When Missouri softball’s Amanda Sanchez stepped up to bat in the second inning Thursday night, everyone at University Field noticed a low-flying hot air balloon hovering over left field, with a banner that read “(heart) E.”
“I saw it when it was in left field, but I couldn’t quite figure out what it was, but everyone started cheering, so I figured it was the love Coach E symbol,” the junior said.
Sanchez’s response to the balloon was a grand slam that put the Tigers up 7–0 against Brigham Young in their first game of the NCAA tournament.
Sanchez said that grand slam couldn’t have come at a better time.
“I just think it was an awesome moment to capture,” Sanchez said. “It symbolized a lot, just how much Coach E means to us, the team and the fans.”
The support for Ehren Earleywine Thursday night came amid an investigation by Mizzou Athletics on Earleywine’s position as a head coach.
Some fans wore yellow shirts that read, “I support Coach E,” while others held up sights that said, “We (heart) E.” Supportive cheers were heard throughout the five-inning game, including “M-I-Z loves Coach E.”
“Before all of this stuff came all about, you just don’t know how the community and fans think about you,” Earleywine said. “But after the T-shirts and the hot air balloon, it’s humbling. It’s the greatest compliment you can give a coach is to do those types of things for him, I’m just really honored.”
Missouri (40–14) showed impressive offense to open up Regional play. Sanchez led the attack with an RBI single in the first inning, putting Mizzou on the board first. Six more runs came in the second inning, and two more followed in the third inning to round out the night.
Earlier this week, Earleywine said he thought the BYU starting pitcher, junior McKenna Bull, was one of the best pitchers in the tournament. He said having a good strategy going into the game is what sparked the offensive.
“We laid off some rise balls and only struck out four times,” Earleywine said. “I know that’s not as good as zero, but in five innings only four strikeouts, I’ll take that. We got nine hits, so offensively, we did a really good job.”
Defensively, sophomore pitcher Paige Lowary only allowed two hits and two walks while tossing her 12th complete game of the season.
The coaching staff thought about taking Lowary out of the circle during the last inning to rest her for the next game, but in the end, they let the left-handed pitcher close the shut-out.
“I felt really good with the team out there backing me up with a lot of runs, so I just went out and did my thing,” Lowary said.
This is Missouri’s eighth consecutive year hosting an NCAA Regional. With it comes the evident advantages — athletes being able to sleep in their own bed, not having to travel and hearing their own fans.
For Mizzou, Earleywine said, there’s more to just the obvious benefits of being at home.
“In particular, for us, we traveled a whole lot this year,” he said. “Our first 32 games were away, the second half of the season we were home a lot more. This is one of the first years we have had really good weather as well, so it all came together for a good night.”
The Tigers will take on Nebraska (34–19) Friday afternoon. Nebraska won Thursday against Louisville (35–16) 3–2 with a walk-off RBI single to advance to the second round game.
_Edited by Peter Baugh | pbaugh@themaneater.com_