Monday, March 3, 2008
The Jayhawks traveled to Carbondale, Ill., for the Southern Illinois Invitational tournament this past weekend. They faced off against Northwestern, Southern Illinois, Western Illinois and Bradley in the tournament. The Jayhawks went 3-1 to improve their overall record to 15-5
The Hawks opened up the tournament against the fifth-ranked Northwestern Wildcats, according to the espn.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll. Northwestern’s sophomore pitcher Lauren Delaney blanked the Jayhawks 2-0. The Hawks were only able to manage one hit, a single by junior catcher Elle Pottorf. KU batters fanned nine times in the game. Freshman pitcher Allison Clark limited the Wildcats to two hits in seven innings, but a lack of offense lead to the loss.
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We needed it. We hadn’t really clicked much on offense and it was really nice to see what we did in both games today.
— Tracy Bunge, Kansas softball coach
Coach Tracy Bunge said she was pleased with the balance of the pitching staff, especially with sophomore pitcher Sarah Vertelka unable to play this weekend.
The Jayhawks bounced back in the second game on Saturday against Southern Illinois. Junior pitcher Valerie George pitched her second shutout of the season to earn a 2-0 victory. Sophomore first baseman Amanda Jobe and freshman catcher Brittany Hile drove in the Jayhawks two runs. George struck out nine Salukis in a strong pitching performance.
“We needed a good performance from her until the offense got going and we got a couple of hits and scored some runs,” Bunge said.
Bunge said she was extremely pleased since Southern Illinois was a dangerous ball club
The Jayhawks’ offense came out strong on Sunday. The Jayhawks started the day with an 8-6 victory over Western Illinois. Pottorf and Clark hit home runs for Kansas, and junior center fielder Dougie McCaulley went three-for-four with an RBI and scored a run. Kansas jumped to an 8-1 lead through five innings, but Western Illinois rallied for five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to make it close. George relieved Clark in the sixth to preserve the victory and earn the save.
Bunge said she was very happy to see the offense perform on Sunday.
“We needed it,” Bunge said. “We hadn’t really clicked much on offense and it was really nice to see what we did in both games today.”
Bunge said she was pleased with the team’s balance so far this season.
“There’s no one player shouldering the load,” Bunge said.
The Jayhawks completed the tournament with a 10-2 run-rule victory over Bradley. Kansas opened up the game with four runs in the first and added five in the bottom of the fifth to end the game. Jobe hit her fourth home run of the season and eight of nine starters collected a hit. Junior shortstop Stevie Crisosto and senior left fielder Betsy Wilson drove in two runs.
Bunge said some of the wins in the tournament this weekend would benefit the Jayhawks later in the season when it comes time for post-season play.
“Both the Southern Illinois game and the Bradley game are good region wins for us,” Bunge said. “When it comes down to late in the season and post-season selection, those are the kinds of games that matter for us.”
— Edited by Daniel Reyes
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