The Tigers worked their way closer to a perfect preseason Saturday, notching a pair of victories over Columbia College and Johnson County Community College.
Junior pitcher Kristin Nottelmann was the girl with the golden arm when the team played Columbia College in game one. Her arm was about the only thing shining bright in the mid-afternoon sun as the Tigers snuck past the Cougars 3-1.
Nottelmann recorded 10 strikeouts in only five innings of work.
“I’ve been working on my spin,” she said. “The rise and drop of my pitches was really good today.”
The game was uneventful until the fifth inning, when the Cougars got on the board with one run to go up 1-0.
The Tigers followed suit with a pair of runs. Senior first baseman Marla Schweisberger singled and started the scoring push. After senior outfielder Shana White pinch ran for Schweisberger, senior second baseman Abby Vock tripled to right-center field, driving in White to put the Tigers on the board. Virtually in the exact same fashion, senior outfielder Rhea Taylor, who went two for three at the plate on the day, followed with a triple of her own, allowing Vock to score the go-ahead run, putting the game at 2-1. The lead was one they would not relinquish for the rest of the game.
“The game was close, really close,” coach Ehren Earleywine said. “Columbia had a great pitcher. Our problem when we face a really good pitcher is that we back off. You can’t get hits if you don’t swing the bat, it’s as simple as that.”
Next up for the Tigers were the Cavaliers of Johnson County Community College. Cavaliers’ pitcher Katie Williams had an impressive speed to her fastball, but the Tigers weren’t intimidated.
“She threw strikes,” Earleywine said. “Her location was very good.”
Kathryn Poet, the Tigers' leading hitter in the game, said she loved the challenge of facing such a talented pitcher.
“She was fast,” she said. “Once I got up to the plate I was a little nervous.”
Those nerves must not have lasted long. The game began with a single by White. White stole second base and advanced to third after sophomore third baseman Ashlie Ortega popped out. Poet then drove in the first two runs, scoring one of them herself as she blasted a home run to left field. It was her first of the fall season.
“I thought it was a popup to short,” she said. “Then the crowd cheered and I was just so happy.”
Missouri held the Cavaliers to just three hits for the entire game. Senior pitcher Lisa Simmons lead the team, pitching through five innings.
The Tigers started to pull away in the third inning, scoring three runs to put the game at 5-0. They also recorded three hits during that time.
Simmons had held the Cavaliers to zero hits through three innings, but hopes of a fall season no-hit bid were shattered when the Cavaliers’ Kim Smith doubled to the center wall in the fourth.
Missouri tacked on another run in the fifth inning and six more in the sixth, putting the game out of reach for the Cavaliers at 11-0.
The Tigers were led by Poet, who went three for four at the plate with three runs and four RBIs.
“I had a terrible week of practice,” Poet said. “But everything just came together today. My timing was finally on.”
Missouri will host one final set of games on Saturday, Oct. 16 before opening up its regular season schedule in February.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment