March 6, 2014
| Opponent | Location | Day/Time (CT) | Media |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas A&M | College Station, Texas | Fri./7 p.m. | Live Stats | Twitter | Radio |
| Texas A&M | College Station, Texas | Sat./4 p.m. | Live Stats | Twitter | Radio |
| Texas A&M | College Station, Texas | Sun./12 p.m. | Live Stats | Twitter | Radio |
Game Notes: Mizzou |
TIGER TALES - Mizzou Softball starts its second season of Southeastern Conference play with its trip to Texas A&M (Friday, March 7-Sunday, March 9). The Tigers' first run through the SEC in 2013 produced great results - a third-place regular season finish (15-8) with a SEC Championship runners-up performance. Mizzou will look to attain its third conference championship under head coach Ehren Earleywine, who led the Tigers to a Big 12 Conference Tournament Championship in 2009 and a regular season Big 12 title in 2011.
• Earleywine's squad notched a clean sweep (5-0) of its competition at the Citrus Classic in Kissimmee, Fla., from Feb. 28-March 2, defeating Bradley (1-0), Syracuse (9-7 in eight innings), Illinois State (11-10), Radford (7-1) and Ohio State (7-0). Redshirt sophomore OF Taylor Gadbois led the way at the plate, batting .556 (10-for-18) and recording five steals (on five attempts). Sophomore 2B/OF Emily Crane was not far behind Gadbois, posting a .550 batting average (11-for-20) with three stolen bases. Freshman P/OF/1B Casey Stangel went 4-0 in the circle for the Tigers between two starts and two relief appearances.
• The top of Mizzou's batting order has continued to frustrate opponents, with Gadbois, Crane and redshirt sophomore SS Sami Fagan accounting for 60 hits between themselves. Not only do the Tigers get themselves on base, but they can handle getting around on the base paths, as well. Gadbois has gone 15-for-17 on steal attempts, with Crane and Fagan following with 7-for-7 and 4-for-5 marks, respectively.
• Mizzou finished the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic (Feb. 20-22) with a 3-2 record. Gadbois batted an outstanding .563 (9-for-16) over Mizzou's five games, while Sykes hit an impressive .462 (6-for-13) with two doubles to her credit. Mizzou took down its first ranked team of the season, blanking No. 14 Arizona, 2-0. The win was engineered by freshman P Tori Finucane, who pitched the complete game shutout (7.0) with a season-best eight strikeouts. The new Tiger allowed just five hits and issued zero walks. Gadbois became the first Tiger since May 21, 2011, to record at least three stolen bases in a game Besides the Arizona win, the Tigers dropped Fordham (8-0) and San Diego State (11-2) in five innings on Feb. 21.
• Breaking in a whole new era of pitching at Mizzou has been called an "exciting" part of the coaching job Earleywine gets to do every day for the Tigers. Finucane, freshman P/OF/1B Casey Stangel and senior P Alora Marble have been doing their part early on in the Tigers' season, sporting a 1.88 team ERA through 15 games. Finucane (1.66 ERA, 38.0 IP) and Stangel (1.42 ERA, 44.1 IP) lead the Tigers in innings pitched.
• Earleywine is in his eighth season leading Mizzou and 11th season as a head softball coach with a major milestone within reach. The former Georgia Tech head coach (2004-06) went 146-55 in Atlanta before returning to his home state to lead the Tigers, winning 338 games to run his career total to 484.
• Earleywine's crew was given preseason rankings of 14th and 17th by the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 and ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 polls, respectively, marking the fifth-consecutive season that the Tigers begin their season ranked in the Top 15. Mizzou is currently 15th and 18th in the two polls.
• The 2014 season will have a new feeling to many who closely follow the program, as ace pitcher Chelsea Thomas and always reliable batters Nicole Hudson and Jenna Marston no longer appear on Earleywine's lineup card. The graduates left lasting marks on Mizzou, with Thomas becoming the first three-time First Team All-American in program history. She claimed three conference pitcher of the year awards (two in the Big 12, one in the SEC). Thomas finished her Tiger career as the winningest pitcher in school history, with a career mark of 111-31, as well as No. 1 in strikeouts with 1,174.
• Hudson and Marston were dynamic at the plate throughout their careers and used strong final seasons at the plate to finish in Mizzou's all-time top 10 in career hits, doubles, at-bats, runs scored, RBI and walks. Hudson (143) and Marston (134) rank No. 1 and No. 2 atop the Tigers' all-time walks chart. Hudson finished one home run shy of matching Jen Bruck (2005-08) for the school's career long ball record of 47, while Marston finished second in both doubles (53) and runs scored (193).
THE OPPOSITION - TEXAS A&M- Texas A&M, led by 18th-year head coach Jo Evans, has compiled a 17-4 overall record heading into league action. Earleywine has posted an 8-7 record against the Aggies in his eight-season tenure in Columbia.
• The Aggies are led at the plate by senior catcher Nicole Morgan (.466) and senior outfielder Emily Albus (.452). Morgan leads Texas A&M in home runs (7) and RBI (27), while Albus leads the team in overall hits with 33 to her credit. Albus is also the squad's primary base stealer, going 9-for-9. Comparatively, Mizzou OF Gadbois' 15 stolen bases this season nearly matches Texas A&M's team total of 17.
• Texas A&M has relied on two pitchers through most of the 2014 season thus far, sophomore Katie Marks (53.2 IP) and junior Rachel Fox (48.1 IP). Marks has led the way, pitching to an 8-0 record with 1.57 ERA. Fox has gone 5-3 in the circle with a 2.17 ERA.
• Scoring runs from extra base hits has been Texas A&M's method of operation so far this season, hitting 32 doubles, four triples and 26 home runs. The Aggies have recorded 137 RBI in 21 games played.