases and scored more runs than they did all of last year. KU's losses have come to Minnesota (5-4), Bradley (10-7) and UNLV (10-1, five innings). They've won 11 straight games and have the second best winning percentage in the Big 12 (.897). The Jayhawks are receiving votes in both the NFCA/USA Today and ESPN.com/USA Softball polls.
The top Jayhawk hitter this year has been Brittany Hile, who is hitting .384 with seven doubles, 10 home runs and 30 runs batted in. She's got an on base percentage of .460 and a slugging percentage of .814. Maggie Hull leads all Jayhawks with a .393 average, and has added five home runs of her own. Six regulars are hitting over .300 for Kansas.
Kristin Martinez is the team's ace, as she's 12-1 in 19 appearances with a 1.63 ERA. She has seven complete games and limits opponents to a .215 batting average. She doesn't strike many out, only 46 in 85.2 innings. Allie Clark also sees significant time in the circle, as she's appeared 15 times and put together a 10-1 record. In 60.2 innings she has struck out 45 and walked 29.
The Tigers hold the all-time series lead over Kansas with a record of 59-43. Missouri swept the Jayhawks last year in Columbia, winning 5-4 on a three-run walk off home run by Jenna Marston in the bottom of the seventh inning. In game two, Missouri blew past KU, run-ruling them 10-2 in six innings.
Rhea Taylor RECORD TRACKER
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 this season. 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. At the Missouri Breast Cancer Awareness Tournament, 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, March 9.
Here's a look at what records she's tracking down this season:
-Batting Average: Already the all-time leader at Mizzou with a .415 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 .364, 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 sixth all-time amongst Big 12 hitters with 274 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 205 for her career and is 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.
MIZZOU GOES 5-0 AT WILSON CLASSIC
The Tigers extended their winning streak to 19 straight games with a perfect 5-0 weekend at the Wilson Classic, sweeping two against against both North Dakota State and Western Michigan and knocking off Minnesota.
Missouri run-ruled three of the five games, beating North Dakota State 11-2 in five and Western Michigan by scores of 10-0 and 10-1. Kristin Nottelmann was one strike away from a no hitter on Friday against Western Michigan before a Bronco singled just past the glove of the Tiger third baseman. Both Nottelmann and Thomas won two games apiece over the weekend, while Thomas also picked up a save.
Ashley Fleming hit a two run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to break up the pitcher's duel against Minnesota. The teams were scoreless at that point, as the teams combined for just three hits at that point. Thomas got the win for Mizzou as she struck out 12.
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. It was the team's 10th shutout in the last 12 games, lowering the staff's ERA to 1.16.
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.