Sports shorts: Tiger softball, baseball lose to Big 12 foes
Published April 13, 2010
Longhorns sweep Tigers
No. 16 Texas swept the No. 7 Tiger softball team last weekend, and Missouri fell to 3-5 in conference play.
The Longhorns jumped on Tiger sophomore pitcher Kristin Nottelmann early Friday, scoring three runs in the first inning on a home run by sophomore third baseman Nadia Taylor.
Texas plated another run in the third inning, extending the lead to 4-0. The Tigers would finally get on the board in the fifth inning on a solo home run by sophomore outfielder Ashley Fleming. Fleming is tied as the team leader in home runs with five on the season.
Taylor went deep again for the Longhorns in the fifth, pushing the lead to 5-1. Missouri would score again in the seventh on an RBI double by freshman third baseman Nicole Hudson, but it was too little too late, as Texas came through with the 5-2 victory. Nottelmann took the loss, falling to 8-5 on the year after throwing four innings and giving up four runs on six hits.
The Tigers jumped out to the early lead Saturday in game two, going up 1-0 on an RBI single by freshman shortstop Jenna Marston. Texas would answer back with five runs in the bottom of the first, highlighted by a three-run homer from Longhorn senior outfielder Tallie Thrasher.
The Tigers would score in the third on a sacrifice fly by Fleming, but the Longhorns would answer yet again with another home run by Thrasher in the bottom of the inning, extending the lead to 6-2.
The Longhorns put the game out of reach in the fifth inning. Junior catcher Amy Hooks led the inning with a solo home run. Thrasher followed a batter later with a two run homer, her third of the game. Texas would plate another run, forcing the run-rule victory 10-2.
The Tigers look to get back on track 3 p.m. Tuesday with a doubleheader at Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.
Missouri baseball suffers series loss to Oklahoma
The Missouri baseball team traveled to Norman, Okla., last weekend to take on No. 12 Oklahoma. The Tigers lost in games one and two before getting a narrow win in the finale.
Missouri scored four runs in each of the first two games, failing to overcome an early Sooners lead in both contests. The Tigers lost 6-4 and 10-4 to start the series.
Game three might have led to a series sweep for Oklahoma had senior first baseman Aaron Senne not saved the day. The slugger broke an 11-11 tie with an eighth inning solo shot and the small lead held up.
Senne continued his dominance at the plate in the road series, extending his hit streak to 16 games. He has posted at least two hits in the past six games. The game-winning homer was a team-leading 10th of the season.
Although Senne did most of the work on the scoreboard, some freshmen got into the action as well last weekend. Designated hitter redshirt freshman Andreas Plackis and outfielder freshman Dane Opel each earned a few starts in the middle of the batting order and recorded hits.
Although nearly the entire pitching staff was employed in the series, only one earned a victory. Sophomore right hander Jeff Emens threw for his second win of the year in game three after junior Nick Tepesch and freshman Eric Anderson were tabbed with losses.
The series loss drops Missouri to 18-13 overall and 3-6 in the Big 12. The Tigers will look to bounce back with a midweek game at Missouri State followed by a home series with Oklahoma State this weekend.