This weekend’s two game series against Texas Tech seemed to epitomize the ups and downs of Kansas’ softball season so far.

The Jayhawks were dominant Saturday afternoon, looking like the team that had beaten four of the 25 top ranked teams, as they run-ruled the Red Raiders 10-0. But as good as they were the previous day, Kansas struggled on Sunday, dropping the second game 4-2.

“We fought hard to the end, but it’s still frustrating,” said senior outfielder Dougie McCaulley, who tallied four hits over the weekend. “We just made some mistakes and they took advantage of them.”

Mistakes and all, the two games truly looked like polar opposites.

Saturday’s contest was entirely one-sided, as the Jayhawks racked up 11 hits and the 10 runs, led by three RBI apiece from McCaulley and sophomore shortstop Kolby Fesmire. Kansas also blasted three home runs during the game, one by sophomore outfielder Allie Clark and two by sophomore outfielder Liz Kocon.

Junior pitcher Sarah Vertelka turned in a strong outing from the circle, allowing only two hits while shutting out the Red Raiders over six innings.

“You talk about the three things you need to win: good pitching, defense and timely hitting,” said coach Tracy Bunge. “We got all three on Saturday — Sarah was super out there, we made all the plays behind her, and we got a bunch of key hits with runners on base.”

After getting ahead early with a 2-1 lead on Sunday, the Jayhawks appeared ready to continue their torrid pace at the plate and add to their lead. Despite a number of chances however, Kansas stranded eight runners on base, after leaving only three on base during Saturday’s game. Vertelka wasn’t as sharp on Sunday either, allowing three runs on four hits. The biggest issue for Bunge, however, was poor fielding.

“We really shot ourselves in the foot on defense,” she said of the team’s three errors. “I think we got good enough pitching to win, but when you give away extra bases and opportunities — you aren’t going to win many games. Give credit to Texas Tech though, they played a better game than we did.”

With the loss in game two, Kansas fell to 2-4 in the Big 12, and 12-21 overall. The Jayhawks will need to shake off the defeat in a hurry, because they play host to Nebraska for a doubleheader on Wednesday. Bunge said she believed her team would do just that.

“We don’t have time to get down,” she said. “This is a group that has been resilient and really bounced back well from adversity.”

McCaulley echoed her coach’s sentiments.

“Everybody’s holding their head high,” she said. “We just need to keep taking it one game at a time and make adjustments. We’re confident we can get it done.”

— — Edited by Jesse Trimble