Oct. 16, 2009
Columbia, Mo. - The Missouri softball team is set to wrap up the fall portion of its schedule Saturday, Oct. 17, with a Noon (CT) game against Crowder College followed by a 2 p.m. (CT) game against Three Rivers. Both games will be played in the Dan Devine Pavilion located off of Providence Blvd. These games are free and open to the public.
The Tigers, now 6-0 on the season, are averaging .406 as a team. Newcomer Nicole Hudson (Webb City, Mo.) owns Missouri's best average through five games and is hitting at a .688 clip that includes three doubles, five home runs and a squad-best 11 RBI. Hudson's 1.813 slugging percentage is also the best of her teammates. Five Tigers have combined for 11 home runs on the season. Hudson leads the charge with five, while junior transfer Catherine Lee (Covington, Ga.) and sophomore Ashley Fleming (Silex, Mo.) have each knocked two out of the park. Junior Megan Christopher (Wright City, Mo.) powered a grand slam in Missouri's game against Meramec last Saturday.
Missouri pitchers Chelsea Thomas (Pleasantville, Iowa) and Kristin Nottelmann (Fenton, Mo.) are both 3-0 on the year. Thomas, who owns a 0.00 ERA and has recorded three combined shutouts, has hurled 15 innings of action and struck out 29 batters. Allowing only three hits, Thomas has held her opponents to a .063 average.
Nottelmann, who has combined for two no hitters this fall, has managed a 0.60 ERA and struck out 25 batters in 15 innings. Missouri's pitching staff, which also includes senior Jana Hainey (Peculiar, Mo.) and freshman Lindsey Muller (Stilwell, Kan.) has notched a low 0.65 ERA and allowed just 15 hits through six games.
The Lady `Riders of Crowder College enter Columbia with a 10-6 fall record. Winning their first five games of the season, Crowder outscored their opponents, 46-12, and blanked two foes, 10-0. Five members of the Lady `Riders softball squad were awarded first team All-Region accolades last season. Since the founding of the softball program in 1980, Crwoder has claimed eight Region XVI titles and made eight National Tournament appearances. Crowder won the NJCAA National Softball Tournament in 1986.
Coached by Jack Childress, the Lady Raider softball team of Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff, Mo., has a young team that includes nine freshmen and seven sophomores. Last season, Missouri shutout Three Rivers, 7-0.
