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Visit us on the Web: SECTION B, Friday & Saturday, May 22-23, 2009 Page 2B
www.ColumbiaMissourian.com/sports

MU Softball

The Associated Press

Cleveland Indians starting
pitcher Carl Pavano collects
himself after loading the
bases during the third
inning of the game against
the Kansas City Royals on
Thursday in Kansas City.

Pitching
carries
Cleveland
over K.C.
By DOUG TUCKER
The Associated Press
KANSAS CITY — In a battle
of bullpens, fate favored the
guys with all the blown saves.
Cleveland’s Luis Vizcaino,
Missourian File Photo Matt Herges and Rafael Betan-
MU senior Andee Allen goes to bat during the sixth inning of the Regional NCAA softball championship against the Illinois Fighting Illini. court kept Kansas City at bay

Allen sets an example

Coach says second baseman’s
professionalism and hard work set
a tone for her fellow players.
By JEFFREY STOFFEY
sports@ColumbiaMissourian.com
Playing Wiffle Ball with her father as a young
child is a memory Andee Allen will never forget.
Steve Allen would repeatedly pitch the ball to
his daughter in the front yard of their home, while
Andee Allen often showed the potential of one day
becoming a softball star.
However, even if she didn’t get the best of her
father’s pitch, she would still count it as a hit
— drawing no objections from her father.
“I’d still run around and touch all of the bases,
and act like it was a hit,” Andee Allen said. “But
I didn’t necessarily touch all of the bases at the
same time. He thought it was funny.”
Andee Allen, who has been an important player
the past four years on the Missouri softball team,
is looking forward to what could be her final week
as a Tiger. Missouri plays No. 2 ranked UCLA
on Saturday in an NCAA Super Regional best-of-
three series. The winner advances to the College
World Series of Softball from May 28 to June 3 in
Oklahoma City.
As she got older, both of her parents were influen-
tial in her development as a softball player. Andee
Allen described her father as more of a “supporter,”
Thursday after Royals ace Zack
Greinke departed with a one-
run lead. Victor Martinez had
three RBIs
and the Indi-
ans pulled Baseball
away for an
8-3 victory. Indians
while her mother, Debbie Allen, was the “encourag-
er” to do things. Neither pushed or forced anything “We faced Royals
8
3
upon her. Her parents would play catch with her, a pitcher
who’s at the
but as she got stronger and threw harder, they were
tired of catching her hard throws. top of his game every time out
“Both of my parents were great. Hitting ground and we wore him out, I think,”
balls and playing catch,” Andee Allen said. “But after said Cleveland starter Carl
a while, they’d make me throw the ball into the fence.” Pavano (4-4), who matched his
Throughout her athletic career, Andee Allen’s more celebrated opponent near-
parents were mainstays at most of her events. No ly pitch for pitch. “It looked like
matter what, they would be there. he was kind of laboring and we
However, in December of 2007, all of that got him out of there and were
changed. After battling Leukemia and a number able to get to the bullpen.”
of other complications, Steve Allen died. Greinke’s record stayed at 7-1
Debbie and Andee Allen were struck with grief. with his first no-decision in nine
But they at least had each other. starts. He went six innings, gave
“I was fortunate enough to have my mom there up a season-high eight hits and
for me,” Andee Allen said. “We kinda leaned on left with a 3-2 edge. His major
each other.” league-leading ERA crept up to
Even before succumbing to Leukemia, Steve 0.82 from 0.60.
Allen continued to go to his daughter’s games The Indians tied it 2-all with
when the conditions weren’t exactly perfect for his two run in the third and load-
health. Sometimes when there is inclement weath- ed the bases before Greinke
er, the Tigers play indoors at Devine Pavilion, escaped by striking out Mark
where conditions are far from sterile. But even DeRosa and Ben Francisco.
that didn’t stop him from attending his daughter’s “I just wasn’t real crisp. It was
games. Although, it might have caused him to get really stupid pitching for that
a staph infection, Andee Allen said. whole inning probably,” Greinke
“He was too proud to wear a mask,” Andee Allen Missourian File Photo said. “I started throwing two-
MU senior Andee Allen lost her father to seamers to get ground balls and
Please see ALLEN, page 2B leukemia in December 2007. it’s not really how I pitch. I got
behind on everyone because I

Softball team ready, Columbia couple take

was throwing the two-seamer. It
was just stupid, really stupid.”
Asdrubal Cabrera had four
hits and two RBIs as Cleveland

confident for series ‘fan’ to new level

The team plays UCLA
this weekend in Los
Angeles in a super-
regional series.
By BRITTANY DARWELL
sports@ColumbiaMissourian.com
If recent Missouri graduate Andee
Allen didn’t have softball, she doesn’t
know what she would do with her-
self.
“I don’t have to worry about home-
work,” she said. “Ever.”
With classes over, Allen and the
other members of the No. 11 ranked
Missouri softball team can focus
on how to beat No. 2 UCLA in a
best-of-three NCAA Super Regional
series this weekend in Los Angeles.
A win over DePaul on Sunday put the
Tigers (48-9) in what is essentially
the Sweet 16 of college softball. The
winner of the matchup this weekend
will advance to the NCAA College
World Series of Softball.
“We’re very excited to be at this
point,” Allen said. “It’s a huge oppor-
tunity for us, the university, every-
body. We know we can do this.”
Part of Missouri’s confidence
Softball
NCAA Super regional series
No. 11 Missouri (48-9)
vs. No. 2 UCLA (44-9)
When:
Game 1, Saturday at 8:30 p.m.
Game 2, Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
Game 3 (if needed), Sunday at
4:30 p.m.
Where: Los Angeles
TV: ESPNU
Live Gametracker:
www.mutigers.com
comes from the team’s last meeting
with UCLA. In March the Tigers
were in position to win until the
Bruins scored on a passed ball in the
bottom of the seventh inning.
“All throughout we had them beat,”
freshman pitcher Chelsea Thomas
said. “We are ready to face them
again.”
Please see SOFTBALL, page 2B
Steven and Charlotte
Meiners have logged
more than 15,000 miles
driving to softball games.
By ANDREW DENNEY
sports@ColumbiaMissourian.com
When the Missouri softball team
takes on UCLA in Los Angeles on
Saturday for a shot at the NCAA
World Series of Softball, a Columbia
couple will be part of the crowd,
rooting them on as they have for
nearly 116 straight games.
No matter where the team plays,
in sunshine or rain, Steven and
Charlotte Meiners are in the stands
to show their support.
They don’t have a daughter or any-
one else in the family on the team,
yet the couple has spent the past two
seasons traveling to games across
the country, from San Diego to Myr-
tle Beach, S.C., to Atlanta.
“This is our retirement,” Charlotte
Meiners said. “We decide where
we’re going and when.”
Following the softball team has
given them a chance to make new
friends, the Meiners say. For years
they worked nights in Columbia,
which limited their ability to social-
ize.
Steven Meiners said he finds the
sport entertaining, and Charlotte
Meiners said she likes the sense of
teamwork the players display. But
both agree that the sense of cama-
raderie and community they find
hanging out with players’ parents
draws them to the games.
“We just enjoy each other, and
when it’s time for the parents to be
with their kids, we get out of there,”
Steven Meiners said.
In addition to air miles, the couple’s
vehicle logged 15,000 road miles
during the past season, according to
a new GPS system they picked up in
December.
“But don’t tell my insurance com-
pany,” Steven Meiners said.
The team schedule has also taken
them to offbeat places they wouldn’t
ordinary visit. They made a side
trip to Bok Tower Gardens in Lake
Wales, Fla., for example, when the
Tigers were at a tournament in Boca
Raton.
The Meiners’ devotion has earned
Please see FANs, page 2B
beat the same opponent two
times in a row for the first time
this season. It was the first time
they beat the same team two
straight.
Pavano went six innings, giv-
ing up three runs and six hits
while striking out eight.
“We made (Greinke) work
hard and they made Carl work
hard,” Cleveland manager Eric
Wedge said.
Coming in, the Cleveland bull-
pen was a mess, with nine blown
saves in 17 opportunities. Closer
Kerry Wood, after working the
past two nights, was not avail-
able.
“It was left up to the bull-
pen and our guys really stepped
up. It should be a big boost for
them,” Wedge said.
Betancourt came in with the
bases loaded and none out in
the ninth and got a popup and
a double-play grounder for his
first save in three chances.
Shin-Soo Choo had three
hits and two RBIs. He said he
thought Greinke’s fastball was
better than the last time he
faced him.
“It was still 96-97 (mph) but
everything was moving,” he
said. “There was no straight
fastball today.”
Greinke handed a 3-2 lead to

Please see Royals, page 2B