The Missouri Southern softball team will be at home for the first time this weekend as they host Missouri Western, Missouri S&T and Northern State for the three-day 2020 Teri Mathis Zenner Memorial Tournament at the Pat Lipira Softball Complex.
Southern is set to open the tournament with a one-game battle with Missouri Western on Friday (Feb. 28) at noon before playing Northern State on Saturday (Feb. 29) at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. and closing out the tournament on Sunday (Mar. 1) with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. against Missouri S&T. For the complete tournament schedule visit the Tournament Page by clicking here.
Last time Out
The Lions enter the weekend after finishing 2020 Emporia 5-State Classic with a 1-2 record. They fell to Concordia University-St. Paul (4-0), defeated Minnesota State University-Mankato (5-4) and lost to the University of Minnesota Duluth (2-0).
Last week, Lynnlee Parrott had a team-leading .429 batting average as she garnered three hits on seven at bats including two doubles and scored a run. She was a perfect 9-for-9 on defensive opportunities.
In the circle, Abby Atkin finished the weekend with a 1-2 record as she pitched a combined 16.1 innings in three appearances. She had a 2.14 ERA and one complete game. She allowed seven runs, five earned, by surrendering 13 hits and seven walks. She struck out eight batters.
Scouting The Opposition
Missouri Western enters the weekend 3-7 after they finished the 5-State Classic with 2-4 record. They earned wins over Concordia and Maryville. Since 2010, Southern is 19-4 and the Lions are on a five-game losing streak, including a 1-0 11-inning loss last season.
Missouri Southern has a 3-0 series lead over Northern State. The Wolves enter the tournament with a perfect 8-0 record. On the campaign, NSU swept a four-game series with Black Hills State, defeated University of Marry (10-2), Montana State Billings (8-3) Minnesota Crookston (4-2) and Minot State (13-12) last weekend at the Minot Tournament.
Missouri S&T is 3-5 on the season. After starting the season 0-3, they rattled off three straight wins before dropping the final two games of the Lewis Flyers D-2 Midwest Dome Invitational. Since 1980, Southern leads the series 37-18 and they are on a two-game winning streak. The last time these two teams met was in 2016 when the Lions won in Joplin, 5-2 and 6-1.
About the TMZ Tourney
Beginning in 2005, Missouri Southern State University's annual spring softball tournament was renamed the Teri (Mathis) Zenner Memorial Classic in honor of the former MSSU softball player who was killed in August 2004 in Overland Park, Kan.
Zenner pitched and played first base with the Lions from 1996-99. In 19 games as a pitcher, she compiled a 7-7 record with a 1.38 ERA. Zenner was an academic all-conference selection and a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll.
Zenner, who was working on her master's degree at the time of her death, graduated from MSSU in 1999 with a bachelor's degree in psychology. She was employed as a social worker in the Kansas City area and was stabbed to death Aug. 17, 2004 - one day shy of her 27th birthday - while visiting a 17-year-old client at his home.
After her death, Senate Bill 25 was signed in Kansas and requires social workers to complete six hours of safety training as part of continuing education courses tied to first-time licensure renewals. The requirement took effect Jan. 1, 2011.
The Teri Mathis Zenner Scholarship has been created here at Missouri Southern and is an endowed scholarship. It is for full time students, awarded to members of the softball team with preference to students seeking degrees from the School of Education Departments of Kinesiology or Psychology.
Weather Outlook
Weather in Joplin is favorable for softball. All three days are scheduled to be mostly sunny, with the exception of Sunday. Sunday shows clouds in the morning that will clear out through the day. Temperatures will be in the mid-50s to mid-60s all three days with winds in the teens.
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