May 19, 2011
Complete Notes 
| NCAA Tournament Central
LEADING OFF
-The fifth-seeded Missouri softball team plays host to Indiana, DePaul and Illinois State this weekend in the first round of the 2011 NCAA Championship. DePaul and Indiana will open up the Columbia Regional at 4 p.m. CT on Friday, May 20, while the Tigers and Redbirds will follow with their contest at 6:30 p.m.
-This marks the third straight season and fifth time overall that the Tigers have hosted an NCAA Regional. In the previous four regionals in Columbia, Mizzou is 10-3 overall and has moved on to the next round three times. The only time the Tigers didn't advance out of a home Regional was 2007, when they fell to Stanford in the Regional Finals. Missouri is 6-0 in their last two NCAA Regional rounds.
-It's also the 15th time in program history, sixth time in the last seven years and fifth consecutive year that the Missouri softball team has been selected to participate in the 64-team NCAA Tournament.
-Missouri won their first regular season Big 12 Championship since 1997 this past weekend following a doubleheader sweep over Iowa State, coupled with a Baylor Bears 2-1 victory over the Texas Longhorns. The Tigers and Cyclones were scheduled to play one game Saturday and one game Sunday, but inclement weather on Sunday forced the series into a doubleheader on Saturday. Mizzou took game one by an 8-2 final before completing the sweep with an 8-1 win in game two to guarantee themselves at least a share of the conference crown. However, the Tigers got some help from Baylor, who scored two unearned runs in the fourth inning to knock off the Longhorns, giving Missouri the outright title. With the conference championship, the Tigers earned themselves the league's automatic qualifier spot in the NCAA Tournament.
-In the rankings this week, Missouri jumped into the top-five for the first time since week seven of last year, moving from sixth to fourth in the ESPN.com/USA Softball top-25. Mizzou also moved up one spot from ninth to eighth in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Softball poll, the highest they've been in that poll since week two, when they were seventh. Missouri sits in fifth in the latest RPI poll, released on Wednesday. The Tigers are 17-6 this year against teams in the top-50 in RPI.
-Lisa Simmons went 6-for-9 at the plate last week, collecting two hits in each of Mizzou's three games on her way to being Big 12 Player of the Week. Simmons entered the week with three multi-hit games on the season and matched that total in her last three contests. After starting the year in an 0-for-20 slump, Simmons is 19-for-her-last-55 (.345) with two homers, three doubles and 17 RBI.
-Nicole Hudson has hit safely in seven of her last eight games, and she has at least two hits in each of those seven contests. Through April 2, Hudson was hitting .250 overall. Since then, in 21 games, she's hitting .444 with eight doubles, six home runs and 25 runs batted in to raise her season average to .347.
-Junior Kristin Nottelmann picked up her 50th career victory on Saturday afternoon in Mizzou's 8-1 win over Iowa State. The righty threw a complete game, allowing one unearned run on three hits while walking three and striking out three. She is now just one win shy of jumping into the top-10 at Mizzou for career victories, and has the third-best winning percentage in school history (50-12 record, .806).
-With her two home run day, Ashley Fleming jumped up to sixth all-time with 25 career home runs, just one shy of tying Mary Babb for fifth. She is also up to eighth all-time for career RBI with 115, four short of seventh place and nine short of sixth. Her 12 home runs this year lead the squad and is the 10th-highest total in a single season. She has a career-best 55 runs batted in this year, tied for eighth-most in a single season and just 10 shy of breaking Mizzou's single season record.
-Jenna Marston and Ashley Fleming are tied atop the Big 12 with 15 doubles each this season, which is also tied for fourth-most in a season at MU and just four shy of tying the school record. Last year, Marston hit 16 doubles during her freshman campaign is now tied for 10th-most in a career at Missouri. Marston has also taken 34 walks this season, tied for third-most in a year, which is just one shy of second. Jen Bruck holds the school record with 43 walks during the 2008 season.
-Entering the season with just two career home runs and a .208 batting average, Abby Vock is hitting an astounding .326 this year with six home runs and 15 RBI. Her on base percentage is more than .100 points higher than her best season at .446, and her slugging percentage is almost .170 points higher than her best year ever at .489. After having just eight hits last season and 20 the year before, Vock has 31 this year, one shy of her career-best that she set as a freshman. She hit two home runs against Iowa State during the second game of a doubleheader, her first multi-home run game of her career.
-Rhea Taylor led off last Thursday's game against Oklahoma State by legging out a bunt single back to the circle. With the hit, Taylor became just the second player in Big 12 history to reach 300 hits in a career. Taylor has also moved into the top-10 for most stolen bases in a season, marking the fourth time in her career that she's done that.
-The Tigers have 18 shutouts on the year, 12 of which came in the month of March. They are walking just 1.62 batters per seven innings, the best in the conference. The staff's .166 opponent batting average is best amongst Big 12 teams. The team is second in the league in strikeouts per seven innings, as they average 9.15, and is tops in all of Division I softball. The team's 1.14 ERA during Big 12 play is the best in the conference as well.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
• Friday
-Game One: Indiana vs. DePaul - 4 p.m.
-Game Two: Missouri vs. Illinois State - 6:30 p.m.
• Saturday
-Game Three: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 - Noon
-Game Four: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 - 2:30 p.m. (loser eliminated)
-Game Five: Loser Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 - 5 p.m. (loser eliminated)
• Sunday
-Game Six: Winner Game Three vs. Winner Game Five - 1 p.m.
-Game Seven: Winner Game Six vs. Loser Game Six - 3 p.m. (if necessary)
SCOUTING INDIANA
Indiana enters the Columbia Regional as the No. 2 seed after finishing the regular season with a 37-16 record and a 17-3 record in the Big Ten, good for second place in the league. The Hoosiers have won 17 of their last 18 games dating back to April 9.
The Hoosiers success begins with their ace in the circle, Morgan Melloh The senior transfer from Fresno State has 477 strikeouts on the season, the second-most in all of Division I softball. She has an ERA of 1.62 to go with a 32-15 record. She's appeared in 50 of the team's 53 games. In 307.1 innings, Melloh has walked 135 batters and given up 180 hits. Opponents bat .167 off her.
Indiana has four regulars batting over .300, but his just .257 collectively as a team. Sara Olson leads the team in average (.338), doubles (nine), home runs (eight), runs batted in (34), slugging percentage (.586), walks (26), hit by pitch (18) and on base percentage (.497).
Missouri holds the edge over IU, winning 10 of their 15 previous meetings. These two teams haven't met since 2001, when Missouri won their two matchups by scores of 7-0 and 4-2.
SCOUTING DEPAUL
For the third straight season and fourth time in five years, DePaul has been in the same regional as Missouri. In each of the last three years the Blue Demons have made the trek down to Columbia for the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. This year, as the No. 3 seed in the Regional, the Blue Demons come into play with a 39-13 overall record and having finished second in the Big East regular season standings at 19-2. DePaul has won 19 of their last 21 games dating back to April 9.
Hitting .290 as a team, DePaul has eight players batting over .300 for the season. Sean Plese leads the way at .404, and Kirsten Verdun provides the power, leading the Blue Demons with 11 home runs and 42 runs batted in to go with her .326 average and astounding 47 walks.
Verdun is also the team ace, appearing in 33 of their 51 games. She has a 2.24 ERA to go with a 22-3 record. In 159.1 innings, Verdun has 134 strikeouts and has issued 44 walks while allowing 146 hits. Lindsey Dean (24 appearances) and Bree Brown (26 appearances) may also see time in the circle this weekend. Dean is 10-6 on the season with a 1.80 ERA, while Brown stands at 6-4 and a 4.28 ERA.
SCOUTING ILLINOIS STATE
Rounding out the Columbia Regional is Missouri's first round opponent, the Illinois State Redbirds. The Missouri Valley Conference regular season champions finished the regular season at 35-17 overall and 21-5 in league play. They come into the NCAA Tournament having won seven of their last 10 overall.
The Redbirds are strong offensively, featuring five regulars hitting over .300 to go with a .299 team batting average. Kara Nelson leads all hitters with a .407 average and has legged out 10 doubles, three triples and hit five homers this season. Elizabeth Kay and Abby Olson are the top power threads, as they each lead the squad with 14 home runs apiece. Olson has 10 doubles and 36 RBI with a .303 average, while Kay is hitting .276 with 43 RBI.
In the circle, Illinois State usually goes with either Megan Warner or Jordan Birch, as they've appeared 28 and 29 times, respectively. Warner has a 2.76 ERA and a 14-6 record, striking out 96 batters and walking 54 in 131.2 innings. Birch currently stands at 17-6 with a 2.89 ERA in 148.0 innings, striking out 163 and walking 43. Opponents hit .235 off the Redbird pitchers.
Missouri is 16-7 all-time against Illinois State, which includes three victories this season. The Tigers and Redbirds first met up this year in Tampa, Fla., with Missouri winning 8-2. Illinois State then came down for the DeMarini Invitational at University Field in mid-March, with the Tigers besting the Redbirds twice by scores of 9-0 (five inn.) and 10-0 (five inn.).
FOLLOW LIVE
Live stats for all of the NCAA Columbia Regional games will be provided at MUTigers.com. Postgame notes, quotes and recaps will all be posted to the NCAA Tournament Central page at the Mizzou athletics website. Each game will feature live streaming video on Mizzou All-Access at www.mutigers.tv for free. Fans can also follow @MIZLive on Twitter for updates from each game.
WHAT'S NEXT?
The winner of the Columbia Regional will go on to face the winner of the Seattle Regional, which features No.12 Washington, Auburn, BYU and Portland State, in the NCAA Super Regional round of 16. Those games will take place at a to be determined location, with the winner advancing to the Women's College World Series.
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.
MIZZOU SWEEPS LAST BIG 12 WEEKLY AWARDS
For the second time this season, the Missouri softball team has swept the Big 12 Player and Pitcher of the Week awards, announced Tuesday by the conference office. Senior Lisa Simmons was named Player of the Week for the first time in her career, while redshirt sophomore Chelsea Thomas was picked as the conference's Pitcher of the Week for the sixth time this season. Missouri had more weekly award winners this season than any other Big 12 school with nine.
Simmons helped the Tigers to a perfect 3-0 week, guiding them to their first regular season Big 12 title in 14 years by hitting .667 (6-for-9) over the span of three games. With the Tigers down 1-0 against Oklahoma State, Simmons blasted a two run homer to put Missouri ahead, a lead they would never relinquish. In Saturday's doubleheader against Iowa State, the Boonville, Mo., native registered two hits and an RBI in each game to lift the Tigers to a sweep.
With a two wins in as many starts, Thomas was picked as the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week for the eighth time in her career, posting a 0.54 earned run average over the span of the week. She opened up with a complete game against then-No. 20 Oklahoma State, giving up just four hits and a first inning unearned run while striking out eight batters and walked two. On Saturday, Thomas started the first game of the doubleheader with Iowa State and tossed the first six innings, allowing one run on four hits with nine strikeouts to zero walks.
TIGERS CLAIM THREE MAJOR BIG 12 AWARDS
The Missouri softball team captured three major conference awards while having six recognized as All-Big 12 selections, as announced Tuesday afternoon by the Big 12 Conference. The six All-Big 12 honorees are the most since Mizzou had the same total in 2009.
Missouri head coach Ehren Earleywine was named Big 12 Coach of the Year, leading the Tigers to their first regular season Big 12 Championship since 1997 and fifth straight NCAA Regional under his watch.
Redshirt sophomore Chelsea Thomas was picked as the league's Pitcher of the Year following a brilliant 2011 campaign. With a 1.09 ERA in league play, the best amongst Big 12 pitchers, Thomas went 13-3 against her conference opponents while striking out 166 batters to 27 walks in 115.2 innings pitched. Senior Megan Christopher was dubbed co-Defensive Player of the Year, sharing the award with Texas A&M's Natalie Villarreal. Christopher has thrown out 42% (8-of-19) of attempted base stealers during Big 12 play and committed just one error for a .995 fielding percentage.
Earning first team All-Big 12 First Team honors for the Tigers were Thomas, sophomore Nicole Hudson, Abby Vock and Jenna Marston. It is the second career First Team honor for Marston, while Hudson earned Second Team recognition last year. It is the first All-Big 12 award for both Thomas and Vock. Rounding out the list for Missouri was senior Rhea Taylor and junior Ashley Fleming, who were named to the All-Big 12 Second Team. For Taylor, it is the fourth time in her career that she's been an All-Big 12 honoree, while this is the second straight season that Fleming has been recognized.
300-200-100 CLUB
When Rhea Taylor picked up her 300th career hit against Oklahoma State, she became the 16th player in the history of Division I College Softball to post 300 career hits, 200 career runs and 100 career stolen bases. To date, Taylor has 301 hits, 224 runs and 175 stolen bases.
COLUMBIA SELECTED AS REGIONAL HOST
The Big 12 Champion Missouri softball team will host NCAA Regional action next weekend at University Field, as announced Sunday evening by the NCAA Divison I Softball Selection Committee. Joining the Tigers in the opening round of action are Indiana, Illinois State and DePaul.
The Tigers claimed the number five overall seed in the tournament and are the top seed in the Regional. This marks the third straight season that Mizzou has hosted the NCAA Regional round of the tournament and the fifth time in program history overall. The Tigers will open play on Friday, May 20 against Illinois State.
MIZZOU CLAIMS OUTRIGHT CONFERENCE TITLE
After sweeping Iowa State on Saturday to gain at least a share of the 2011 Big 12 Championship, the Tigers got a little help from the Baylor Bears on Sunday, who knocked off the Texas Longhorns and gave Missouri the outright Big 12 title.
The Tigers swept a doubleheader against the Cyclones yesterday, winning 8-2 in game one before topping ISU by an 8-1 score in the finale. Ashley Fleming hit two three-run homers on the day, while Abby Vock belted two long balls in the second game to pace the Tiger offense. Missouri finished 15-3 in Big 12 play and closed the regular season with a 46-7 record.
Baylor defeated Texas by a 2-1 final on Sunday in Austin, dropping the Longhorns to second place. The Bears scored two unearned runs in the fourth inning, and that would be all they needed. Texas finishes the regular season with a 45-8 record and a game behind the Tigers at 14-4 in conference action. Missouri and Texas split their series last weekend, as the Longhorns won Saturday's contest 2-0 before the Tigers bounced back with a 6-3 decision on Sunday.
MISSOURI ONE OF BEST WHEN OPPONENTS SCORE TWO RUNS OR LESS
When Mizzou holds their opponents to two runs or less, the Tigers have one of the best winning percentages in NCAA Division I softball.
Team Record PCT
1. Louisiana-Lafayette 41-1 .976
2. Baylor 35-1 .972
3. Missouri 39-2 .951
4. Texas A&M 36-2 .947
5. Long Beach State 29-2 .935
6. Indiana 30-5 .857