Missouri’s Paige Lowary added to USA’s World Cup of Softball squad

Missouri pitcher Paige Lowary was added to the USA Softball Junior Women’s National Team on Tuesday ahead of the World Cup of Softball X, which begins June 29 in Irvine, Calif.

Lowary — a left-hander from Dallas Center, Iowa, who just finished her freshman season with the Tigers — went 18-7 with a 3.40 ERA and 164 strikeouts in 162 2/3 innings last season.

She was selected for the 2015 freshman All-SEC team and earned two weekly conference honors during her first season at Missouri.

The junior national team roster is comprised of 20 players from across the country as chosen by the Amateur Softball Association of America and USA Softball.

Lowary is the second player during coach Ehren Earleywine’s tenure to make the roster, joining outfielder Emily Crane in 2013.

▪ Former Missouri standout Ashley Fleming, a 2012 Missouri graduate and two-time second-team All-American, was announced Tuesday as the new head softball coach at McKendree University in Lebanon, Ill.

Fleming will be joined by another former teammate and the Tigers’ only three-time first-team All-American, Chelsea Thomas, a 2013 graduate who will serve as the Bearcats’ top assistant and pitching coach.

McKendree competes in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, a NCAA Division II conference that includes William Jewell and Rockhurst.

This story was originally published June 16, 2015 at 7:35 PM with the headline "Missouri’s Paige Lowary added to USA’s World Cup of Softball squad."