April 21, 2014
| Last Week | Score | Upcoming Schedule | Time (CT) |
|---|---|---|---|
| at Iowa-1 (April 16) | L, 3-1 | Missouri State, Wed., April 23 | 5 p.m. |
| at Iowa-2 (April 16) | L, 13-9 | at No. 5 Florida, Fri., April 25 | 5 p.m. |
| Ole Miss-1 (April 18) | W, 5-3 | at No. 5 Florida, Sat., April 26 | Noon |
| Ole Miss-2 (April 18) | W, 2-0 | at No. 5 Florida, Sun., April 27 | 10 a.m. |
| Ole Miss (April 19) | W, 9-1 (6) |
THE LAST WEEK OF MIZZOU SOFTBALL
• No. 13 Mizzou Softball (35-12, 12-6 SEC) won its fourth-straight Southeastern Conference series and swept its second consecutive league foe with three wins over Ole Miss on Friday, April 18, and Saturday, April 19. Head coach Ehren Earleywine's squad won twice in a Friday doubleheader by scores of 5-3 and 2-0 before the Saturday series finale, a six-inning, 9-1 victory for the Tigers.
• Mizzou has won 10 of its last 12 SEC games to run its league record to 12-6, which is currently tied for second in the stout softball conference. Alabama, who the Tigers host at University Field from May 1-May 3, sit atop the standings with a 15-3 mark. Kentucky and Tennessee also sport 12-6 conference records. Mizzou's next SEC foe, Florida (April 25-April 27), is tied for fifth in the SEC standings at 11-7 with Georgia.
• The Tigers' three-win weekend at University Field had a distinctive stamp put on all three games by home runs in each contest by freshman 3B/2B Natalie Fleming. The newcomer to Mizzou looked like a seasoned veteran when she blasted a three-run, walk-off home run to right field with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. The long ball, her first of the series, gave the Tigers a 5-3 series-opening and doubleheader-opening win (Friday, April 18).
• Very little run support was needed for the nightcap of the April 18 doubleheader vs. Ole Miss, as freshman P Tori Finucane tossed a complete game shutout (7.0 IP) with just three hits and one walk allowed. A sacrifice fly from senior OF Mackenzie Sykes scored redshirt sophomore OF Taylor Gadbois for a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, which would prove to be the only run Mizzou needed. Fleming provided insurance with her second dinger of the night, a solo shot to left center, for a 2-0 lead in the fifth inning.
• Runs came easier for the Tigers in the series finale (April 19), a six-inning run-rule win. Mizzou plated four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to end the game early, with a sacrifice fly from Fleming that scored Sykes serving as the game-winning ninth run of the 9-1 victory. Fleming also put the Tigers' first run on the board, a solo-shot home run to left center in the bottom of the second. Gadbois (2-for-4) and junior IF Corrin Genovese (2-for-3) recorded multi-hit games, while sophomore 2B/OF Emily Crane (3 RBI) and Fleming (2 RBI) had multi-RBI outings.
• If it is a conference game, expect Genovese to bring her bat (and glove). The Tiger infielder continued her hot conference hitting, batting 5-for-9 (.556) in Mizzou's three wins vs. Ole Miss. Genovese (.479) was barely caught by Tennessee's Madison Shipman (.480) for the top league games-only batting average over the weekend.
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NOTES:
• Homered No. 13 Mizzou to its second consecutive SEC series sweep with three long balls in the three wins over Ole Miss (April 18-19), including a two-out, three-run, walk-off home run to power the Tigers to a 5-3 win in Game One.
• Batted a team-best 4-for-6 (.667) against the Rebels and led the Tigers in runs scored (5), RBI (6), total bases (13) and walks (3).
• Three home runs out of four hits vs. Ole Miss for an incredible 2.167 slugging percentage, as well as a stout .700 on-base percentage during the series.
• Batted 2-for-3 and matched her career-best with three RBI in the series-opening win (Saturday, April 18), ripping a single up the middle ahead of her game-winning blast to left field.
• In the second game of the night, gave Mizzou run support again with a fifth-inning solo shot to left center, the final run of the 2-0 win.
• Scored a career-high three runs in the sweep-clinching, 9-1 win in six innings on Saturday, April 19, staking Mizzou to a 1-0 lead with her third home run of the series in the second inning.
• Matched her career-best in walks (2) three times in the span of a week, earning two walks twice during the doubleheader at Iowa (April 16) and again in the series finale vs. Ole Miss (April 19).
• Three home runs over the weekend increased her season total to six, which is tied for the second-most on the squad.
NOTES:
• Went 2-0 with two complete game SEC victories, pitching nearly unhittable softball over 13.0 innings vs. Ole Miss (April 18-19), allowing just five hits and three walks with 10 strikeouts and zero earned runs.
• Pitched Mizzou to the final two wins of the Tigers' second consecutive SEC series sweep, throwing back-to-back complete game wins in the span of 18 hours.
• Zero earned runs in her two wins vs. Ole Miss dropped her overall ERA to 1.69 and conference ERA to 1.93.
• Threw 7.0 innings and shut out the Rebels in the second game of the doubleheader on Friday, April 18, allowing just three hits and one walk with five strikeouts.
• Improved to 16-5 overall with 6.0 innings in the circle in the six-inning, 9-1 win vs. Ole Miss on Saturday, April 19, allowing just two hits, two walks and one unearned run, with five more strikeouts.
• Wins vs. Ole Miss were her seventh and eighth conference victories of her freshman season.