March 11, 2014
| Opponent | Location | Day/Time (CT) | Media |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evansville | Evansville, Ind. | Tuesday/3 p.m. | Live Stats | Twitter |
| Evansville | Evansville, Ind. | Tuesday/5 p.m. | Live Stats | Twitter |
|
Game Notes: Mizzou |
TIGER TALES- No. 15 Mizzou Softball takes a brief detour from Southeastern Conference action to play a mid-week doubleheader at Evansville (Tuesday, March 11), a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. Former Tiger assistant to head coach Ehren Earleywine, UE's Mark Redburn, is in his fifth season leading the Purple Aces after coaching in Columbia from 2007-09. Familiarity with Evansville also comes from former Tiger player (2008-11) and current Mizzou director of operations, Lisa Simmons, who served as an Evansville assistant coach in 2012.
• Night games against ranked competition have been smooth sailing for freshman P Tori Finucane so far in her first season at Mizzou, with the Tiger hurler earning her second complete game shutout of a ranked foe at No. 13 Texas A&M on March 7. Finucane pitched 7.0 innings of heat to the Aggies, recording seven strikeouts while allowing just three hits and two walks. With plenty of run support, the team effort equaled a 7-0 Mizzou victory. The Tigers dropped the remaining two games of the series to the Aggies, but Mizzou has hung tough against the nation's best so far in 2014, with four of the squad's five setbacks this season coming by one run against ranked opposition.
• The top of Mizzou's batting order has continued to frustrate opponents, with redshirt sophomore OF Taylor Gadbois, sophomore 2B/OF Emily Crane and redshirt sophomore SS Sami Fagan combining for 70 hits through 18 games, an average of 3.9 per game. Not only do the Tigers get themselves on base, but they can handle getting around on the base paths, as well. Gadbois has gone 16-for-18 on steal attempts, with Crane and Fagan following with 7-for-7 and 4-for-5 marks, respectively.
• 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). Gadbois led the way at the plate, batting .556 (10-for-18) and recording five steals (on five attempts). 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.
• 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 in California, while senior OF Mackenzie 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 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.
• 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 2.06 team ERA through 18 games. Finucane (1.33 ERA, 52.2 IP) and Stangel (2.32 ERA, 48.1 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 339 games to run his career total to 485.
• 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 OPPOSITION- Evansville, led by fifth-year head coach and former Mizzou assistant Mark Redburn, has compiled a 9-6 record in 2014, with Mizzou serving as the Purple Aces' first “major conference” opponent of the season.
• The Purple Aces are led at the plate by infielder/pitcher Megan Gurski, who is batting .434 (23-for-53) with three doubles, one triple and two home runs. UE has two other batters currently hitting above .300.
• Gurski, along with senior Emily Morris, have pitched the majority of Evansville's innings so far in 2014, with the two logging 38.1 and 29.0 innings, respectively. Gurski sports an ERA of 2.74, while Morris has built a 3.62 mark in the circle.
• The Purple Aces are active on the base paths, much like the Tigers, stealing 35-of-43 bases this season. Outfielder Emma Buckles leads the team in stolen bases, going 11-for-12 in steal attempts.