Just ten games into the season, sophomore pitcher Bailey Erwin has left the Missouri softball team and will transfer from MU.
“I can confirm that Bailey Erwin is no longer a member of our program. We wish Bailey the best and thank her for her contributions to our program,” coach Ehren Earleywine said in a statement the team released Monday afternoon.
Erwin took to Twitter to inform her followers that she will leave MU.
“I have decided to transfer from Mizzou for personal reasons and will keep those reasons to myself,” Erwin said in a string of tweets that thanked her teammates and supporters.
Erwin declined an interview.
“Honestly at this point in time, I do not feel comfortable doing an interview,” Erwin said in an email Monday afternoon. “I’m still going through the process with compliance and it will take some time. I personally feel it’s just better for the team considering it is the middle of the season. I may have quit the team for my own reasons, but they are my closest friends and do not want to create any more distractions than I already have.”
[RockMNation.com](http://www.rockmnation.com/2013/3/4/4063666/so-it-appears-bailey-erwin-has-quit-the-mizzou-softball-team) first reported Erwin’s absence from the team. The Missouri sports blog tweeted a post at 10:58 a.m. containing a [link to the team roster](http://www.mutigers.com/sports/w-softbl/mtt/miss-w-softbl-mtt.html), from which Erwin was absent.
In four appearances in 2013, Erwin was 3-0 with three complete games. She posted a 2.44 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 24 innings pitched.
Last season, Erwin gave up just 12 earned runs in 72.4 innings, giving her a team-leading 1.12 ERA. In 23 appearances, Erwin went 8-0, striking out 57 batters while surrendering just 59 hits.
After her stellar freshman year, many hoped Erwin would be able to eat up innings, easing the workload on two-time All-American senior pitcher Chelsea Thomas. Last season, Thomas logged more than 55 percent of Missouri’s total innings pitched. This year, Thomas has been in the circle just 41 percent of the time, while Erwin has been out there for 35 percent of the Tigers’ total innings.
Missouri’s first option for attempting to fill in for Erwin is senior Nicole Hudson. Hudson did not pitch last season, and the team roster lists her as playing third base and outfield, but she has pitched 15 innings so far this season, giving up just 11 hits and three earned runs.
