Monday, April 2, 2007
Nicole Washburn, first base senior, catches a ball at first base in Arrocha Ballpark on Sunday.
The Kansas softball team’s late rally fell short against Baylor Sunday afternoon. The 5-3 loss secured a weekend sweep for the Bears (34-9, 4-0). With the loss the Jayhawks fell to 2-2 in the Big 12 Conference and 25-11-1 on the season.
Baylor struck first in the top of the second inning, catching the Jayhawk defense off guard in a double steal that resulted in a run.
Senior pitcher Kassie Humphreys started in the circle for the Jayhawks but struggled in the 3 1/3 innings she pitched, giving up five runs on five hits and walked two.
Humphreys did strike out four Bears on the day, and with that surpassed coach Tracy Bunge for fourth on the Jayhawks all-time career strikeout list with 644 strikeouts.
The achievement was overshadowed in the loss, though.
“Kassie was not sharp and was leaving a lot of stuff out over the plate,” Bunge said.
Bunge said that though Humphreys was a little bit off this weekend, she expected her to bounce back.
The defense was having a tough day, and the offense had its own problems. The offense was held to one hit through five innings of play.
“I really was disappointed with our focus and our intensity, especially on the offensive side of things for the first five-plus innings,” Bunge said.
Freshman second baseman Sara Ramirez led off the inning, and the one hit came off her bat and sailed over the left field wall for a home run for the Jayhawks.
Ramirez, who is only 5-foot-1-inch, credits mechanics to her power behind her small frame. After the home run, the bats went cold as Baylor pitcher Kirsten Shortridge struck out the next two Jayhawk batters and forced a ground out to end the inning.
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I felt that we were passive, we were swinging at pitches outside of the zone, we were really chasing the drop ball, and there was no reason with the umpire not having a low zone to go out and chase.
-coach Tracy Bunge
Shortridge went six innings, striking out seven Jayhawks and allowing only four hits.
“Their kid did a great job,” Bunge said of Shortridge. “She pitched exactly to what we were swinging at.”
Bunge said that the team was not aggressive enough against Shortridge until later in the game.
“I felt that we were passive, we were swinging at pitches outside of the zone, we were really chasing the drop ball, and there was no reason with the umpire not having a low zone to go out and chase,” Bunge said.
As the Jayhawks were hoping to make a comeback after Ramirez’s home run in the bottom of the third, the Bears struck right back in the fourth.
The Bears hit a two-run home run off Humphreys, putting the Jayhawks down 5-1.
Humphreys was pulled after the home run and sophomore pitcher Valerie George came into relief.
George struck out the first batter she faced, the first of her six strikeouts on the day.
“The last four or five games, George has been throwing really well,” Bunge said.
“Her confidence is way up and she’s come a long way.”
George said after the game that she felt really good about her pitches.
“It felt good to go out there and stay solid for the team,” George said.
In her 3 2/3 innings in the circle, she gave up one hit, zero runs and walked two.
Kansan sportswriter Evan Kafarakis can be contacted at ekafarakis@kansan.com.
— Edited by Carissa Pedigo
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