March 29, 2011
Complete Notes 
Date(s): March 30
First Pitch: 4 p.m. CT / 6 p.m. CT
Location: Denton, Texas
Stadium: Lovelace Stadium
Live Stats: www.mutigers.com
Live Twitter: @MIZLive
Live Video: www.meangreensports.com
Series Record: MU leads 3-0
Mizzou Series Streak: Won 3
First Meeting: 1987 (MU won 9-3)
Last Meeting: 1988
Last Time Out: MU wins 10-0 and 7-1
LEADING OFF
-The Missouri softball team, ranked No. 16 by the NFCA/USA Today and No. 11 by ESPN.com/USA Softball continues their 10-day Texas road trip with a stop in Denton, Texas for a doubleheader with the North Texas Mean Green. Game one starts at 4 p.m. CT, with game two beginning at approximately 6 p.m. CT.
-Mizzou swept past then-No. 19 Texas Tech this past weekend to run their winning streak to 23 straight and improve to 4-0 in conference play. The Tigers took game one by a 4-1 final, led by Maddison Ruggeberg's three hits - including a home run - and two RBI. Abby Vock also added an RBI on two hits. Missouri blasted four home runs in Sunday's game as the Tigers run-ruled the Red Raiders, 10-1. Princess Krebs led the way with two bombs - the first two of her career - while Catherine Lee and Ashley Fleming each hit one. Chelsea Thomas picked up the win in both games, improving to 12-2 on the season.
-The Tigers broke the school record for most consecutive wins after sweeping Kansas on Wednesday to open Big 12 action. After starting the year 1-2, Mizzou has won 23 straight and 25 of their last 26 to improve to 26-3 on the year.
-Mizzou opened conference play with a doubleheader sweep over Kansas on Wednesday. The Tigers took game one by a 3-2 final, with Chelsea Thomas going the distance, striking out 11, walking zero and giving up just two unearned runs. Megan Christopher and Abby Vock led the offense with back-to-back home runs. Missouri took a wild game two that saw five lead changes. Ashley Fleming homered in the first inning while Catherine Lee hit the game winner in the top of the sixth, both two-run blasts. Kristin Nottelmann improved to 11-0 and Chelsea Thomas picked up her third save.
-The Tigers now have 12 shutouts on the year, all coming in the month of March. The team's earned run average is 1.07, best in the Big 12. They are also only walking just 1.17 batters a game, the best in the conference. The staff's .159 opponent batting average is tops amongst Big 12 teams as well. The team is third in the league in strikeouts per seven innings, as they average 8.87.
-10 of the team's last 18 wins have come by the mercy rule. In the month of March, the Tigers have outscored their opponents 151-19. Mizzou is averaging 7.19 runs a game this month after averaging 3.88 in the month of February and is giving up .90 runs per game in March.
-Thomas and Nottelmann have been absolutely lights out this year. After starting 0-2, Thomas is now 12-2 with a 0.48 ERA. She has 144 strikeouts and just 12 walks with a .115 opponent batting average. She has three saves on the year, tied for the most in the Big 12, and has allowed only three earned runs in her last 74.1 innings pitched. Nottelmann is a perfect 11-0 with two saves and a 1.10 ERA. She has 71 strikeouts to only 15 walks while limiting opponents to a .162 batting average. Thomas' ERA is best in the league, while Nottelmann's is fifth.
-Princess Krebs became the first Tiger to hit two home runs in the same game since Rhea Taylor accomplished the feat last April against Iowa State. Krebs led off the fourth inning with a pinch hit solo shot to left field, and added a three run shot to dead center field in the fifth. Krebs had entered the game with no career home runs to her name.
-Ashley Fleming continued her great 2011 campaign with her seventh home run of the year on Sunday. The junior had nine home runs last season and now has 20 for her career - ninth most in school history.
-Catherine Lee's home run on Sunday was her fifth of the season, putting her just one shy of matching last year's total of six with right around half the season to go. She's slugging .660 on the season, third best on the team.
-Freshman Maddison Ruggeberg has surprised a lot of people this year, emerging as one of the best hitters on the team in her first year of action. Leading the team with a .426 batting average, Ruggeberg also has blasted four home runs and driven in 15 RBI. She's slugging .704 this season, second on the squad, and has struck out just five times in 54 at bats.
SCOUTING NORTH TEXAS
North Texas comes into the doubleheader with a 14-17 record, having lost six of their last seven games. This past weekend they dropped two of three to conference foe Florida International.
The Mean Green are hitting .275 as a team with a .348 on base percentage and a .414 slugging percentage. Caitlin Grimes is one of the team's top hitters, as she has the second highest batting average at .326 and leads the squad with a .739 slugging percentage. She's tied for the team lead in home runs with five and has driven in 15 while collecting four doubles. The team ERA stands at 4.02 with an opponent batting average of .279. Brittany Simmons and Ashley Kirk split time in the circle, with Simmons appearing 22 times to Kirk's 16. Simmons is 7-8 with a 3.29 ERA, has 54 strikeouts to 36 walks and has allowed 132 hits in 121.1 innings. Kirk is 6-8 with a 4.70 ERA, striking out 91 while walking 45.
These two teams haven't met since 1988, when North Texas was still North Texas State. Missouri owns the all-time series with a 3-0 advantage. The Tigers won the first meeting in 1987 by a 9-3 score. The two teams met twice in 1988, with Missouri coming out with wins of 10-0 and 7-1.
FOLLOW LIVE
Each game will feature live scoring and play-by-play through GameTracker. Links to GameTracker can be found on the softball schedule page at mutigers.com
WHAT'S NEXT?
Missouri closes out their 10-day Texas trip this weekend with a two-game set against No. 17 Baylor in Waco, Texas. Saturday's game starts at 2 p.m. CT with the finale coming at Noon CT on Sunday.
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.
HOME WINNING STREAK SECOND BEST IN COUNTRY
The Missouri softball team has taken advantage of playing at home, as they currently hold the second longest active home winning streak in all of the NCAA with 28 straight victories. Here's a look at the five longest home streaks in the country.
1. Georgia - 32
2. Missouri - 28
3. Arizona State - 25
4. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi - 23
5. Notre Dame - 21
Playing at University Field has been a major advantage for the Tigers since head coach Ehren Earleywine took over in 2007. In 117 games played at home under Earleywine, the Tigers have won 100 of them for an .856 winning percentage on their home field. Of their 17 losses, 13 of them came in two combined seasons. In Earleywine's first year the Tigers went 17-7 at home, and in 2009 they went 17-6. In 2008, Mizzou finished 22-1 at home while last year they went 31-3. So far this year the Tigers are 13-0.
CAN'T K FLEMING
Junior Ashley Fleming has been one of the Tigers top hitters this year, and much of that is because she is so tough to strike out. This season, Fleming has struck out just six times in 81 at bats while drawing 12 walks. She hasn't struck out in her last 35 at bats, and has struck out just once in her last 61 at bats.
THOMAS WINS BIG 12 PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Redshirt sophomore Chelsea Thomas has been named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week for the fourth time in her career, as announced Tuesday afternoon by the league office. This is the second time this season that Thomas has earned this award.
Throwing in all four games, Thomas went 3-0 with a 0.66 earned run average and a save as the Tigers swept Kansas and Texas Tech to improve to 4-0 in conference. She struck out 32 batters and walked just one in 21.1 innings pitched while scattering eight hits and giving up two earned runs.
MIZZOU SWEEPS NO. 19 TEXAS TECH
The No. 16/T13 Tigers pushed their conference record to 4-0 with a two-game sweep over No. 20/19 Texas Tech, winning 4-1 on Saturday and 10-1 in six innings on Sunday.
On Saturday, redshirt sophomore Chelsea Thomas won her 11th consecutive decision to improve to 11-2 on the year. The righty struck out seven while walking zero. She allowed one run and scattered just three hits. Maddison Ruggeberg led the way with three hits, two RBI and a home run while Abby Vock singled, doubled and drove in a run.
The Tigers hit four home runs on Sunday, getting two from Princess Krebs and one from Ashley Fleming and Catherine Lee. Krebs entered the game with zero home runs in her career before belting a solo shot to lead off the fourth and a three-run in the fifth. Thomas took a no hitter into the sixth inning before giving up her first hit of the day with one out in the inning. Her final line was 5.1 innings pitched with one run allowed on one hit. She struck out 10 batters and walked zero while improving to 12-2 on the season.