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Tigers Test Their Luck in Sin City

Missouri Softball Team Competes in Louisville Slugger Desert Classic

Feb. 14, 2008

The Missouri softball team, currently ranked No. 22 in the nation, will travel to Las Vegas, Nev., for the three-day Louisville Slugger Desert Classic featuring 21 programs from across the nation and Canada. The Tigers, who enter the weekend with a 3-2 record, open the tournament, Friday, Feb. 15, at 11 a.m. (CT) against sixth-ranked UCLA. Live stats will be provided for Missouri's game against the Bruins. Missouri is one of four ranked teams competing in the tournament.

Missouri will face five different opponents throughout the course of the tournament. Following Friday's meeting with UCLA, the Tigers will take on BYU for the first time in the 33-year history of Missouri's program. Saturday's action will begin at 5 p.m. (CT) when the Tigers take on UC Davis, with game two set to begin against Cal Poly at 7:30 p.m. (CT). Missouri has never played either of their Saturday evening opponents.

Sunday brings just one game for Missouri as they battle with Portland State at 1:15 p.m. (CT). The Tigers hold a 2-0 lead in the all-time series with Portland State, having swept the Vikings, 8-0 and 5-3, in 2004.

One week removed from their season opener, the Tigers are looking to add to the win column. Last weekend saw Missouri knock off 15th-ranked Virginia Tech, 2-1, in the final game of the Florida International University (FIU) Invitational in Miami, Fla. A breakout weekend for newcomer Lindsey Ubrun (Riverside, Calif.), the junior transfer from the University of Maryland, finished the five games with a .467 average, having scored three of Missouri's 13 runs and credited with six of the Tiger's 12 RBI. In addition, of the seven hits Ubrun connected on, one was a triple and one, against Florida International, went down as Missouri's first home run of the 2008 campaign.

This weekend will likely see the return of Missouri ace Jen Bruck (St. Peters, Mo.). The senior right-handed pitcher finished the 2007 campaign with 21 wins and a 2.50 ERA. Bruck will be joined by sophomore Jana Hainey (Raymore, Mo.) and junior Stacy Delaney (Freeland, Mich.). Together, Hainey and Delaney notched a 1.65 ERA at the FIU Invitational, totaling 28 strikeouts between the two of them.

UCLA, 11 time national champions in softball, returns four position starters and three pitchers for the 2008 season. Last weekend, the Bruins went 4-1 at the Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament, outscoring their opponents, 50-15, and suffering only one loss, 7-0, to No. 5 Oklahoma. Seven Bruins currently own .300 averages or better, with GiOnna DiSalvatore, a freshman lefty, finishing the tournament with a .625. DiSalvatore was 10-for-16 at the plate with four doubles, a home run, nine RBI and five runs. Right-handed Donna Kerr, also a freshman, finished with a 2-0 record in the circle and 1.40 ERA.

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