It’s mid-March, and Missouri has played two home games in their first 22 contests. Both were the same day.
“I messed up,” coach Ehren Earleywine said. “When I scheduled the season, I guess I didn’t pay much attention.”
But after trips to various parts of Florida, California and the Carolinas, Earleywine has learned his lesson.
“I won’t do it again,” he said. “I’m tired.”
The early travel certainly had an effect on the Tigers, who just recently have hit their offensive stride.
“They got comfortable this last weekend or two,” Earleywine said. “We’re about 10 games behind everybody else. We’re starting to get to that phase where people are starting to get good timing at the plate, feeling comfortable. I think that’s made a difference.”
Missouri really got rolling in last week, thanks to the resurgence of senior Kelsea Roth.
“The catalyst was (the South Carolina series),” Roth said. “I finally started hitting the ball as hard as I know I can.”
After scoring 13 runs in the first two games, the Tigers put up eight runs in the final game to run-rule the Gamecocks, returning home with a sweep in hand. Roth picked up three RBIs and three runs in the series.
But then Missouri returned home to take on Southeast Missouri State in a double-header that marked the Tigers’ first home games of the season. But locking up the first win against the Redhawks wouldn’t prove to be as easy as it seemed.
The Tigers trailed for 6.5 innings in the first game, struggling to get hits with runners in scoring position. But with two outs, runners on second and third and down to her last strike, Roth laced a double to left center, driving in two runs and giving the Tigers a walk-off win.
“It definitely kept me motivated and kept me going,” Roth said. The Tigers went on to run-rule the Redhawks in the second game, scoring 10 runs and hitting two home runs. Roth helped the cause by hitting a home run to straight center field off the scoreboard.
Earleywine said that the coaching staff has worked with Roth to make several adjustments to her swing, and her teammates are noticing the difference it has made.
“Kelsea’s hitting the ball really hard right now,” freshman third baseman Amanda Sanchez said. “She’s more confident, she’s getting good pitches and putting good swings on the ball.”
The Tigers haven’t scored less than seven runs in a game in their four games since the doubleheader, and are riding an 11-game winning streak into Wednesday’s game at Missouri State. But while the power surge may be a surprise to some, Earleywine was surprised it didn’t come sooner.
“I was surprised when we weren’t hitting (home runs) early,” he said. “I had seen it in practice; just tremendous power. I was asking myself, ‘Where did those girls go?’ We’re finally starting to see some of the things we thought they were capable of doing.”
Roth says the key to keeping the Tigers rolling is being more consistent. With Missouri set to dive into the thick of their conference schedule after Wednesday’s game, they’ll look to keep the foot on the gas.