March 28, 2014
By MUTigers.com softball reporter Walt Scher (@Ctrl_Walt_Dlt)
With the final weekend series of March approaching the No. 16-ranked Mizzou Softball team is 23-8 overall with a 2-4 conference record and welcome one of the hottest teams in the Southeastern Conference to Columbia, Mo.,this weekend. The No. 13 Georgia Bulldogs come to town with a 29-3 overall record, including a 5-1 record in SEC play.
Georgia started the season off with an 11-game winning streak and added a 12-game winning streak that included an SEC-opening weekend sweep of Mississippi State.
In that 12-game streak, the Bulldogs outscored their opponents 69-18. Dominant pitching and reliable scoring has been their recipe for success to begin the season. As a team, the Bulldogs are tied for 17th in the country in scoring with an average of 6.39 runs per game and their pitchers have combined for a 1.37 ERA on the season, eighth-best in the nation.
Chelsea Wilkinson (16-2) and Geri Ann Glasco (13-1) have combined to pitch 199.2 of Georgia's 206.2 innings this season. Both have started 16 games, with Wilkinson making four additional appearances. With 1.30 and 1.44 ERA marks respectively, Wilkinson and Glasco have put Georgia in position to win every single game this year.
Redshirt sophomore OF Taylor Gadbois (Maryville, Mo.) will lead the Tigers' offensive attack against the tough pitching matchup from the leadoff spot. Gadbois has been red hot all season in a breakout year, both on the base paths and from the plate. After snagging two stolen bases and three hits in a midweek doubleheader against Illinois, the center fielder has 27 stolen bases, good for a Top 5 national ranking in swiped bags.
It was a week of career bests and career firsts for many Tiger batters. Redshirt sophomore 2B Ashtin Stephens (Blue Springs, Mo.) had a career-best four RBI in the first game of the Illinois State doubleheader (March 19). Meanwhile, junior infielder Corrin Genovese (East Amherst, N.Y.) knocked in three RBI in the second game, her career-best. Freshman Natalie Fleming (Silex, Mo.) blasted her first career home run against Illinois State and fellow freshman Jordan Zolman (Arbyrd, Mo.) smacked her first hit of her career against North Dakota State.
This will be only the second time the Bulldogs leave the state of Georgia this year, and the furthest north they have traveled, by far. An early season tournament and a weekend series against Texas A&M last weekend are the only seven games away from home Georgia has played. They have a 5-2 record in those games including a 10-inning, 4-3 Friday night win last week against the Aggies. The Bulldogs dropped the Saturday game just hours later, Glasco's first loss of the season.
Freshman pitching duo Tori Finucane (Germantown, Md.) and Casey Stangel (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) have found a rhythm in the past week, guiding the Tigers to a 7-1 record over the past ten days. In the only loss, the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader, Finucane was still a tough task to handle, going 7.0 innings, allowing one earned run on seven hits with eight strikeouts.
Another SEC opponent means another team that can hit a lot of balls out of the park. Mizzou will need to be wary of the Georgia batters, as they average 1.48 home runs per game, third-best in the country. They have hit 11 of their 48 homers as team in conference play, just six of their 33 games. The Bulldogs have also hit 52 doubles, 16th-best in the nation.
Georgia has stolen only 29 bases all year, just two more than Gadbois alone. In their six SEC games, the Bulldogs have only stolen one base on two attempts.
The Tigers look to improve upon their 7-2 record at University Field when Georgia arrives for a 6:30 p.m. start on Friday night before a 2 p.m. start on Saturday afternoon. The two programs finish up with the final game of the series at Noon on Sunday.