Missouri softball staff given honor for second straight season

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Jun 30, 2010 – The Missouri softball coaching staff, consisting of head coach Ehren Earleywine, assistant coaches Melissa Tucci and Pete D’Amour and volunteer assistant coach Phil Bradley, was named as the Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year, announced Wednesday by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.  It is the second straight season that the Tiger softball staff has earned this recognition.

In Earleywine’s fourth season as head coach of the Tigers, the Missouri softball team broke the school record for most wins in a season (51), breaking the previous record of 50 which was set in 2009.  The team’s .797 winning percentage was the second best all-time, while the 2010 squad also set the mark for most runs scored by a team in a single season.

The Tigers finished the year with a 51-13 overall record, capped by their second-straight trip to the Women’s College World Series.  They spent much of the season ranked in the top-10 of the national polls, reaching as high as No. 3, and closed the year out with No. 8 finish in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll.  Missouri swept through the Columbia Regional, beating Creighton and knocking off Illinois twice to capture their third consecutive regional crown.  The Tigers then swept Oregon at the NCAA Super Regional round, also held in Columbia, to advance to their fifth-ever WCWS.

Junior Rhea Taylor, sophomore Ashley Fleming and freshman Jenna Marston were selected to the All-Big 12 First Team, while junior Catherine Lee and freshman Nicole Hudson were awarded with All-Big 12 Second Team honors.  Taylor, Fleming and Marston were also selected as All-Midwest Region First Team members, while Taylor earned her second career All-America honor and became the first Tiger ever to be selected to the NCAA All-Tournament team.