The No. 13 Missouri softball team came perhaps the closest to defeat they’ve been in three weeks Sunday, but managed to eke out a 2-0 win over Minnesota due to some late-inning heroics. Missouri improved to 22-3 on the year, and its 19-game win streak is tied with the 2008 team for the second best in school history.
For an offense accustomed to putting up big deficits on their opponents, the situation Missouri faced Sunday was an unfamiliar one. Minnesota pitcher Sara Moulton (17-8) kept the Tigers to one hit through five and two-thirds innings, staying out of trouble until junior Ashley Fleming took a 3-1 pitch deep over the right field foul pole to give Missouri a 2-0 lead.
“Y’know, it’s easy to say that you called it, but I feel like I did,” sophomore Nicole Hudson said. “I had a feeling that if (Fleming) wasn’t gonna hurt somebody, it was going to go over the fence. It didn’t matter where the ball went because she was going to hit it hard. She just had that look on her face like, ‘I got this.’”
The homer was Fleming’s fifth of the year, tying her for the team lead with Hudson. Fleming said after the game that Moulton’s pitch was the most hittable offering she saw all day.
“It feels pretty good,” Fleming said. “I was waiting all day for her to throw me an inside pitch and she finally did. I knew it was definitely out, for sure. It was just a matter of if it was going to stay fair or not.”
Fleming’s home run was only the fourth hit by either team all game, as both Moulton and sophomore Chelsea Thomas were engaged in a sort of pitcher’s duel. Hudson called Moulton sneaky good, as her movement and control kept Missouri hitters off balance. Missouri coach Ehren Earleywine said he wanted to see more from his hitters, but gave credit to Moulton’s performance.
“Her misses were two inches below the knees, and she only threw one ball in the dirt,” Earleywine said. “That’s pretty incredible. When you think about control for a drop-ball pitcher, they’re trying to work from the ankle to the knee. She missed below the ankle one time in a hundred pitches. That’s pretty good control.”
Thomas (9-2, 0.42) went all seven innings for Missouri, striking out 12 and allowing only two hits. She managed to get out of a jam in the sixth, striking out two batters with two runners on base. Hudson said that the offense feels less pressure with Thomas in the circle.
“I always feel like if we can score just a couple runs, we’re going to win a majority if not all of the games with her (pitching),” Hudson said. “To be honest, when I’m in the outfield, I don’t even think that they’re going to score. And if they do score maybe one run, then I’m thinking ‘well, we have to score to win anyways.’”
Missouri will begin Big 12 play with a doubleheader Wednesday in Lawrence against rival Kansas Jayhawks. Earleywine said his squad has the right mindset for its upcoming opponents.
“I think they’ve chosen to be confident,” Earleywine said. “Even when they’ve had bad games…good, bad or otherwise this team can be pretty cocky. And that’s a good thing in many ways. I think confidence is something we have a lot of going into conference play.”
