Tigers Face Huskies For WCWS Bid
5/26/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 26, 2011
Complete Notes 
| Fan Primer | Super Regional Central | One State. One Spirit. One Mizzou.
LEADING OFF
-For the second time in as many seasons, the No. 5 seed Missouri softball team will host the NCAA Super Regional round, as they welcome the 12th seeded Washington Huskies to Columbia, Mo., with a Women's College World Series bid on the line. Game one will begin Saturday at 8 p.m. CT, with game two beginning at 6 p.m. on Sunday. Game three, if necessary, will be held at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday night. All games will be simulcast on ESPN2 HD and ESPN3.com. Justin Kutcher and Amanda Scarborough will have the call.
-This marks the second time in program history that the Tigers have hosted an NCAA Super Regional at University Field. Last season, Mizzou toppled Oregon in two games at home to advance to the WCWS. Missouri is 12-1 since 2008 in home postseason contests.
-This is the fourth straight year - and fourth time in program history - that Missouri has competed in the NCAA Super Regionals with a shot at advancing to the World Series. 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.
-The Tigers bounced back with a doubleheader sweep over DePaul on Sunday to win the NCAA Columbia Regional, bouncing back from a 2-1 defeat in 11 innings to the Blue Demons on Saturday. Missouri took down Illinois State twice, winning 12-3 in five innings on Saturday afternoon, but were then knocked into the loser's bracket following the loss to DePaul. Mizzou toppled Illinois State by an 8-4 final to knock out the Redbirds and head into Sunday needing two wins to move on. After falling behind 1-0 in the first inning of game one, the Tiger offense woke up on their way to a 7-3 victory to force a decisive game seven. Missouri controlled that game from the start, scoring eight runs and riding a Chelsea Thomas no-hitter to an 8-0 victory in six innings.
-In the last top-25 polls of the regular season, 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 last RPI poll. The Tigers are 21-7 this year against teams in the top-50 in RPI.
-On May 14, Missouri won their first regular season Big 12 Championship since 1997 with a doubleheader sweep over Iowa State, coupled with a Baylor Bears 2-1 victory over the Texas Longhorns the following afternoon. 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.
SCOUTING WASHINGTON
The Washington Huskies come to Columbia for the first time ever after winning the Seattle Regional with a 6-2 win over Portland State and victories of 4-1 and 7-5 over BYU. The 12th-seeded Huskies went 37-14 on the season and 12-7 away from home. They finished sixth in the Pac-10 with a 9-12 record in league play. Before winning the Seattle Regional, the Huskies finished the regular season with just four wins in their last 14 games.
Batting .325 as a squad, the Huskies have four regulars hitting over .300, with two of those posting batting averages of .400 or higher. Kimi Pohlman, junior outfielder, leads the way at .435 with seven doubles, one triple and three home runs. She's also driven in 28 and stolen 25 bases in 29 attempts while scoring 56 runs. Freshman pitcher and first baseman Kaitlin Ingelsby is right behind Pohlman with a .427 average, as she's recorded seven doubles, 11 home runs and driven in 38 on the year. Taylor Smith has appeared in 27 games this year and has 32 hits, but half of those are of the extra baes variety. Smith has six doubles and 10 home runs on the year in limited action for a .944 slugging percentage.
Ingelsby is the top option for Washington in the circle, as she's appeared in 41 of the team's 51 games, starting 25 of them. Her record stands at 25-8 and she owns a 2.26 earned run average. In 204.2 innings, Ingelsby has 158 strikeouts, 64 walks and has allowed 176 hits. Opponents bat .227 off her and she's given up 34 extra base hits. As a squad, Washington's ERA is 3.42 and opponents hit .268 off them collectively.
Missouri has beaten Washington just once in their prior six meetings, coming by a 10-8 final in 2007. Since then, Washington has won three straight, with the most recent coming in 2008 (6-0). The Tigers and Huskies were scheduled to meet at the beginning of the season at the San Diego Classic, but rain canceled that meeting.
WHAT'S NEXT?
The winner of the Columbia Super Regional will advance to their third straight Women's College World Series, which begins June 2 and runs through June 8 in Oklahoma City, Okla.
FOLLOW LIVE
All games will air live on either ESPN2 or ESPNU, and can also be watched for free online at ESPN3.com. Justin Kutcher and Amanda Scarborough will be on the call. Live stats for all of the Columbia Super Regional games will be provided at MUTigers.com. Postgame notes, quotes and recaps will all be posted to the NCAA Super Regional Central page at the Mizzou athletics website. Fans can also follow @MIZLive on Twitter for updates from each game.
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets are on sale at the Mizzou Arena Ticket Office, Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. In addition, the University Field ticket pod and East-side satellite ticket pod will open when gates open, 90 minutes before the first game of each day.
All-Session and Single-Session tickets are available in advance. All-Tournament tickets will be available in both Reserved and General Admission Seating. Single-Session tickets will only be available in General Admission Seating. All-Tournament tickets must be purchased in advance from the Mizzou Ticket Office. Single-Session tickets will also be available for purchase on game day at University Field.
Tickets are also available for purchase online at mutigers.com. All tickets ordered online will be left at Will Call, located at the University Field main (west-side) ticket office, and can be picked up beginning 2 hours before the first game. Participating team pass lists will be redeemed at the North gate of University Field.
Reserved all-session tickets with one parking pass to Lot U are $40, adult general admission all-session passes are $20, while student/youth/senior GA all-session passes are $15. Single-day reserved ($15), adult general admission ($10) and student/youth/senior general day tickets ($7) are also available.
Please note that re-entry to the facility will NOT be allowed this weekend; no "pass-outs" will be allowed. Please note that general admission seating does not guarantee you a seat, only admission into the venue. General Admission seating is first come, first serve. For more ticket information or to purchase tickets you may contact the Mizzou Arena Ticket Office at 1-800-CAT-PAWS.
PARKING INFORMATION
Ample parking is available for spectators attending the NCAA Softball Columbia Super Regional. Please note, however, that certain lots are unavailable during business hours on Thursday and Friday, and the two parking lots adjacent to University Field/University Hall will be held for pass holders and disabled vehicles only. Please consult the link to the PDF parking map below for detailed information.
All other parking lots surrounding University Field are open to the public on a first-come, first-serve basis. Additional parking is located below on the corner of Carrie Francke Drive and Research Drive. A shuttle cart will transport you from the lower lot to the University Field. Anyone parking in a designated "No Parking" area could have their vehicle towed at the owner's expense. Parking restrictions may be made during a Big 12 or NCAA event.
To qualify for disabled parking, you must display a valid state disabled parking permit. Disabled parking is first-come, first-serve basis. The holder of the permit must be in the vehicle upon entry. Disabled parking is located on both the east and west entrances to The Audrey J. Walton Stadium/University Field.
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.
THOMAS IN TOP THREE FOR PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Missouri pitcher Chelsea Thomas has made the final cut for the 10th Annual USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year Award, as announced Wednesday morning by the Amateur Softball Assocation (ASA) of America and USA Softball.
The Big 12 Pitcher of the Year looks to become Missouri's first-ever USA Softball Player of the Year, as she enters the NCAA Super Regionals with a 29-6 record to go with a 0.82 ERA, the second-best in all of Division I softball. In 39 appearances and 231.2 innings pitched, Thomas has struck out a school record 342 batters while allowing just 40 walks. Having given up just 15 extra base hits all season, the redshirt sophomore is limiting opponents to a .141 batting average on the year. Thomas went 13-3 during conference play with a league-best 1.09 ERA.
The winner of the 2011 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award will be announced on May 31 at the athlete banquet of the 2011 Women's College World Series. Thomas and the Tigers look to return to the WCWS for the third straight season, when they host No. 12 Washington in a best-of-three series this weekend beginning Saturday, May 28 at 8 p.m. CT.
SOFTBALL LEADS BIG 12 IN APR
The NCAA has released its annual Academic Progress Rates for member schools, and once again, the University of Missouri stands out among the very best in the Big 12 Conference. A review of the rates for all Big 12 schools shows that Mizzou leads the league in APR rate for six different sports, a figure which ranks as second-best in the Big 12 (trailing only Texas, with 10 leaders).
The sports of football and softball have brought tremendous pride to Tiger fans for the championships they won on the field this year, and they can also call themselves champions off the field. That's because both sports led the Big 12 in APR, with football checking in at 967 (Multiyear APR), while softball produced a near-perfect 997 (out of 1,000). Other MU sports which led the Big 12 this year include gymnastics (1,000), women's golf (1,000), women's swimming and diving (998) and men's swimming and diving (989). Mizzou has ranked either first or second every year within the Big 12 since the inception of the APR rankings.
ONE STATE. ONE SPIRIT. ONE MIZZOU.
The University of Missouri is partnering with the Heart of Missouri United Way to assist in relief efforts following Sunday's devastating tornado in Joplin, Mo. More than 100 Missourians have been killed by the deadly May 22 twister and over 2,000 homes and businesses were destroyed.
The university is producing "One State. One Spirit. One Mizzou." Tornado Relief T-Shirts and all proceeds from each shirt sale ($14.95) will go to support the United Way's United for Joplin campaign. Shirts will initially be sold through the Tiger Team Store, the University Bookstore and online at mutigers.com. Shirts are on-sale now at mutigers.com and will be on sale beginning Thursday afternoon in the Memorial Stadium Team Store and bookstore.
Other ways to assist the United Way's recovery efforts include texting the word JOPLIN to 864833. That will trigger a $10 donation, which will be added to your cell phone bill. For more information on the United Way's United For Joplin campaign please visit uwheartmo.org.
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 | 42-1 | .977 |
| 2. | Baylor | 38-1 | .971 |
| 3. | Texas A&M | 38-2 | .950 |
| 4. | Long Beach State | 29-2 | .935 |
| 5. | Missouri | 40-3 | .930 |
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 313 hits, 232 runs and 182 stolen bases.
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: Taylor started the year as the Big 12 leader in career batting average, but after a midseason slump fell into second place all-time. However, after a strong NCAA Regional weekend, Taylor's career average is back up to .409, tied with Ali Viola (Nebraska, 1996-98) for highest all-time. Taylor is guaranteed to graduate from Missouri with the career batting average record.
-Hits: After recording 12 hits during the NCAA Regionals, Taylor now has 313 for her career and is just 15 shy of tying Norrelle Dickson of Oklahoma, the conference's all-time hits leader at 328. She became just the second Big 12 player ever to reach the 300 hit plateau on May 12 against Oklahoma State.
-Runs: Entering the season as Missouri all-time runs leader and eighth in the conference, Taylor is now closing in onwith 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, who scored eight times during the NCAA Regionals, is now tied for second in league history with Amber Flores (Oklahoma, 2007-10) with 232 career runs. Taylor is three runs shy of breaking Dickson's record.
She also recently jumped into the Big 12's all-time top-10 in total bases. With 425 in her career, Taylor is now tied for sixth all-time in the league. She's third all-time in the conference with 15 triples in her career.
