The last out was recorded, the fans screamed and leapt and cheered for their Tigers and the celebration began in Columbia after a long and exhausting Super Regional round. The Tigers were through to the Women’s College World Series, riding the latest crest in a season that saw as many downs as ups.
The opponents could only watch, hands on their hips, some with tears, as their season came to a disappointing wrap. The fight song blared over the University Field speakers, drowned out in the wild chorus of celebrating fans:
“So give it all of your might as you fight tonight, and keep the goal in view!”
“Victory for LSU!”
The evening was one of the most somber the No. 9 Missouri Tigers had seen in a while. After the final out in their 3-1 loss to Louisiana State University in the Columbia Super Regional finale May 27, their season was over and they were going home. What stung was that they were already there.
This was the first time in three years Missouri did not qualify for the WCWS. The Tigers battled LSU for 12 innings in the first game that Sunday, picking up a 5-1 win after freshman Angela Randazzo hit a chopper to the third baseman, who overthrew the catcher and allowed junior Jenna Marston to score. The ball ricocheted in foul territory, allowing senior Ashley Fleming and junior Nicole Hudson to come home and seal the victory for Missouri.
After game one, spirits were soaring higher than the mercury when it topped at 91 degrees that afternoon.
“I was actually really excited to start the third game,” redshirt junior pitcher Chelsea Thomas said after the team’s elimination, having pitched in every inning with the heat. “We all talked about if we came out and won the second game, we could make it in the third game. It just didn’t happen.”
Thomas, the team’s ace and the Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Year, earned the loss in both of LSU’s victories during the weekend.
A tearful Thomas managed to hold back emotions during the post-game press conference, responding to reporters’ questions with quick one- or two-sentence quips that only added to the kind of atmosphere surrounding the stadium.
“I think her frustration has nothing to do with the run support,” coach Ehren Earleywine said. “I think her frustration is a result of (her having) a really good relationship with (graduating senior) Ashley Fleming. They were roommates together here their freshman year—they formed quite a bond. I think it was really hard for her, knowing that Ashley wasn’t going to be here anymore.”
Fleming, one of the team’s two graduating seniors, was equally emotional, if not as silent as her former roommate.
“I’ve been one of the two people in my class who have done something nobody else (had) done here: made it all three years (to the WCWS), and then this year making it to the super regionals,” Fleming said. “But I don’t think, when I look back on it, those are the things I’ll think about as much as the friendships I’ve developed.”
Missouri started 10 freshman players on this year’s roster, more than any other team in the Big 12. Although the Tigers will be losing two of the program’s lynchpin seniors after this season, Earleywine said he was confident the team would rebound after the loss.
“It’s unfortunate,” he said. “It’s going to be tough to lose that kid, especially the way she’s played these last two seasons. But, in good programs, somebody always steps up, and we have a good program. New people will emerge next year and this program will continue to thrive.”
