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.
No comments:
Post a Comment