Tag Archives: University of Missouri

>NCAA Softball Super Regionals Part 1

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>So last week I previewed some of the Regionals in the NCAA Softball Tournament.  Well, 16 teams advanced to the Super Regionals portion and I am going to do a quick preview of those.  This is a head-to-head best two-of-three series.  The winner goes to The College World Series.

Super-Regional # 1 : Alabama vs. Hawaii

Alabama: The top-seeded Crimson Tide, behind the bat of freshman Courtney Conley and the arm of junior Kelsi Dunne, the No. 1 seeded Alabama softball team claimed the NCAA Softball Tuscaloosa Regional Championship Sunday afternoon, defeating Lipscomb 6-0. 

With the win the Crimson Tide improves to 51-9 and ties the school record with its 27th straight victory. The regional title is the sixth in a row and eighth overall for Alabama.

Dunne (29-4) earned her second win of the weekend on the strength of a 14-strikeout, two-hit shutout. The win is the 16th in a row for the right-hander. She had 10 strikeouts in the first game against Lipscomb, while only allowing five hits in that game.

The team wasn’t really challenged, cruising past Alcorn State 9-0 before beating Lipscomb twice, 5-2 and 6-0. Kayla Braud led the team with a homer and four RBI on the weekend, while Conley added three RBI of her own.

Hawaii –  It is the second time in school history that the ‘Bows have advanced to the Super Regionals. Hawaii is the only school in the WAC to make it to the “sweet sixteen” in softball. 

Kelly Majam hit her 29th home run in the Regional-clinching win.  Traci Yoshikawa, Melissa Gonzalez, Jenna Rodriguez, and Katie Grimes added homers in the 7-1 win over Texas Tech.  As a team, the ‘Bows had six players hit .300 or over for the Regionals, outscoring their opponents 23-6 with eight home runs and 23 RBI.  The team has combined to hit 149 home runs as a whole, having two players, Gonzalez (25) and Majam (29) with over 25 home runs, as well as five players with over 50 RBI, led by Gonzalez’s 60.

 Sophomore pitcher, Stephanie Ricketts, earned her third complete game win of the Regional.  She comes into Super Regionals with a 27-7 record and 2.35 ERA.  Kaia Parnaby has been a stud on the mound for the Rainbows as well, putting up a 19-6 record and 2.89 ERA. 
The 16th-seeded Rainbows went 12-11 against NCAA teams this year, including a win over 11th-seeded California. 
Super-Regional # 2: Missouri vs. Oregon

Missouri – For the first time in the history of the program, the Missouri softball team will play host to the NCAA Super Regional round.  The Tigers advance to the Super Regional for the third consecutive season after winning the Columbia Regional on Sunday.  Mizzou used a come-from-behind 3-2 win over Creighton on Friday before defeating Illinois 3-1 on Saturday, setting up a 4-2 victory over the Illini again on Sunday to clinch the title.  Missouri looks to return to the Women’s College World Series for the second straight year.

The Tigers used a balanced effort offensively over the weekend, as Catherine Lee, Nicole Hudson and Ashley Fleming each had thee RBI on the weekend.  Rhea Taylor raised her stolen base total to 45, which is third on the all-time season list, and her 62 runs scored are second, behind her record of 64 set in her freshman year, 2008.


Although the offense was balanced, the star of the weekend was pitcher Kristin Nottleman, who improved her record to 22-7 on the season with her three wins during the Regional.  She had 14 strikeouts over the three games, including 11 in the two games against Illinois.  


Missouri is 2-1 against Oregon, winning last year in the San Diego Classic, 8-7 in eight innings.


Oregon – The No. 20-ranked University of Oregon softball team (36-19) battled back for a dramatic 4-3, eighth-inning victory over the NCAA tournament’s eighth overall seed Georgia Tech (51-11) Sunday afternoon at Mewborn Field to earn its first Super Regional trip since 1989. 

The team was 12-15 against NCAA Tournament teams, including wins over seeded teams Arizona, Washington, California and Arizona State.

Sam Pappas is the main threat for the Ducks, as she leads the team in HR (11), RBI (48) and stolen bases (11), while having the second highest batting average at .389.  Allie Burger leads the team in the postseason with a .545 average, while Kaylan Howard leads the team with one home run and five RBI.

Jessica Moore leads the team with a 16-7 record and a 1.87 ERA. She ahs struck out 232 batters this year while walking only 66.  Moore has pitched 18 1/3 innings in three postseason games, striking out 16. In the postseason, Mikayla Endicott has struck out four of the five batters she has faced.

Super-Regional # 3: UCLA vs. Louisiana-Lafayette

UCLA – The Bruins are hosting their third Super-Regional in a row.  Last year they were upset by an unseeded Missouri team in three games.  


The Bruins went 17-9 against NCAA Teams this year, facing teams such as Michigan and Ohio State in their nonconference portion of the schedule, in addition to their tough Pac 10 schedule.

Megan Langenfeld, when healthy, is one of the most dangerous dual-threats in college softball and that has been the case this year.  While she has not been as great of a presence on the mund, her production at the plate is something to be in awe of.  She has knocked out 16 home runs on her way to a team-high 49 RBI.  Her 16 HR are matched by teammate Julie Burney, who also has 44 RBI.  Andrea Harrison (13) and Samantha Camuso (11) each have double digit home runs as well.

Donna Kerr has been the UCLA workhorse this year, starting a team-high 29 of 54 games.  Despite this fact, she is one of three pitchers who has double digit wins on the year.  She holds an 18-7 record and 2.41 ERA, while teammates Langenfeld and Aleah Macon each have 10-1 records.  Macon leads the team with a 0.92 ERA.

Louisiana-Lafayette:  A complete team effort secured Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns softball team a spot at the NCAA Super Regionals after the Cajuns downed Texas A&M, 6-1, at LSU’s Tiger Park in the Baton Rouge Regional Championship.
The Cajuns put on a hitting clinic, rattling off 14 hits, including a three-run home run by Gabriele Bridges.  Eight Cajuns recorded a hit in the win with Vallie Gaspard, Melissa Verde, Nerissa Myers and Bridges boasting multi-hit performances. For the day, UL posted at least two hits in each inning.
For her effort, Bridges was tabbed as the Baton Rouge Regional’s Most Valuable Player. For the weekend, the junior first baseman hit .444. She had four hits, three of which went for extra bases, a slugging percentage of 1.222. She racked up six RBI in nine at bats against the competition.
Gabrielle Bridges leads the Cajuns with 17 HR and 55 RBI, while Chrisiy Orgeron has 15 HR and 56 RBI.  
Brittany Cuevas was stellar in the circle. In the complete game victory, the senior hurler allowed just four hits and forced the Aggies into 12 ground outs. She struck out three, including the final out, to improve to 22-7 this season. She is only one part of a stellar two-headed monster.  Her counterpart in the circle is Donna Bourgeois, who leads the team with 23 wins and a 1.78 ERA.

The Cajuns went 8-10 against NCAA teams this year.

Super-Regional # 4:  Arizona State vs. Florida

Arizona State: The Regional Championship was the fifth consecutive for the 13th-seeded Sun Devils. They managed to make it through the Regional without dropping a game, dispatching Boston University and an underrated Long Island  University team twice.  

If the Devils’ schedule didn’t prepare them for postseason play, I don’t know what can.  They faced 17 tournament teams, including 11 nonconference foes.  

The team has always been known as one to pack an offensive punch and that has continued to be the case this year.  Of their regular starters, all of them except one are hitting above .300 and three have double-digit home runs, as well as four who have over 40 RBI.   Katelyn Boyd is the table-setter, as she leads the team in average (.414), hits (70), home runs (15), RBI (49) and stolen bases (27).  Lesley Rogers is a perfect 22-of-22 on the basepaths.

Hilary Bach is the ace of the staff, having compiled a 25-7 record in 37 appearances.  She picked up two wins on the weekend, while Megan Elliott pitched a gem in the first game against LIU, only giving up four hits in over five innings.

ASU is 2-1 against Florida, with their last meeting being a loss last year, 8-2.  

Florida – The fourth-seeded University of Florida softball team used a 13-3, five-inning victory over FIU on Sunday afternoon at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium in front of 1,503 fans to advance to its fourth straight NCAA Super Regional appearance. With the three Regional wins, Florida improved its all-time record to 16-15 in NCAA Regional action and 29-21 overall in the NCAA Tournament.  The Gators finished the season 10-1 against in-state rivals, defeating all three Florida teams in the Gainesville Regional.  Florida is hosting Super Regionals for the third time in program history

 Stephanie Brombacher picked up wins in all three games, improving her record to 32-6, while only giving up three runs and eight hits the entire weekend.  She has struck out 221 batters over her 199 innings pitched.
The Gator offense is stacked as well, as no player is hitting below .266.  Francesca Enea leads the team with 20 home runs and 65 RBI.  She leads a total of four players who have hit 13 or more home runs on the year.  In addition five players have over 40 RBI.  Florida also has some speed on the basepaths, swiping 75 of 95 opportunities.

Part 2, the other side of the bracket will try to be up before I leave for Cleveland Thursday afternoon.

>NCAA Softball Tournament Part 2

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>The next Regional may be the most balanced.  The Missouri Regional has three teams in the top 20 RPI rankings.

Regional # 9: Hosted by the University of Missouri

Missouri – Coming off of a dream season that saw them make the College World Series, the Tigers will be hosting a Regional for the second year in a row and will be joined by Illinois, DePaul and Creighton.  Illinois and DePaul were in Missouri’s Regional last year as well.  Missouri is coming off of a loss to Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship game, but has won 10 of its last 13 games and 19 of its last 22.

The Tigers have faced 15 NCAA Tournament teams, including Alabama, Arizona and Michigan, amongst others, in non conference play, going 13-11 against those foes.  While the record may not be sparkling, the team did take two-of-three from Alabama, split with Arizona and defeated Michigan.  Most of their struggles came as they were trying to recover from the loss of star pitcher Chelsea Thomas for the season, but they have obviously regrouped nicely and ended the regular season on a high note.

After losing some of their big boppers from last year, one would have thought that the offense would not be as prolific as last year.  But thanks to a junior transfer and a couple freshmen that has turned out not to be true.  Rhea Taylor, as she has been her first two years, continues to be the table setter for the Tiger offense, leading the entire Big 12 with a .455 average and 41 steals.  Taylor has 134 career steals in three years, a Mizzou record.  Freshman Jenna Marston is only two players below with a .389 average and 55 RBI.  Ashley Flemming and Marla Schweisberger are tied for the lead in home runs with nine, while frosh Nicole Hudson has eight, Taylor seven and Marston five.

The Tiger pitching staff took a big hit in mid-March when ace Chelsea Thomas went down with an arm injury.  After the injury sophomore Kristin Nottelman and senior Jana Hainey were thrown into the fire more than they had originally planned.  Nottelman brings a 19-7 record to the tournament and Hainey checks in at 10-2.  Nottelman has struck out 135 hitters on the year.

Illinois – Illinois is making its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance and second straight (both in Columbia). The Illini are 5-6 all-time in the tournament, going 4-2 and reaching the Regional Final in the 2004 NCAA Tournament. That year the 48-team field consisted of eight six-team regionals and was prior to the era of the Super Regionals. Illinois has the fewest losses (6) of any team in the tournament, tied with Washington and Michigan.  The Illini have won 16 of their last 17 games. The only loss in that stretch has come to DePaul. The Illini won 12 straight prior to that meeting and ended the season winning four in a row.

The Illini have faced nine NCAA Tournament teams, compiling a 4-6 record against those teams.  The team was scheduled to face Regional opponent Missouri in the Missouri Invitational, but the game was cancelled due to weather.  Of the Regional opponents they have only faced DePaul, whom they lost to on May 6th.

Illinois is led by three hitters who are all hitting above .400.  Danielle Zymkowitz leads the team in average at .421 and has swiped 35 bases.  Meredith Hackett provides the power for the Illini, knocking 15 round trippers and leading the team in RBI with 55. Hollie Pinchback and Ashley Conrad add nine homers each and the aforementioned three are three of five players who have over 30 RBI.

Monica Perry and Pepper Gay make up a formidable 1-2 punch on the mound.  Perry has gone 23-5, while Gay has a 16-1 record.  Perry has struck out 163 and boasts a 2.30 ERA, while Gay has struck out 105 and has a 1.53 ERA.

DePaul – DePaul is headed back to the “Show-Me State” for the NCAA Championship tournament.
Last year, the Blue Demons advanced to the NCAA regional finals before losing to Missouri 1-0 on the Tigers’ home field.  This is the fourth-straight NCAA tournament appearance for DePaul and 13th in the last 14 years. They have a 1-0 record against Illinois in NCAA tournament play and are 3-1 against Missouri. They have never played Creighton in the NCAA tournament.

This year the Demons have played a total of 13 tournament teams and gone 10-12 against them.  One of those 10 wins, however, includes a victory over the defending champs Washington Huskies.  They also have a win over 16th seeded Hawaii.

Sam Plese leads a Demon offense that has six players hitting over .300, with a .356 average.  The offense is pretty balanced however, as three hitters have over 30 RBI.  All three lead DePaul in homers as Tara Voss leads the team with nine and Becca Heteniak and Brittney Yniguez have seven each.

As with other teams, the Demons have a solid two pitchers leading their staff.  Heteniak is also a stud on the mound and if she gets hot, it will be tough for teams to beat DePaul.  She leads the team in wins (20), ERA (1.77) and strikeouts (204).  Her partner in crime, Bree Brown, has had a nice coming out party in her freshman year, going for an 16-5 record and 2.43 ERA.  She adds an impressive 186 strikeouts.

Creighton – Creighton makes its 12th NCAA Tournament appearance when it travels to Columbia, Mo., for regional play this weekend.  The Bluejays are making their sixth NCAA Tournament appearance in the last eight years and the seventh under head coach Brent Vigness.  


Creighton is 23-5 over its last 28 games after starting the season 14-16.  They are 2-8 against NCAA Tournament opponents this year.

Creighton leads the MVC with a school-record 66 home runs this season.  Renae Sinkler has an impressive 24 home runs, which is fourth in the nation and is enjoying the greatest offensive season in Creighton history, as she also owns school-records with 58 runs, 58 RBI and 144 total bases this season.  
The Bluejays are led by a pitcher, Tara Oltman, who has been one of the best pitchers in the nation all four of her years as a starter.  She enters the postseason with school and MVC career records in wins (118), strikeouts (1,076), appearances (185), starts (141), complete games (126) and innings (1,049.2).  She was named the MVC Tournament MVP, going 4-0 with a 0.72 ERA, pitching every inning of the event. Oltman has a 22-12 record, 1.62 ERA and 281 strikeouts on the year.