Missouri softball defeats Central Methodist

The Tigers overcame a slow start to score the win.

By Zach Mink

Published April 23, 2010

The Missouri softball team came out slow against Central Methodist University on Thursday before getting jolted back to reality after four close innings of play.

The Lady Eagles (26-17) came out hungry for a victory against what could be described as a relaxed Tiger squad. Central Methodist held the Tigers to three runs throughout the first four innings before a grand slam by senior utility player Gina Schneider put the game out of reach.

Coach Ehren Earleywine felt his team came out with no energy and was not pleased with the effort out of the Tigers.

"You should dominate teams like this," Earleywine said. "That's nothing against Central Methodist, but honestly you should beat these teams 13, 15, 18 to zero. This performance was unacceptable and embarrassing, and we have to be better then that. If we're not, we are going to get our asses kicked this weekend, plain and simple."

Missouri got two runs on the board in the first inning with a home run by catcher Catherine Lee. The junior was recently named Big 12 Player of the Week after going 8-for-11 over a five-game span.

Earleywine acknowledged Lee's recent success and believes she is a key factor in the success of the Tiger offense.

"Catherine got hot at SIU-Edwardsville, and ever since that series she has been swinging the bat real well for us," Earleywine said. "That's big because we counted on her at the beginning of the season, and she started out slow out of the gate, but right now she is one of the most dangerous hitters in our lineup."

After Central Methodist got on the board with a run in the fourth inning, the Tigers' bats came alive. Freshman shortstop Jenna Marston started the rally off with a single in the fifth inning. After an error and a walk, Schneider delivered the decisive blow to put the Tigers up 7-1.

Schneider, who has been very productive as of late, felt a bit of déjà vu while the home run hung in the air.

"Yesterday I got robbed in center field, so I was really hoping it wouldn't happen again," Schneider said, referencing a play during Wednesday's double-header.

The senior also felt Missouri didn't come out and play to its full potential.

"It shouldn't be hard to get up for a game like this, but it showed today that we weren't up and playing like Missouri softball should've," Schneider said. "We didn't make adjustments, and we need to do a better job."

Although the offense was stagnant, sophomore pitcher Kristin Nottelmann was stellar once again, setting a career high with 13 strikeouts in the complete game victory. Nottelmann's previous career high of 10 strikeouts was set Wednesday in her no-hitter victory against Missouri S&T.

The sophomore, who notched her 13th win of the season Thursday, still felt she could improve on her performance against Central Methodist.

"I just went out there and did my thing and made sure I stayed focused," Nottelmann said. "I didn't feel great throwing today, but I'm going to try and fix those kinks up when I get out there this weekend."

Game two was postponed due to inclement weather and will be made up at a later date. The Tigers jump back into conference play with two games this weekend against Texas A&M. Game one will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday.