Even as the No. 8 Missouri softball team prepared to take on St. Louis University this week, the dramatic weekend with Oklahoma still lingered in their rearview mirror. After such an emotionally and physically draining series, the question was whether the Tigers could keep the momentum going.
Missouri brushed that question aside rather easily, both on the field and off. The Tigers completed a doubleheader sweep of SLU thanks to a resurgent offense, improving their record to 37-5 and pushing their winning streak to 10 games.
After scoring just four runs during the weekend against OU, Missouri’s offense looked to find its swing again in St. Louis. They got some help in the first inning of game one thanks to four unearned runs, before RBIs from junior Ashley Fleming, sophomore Nicole Hudson, freshman Maddison Ruggeberg and senior Marla Schweisberger extended the lead to 7-4.
Missouri’s power outage at the plate continued with no dingers, but instead MU used a “small-ball” approach to manufacture runs. The last three runs were products of sacrifices and a single by Ruggeberg.
However, the lineup’s power reemerged during the next game. Four of Missouri’s five hits were extra-baggers, including two RBI doubles by Ruggeberg. With two outs in the top of the seventh, Fleming and Hudson went back-to-back with solo homers. With 10 on the season, both are tied for the 10th most in a season in Missouri history. Missouri would go on to win 5-1.
The offense may have bounced back, but mental mistakes continued to plague the Tigers in St. Louis. A catcher’s interference call and a rare fielding error by sophomore shortstop Jenna Marston plated a Billikens run in the first inning of game one. Another fielding error in the second game put two runners on with no outs, but junior pitcher Kristen Nottelmann got out of the jam.
Baserunning and fielding mistakes were also a common theme in the two games against Oklahoma over the weekend, but sophomore Chelsea Thomas’ brilliant pitching performance made up for them. Similarly, Nottelmann and Hudson were able to negate any errors against St. Louis. Most teams that make problems for themselves don’t usually get away with them.
But Missouri isn’t like most teams. The Tigers have the benefit of a deep roster, which has helped them time and time again this season. When the defense or offense isn’t getting it done, the pitchers keep things under control. And when the pitching has a bad day, the batters pile on the runs. The reliability of both sides is a luxury few teams have.
Even so, Missouri would like to see a cleaner style of softball this weekend, when they travel to Lincoln, Neb. to take on the No. 14 Cornhuskers. Thomas will more than likely start in the circle for both games after a full week of rest. With Missouri’s play at the plate on upswing, Missouri will look to keep the momentum rolling.
