Thursday, April 9, 2009
A week removed from its walk-off victory over Missouri, Kansas was at it again.
After being kept off of the scoreboard all afternoon, Kansas mounted a furious rally to earn a split of Wednesday’s doubleheader against Nebraska at Arrocha Ballpark.
Junior pitcher Sarah Vertelka celebrates with sophomore shortstop Kolby Fesmire and senior third baseman Val Chapple after a strikeout during Wednesday's game at Arrocha Ballpark. Kansas split its double header with Nebraska Wednesday, losing the first, and winning the second game.
Down 1-0 in the bottom of the seventh, the Jayhawks loaded the bases, bringing senior catcher Elle Pottorf to the plate. Pottorf delivered, smacking a single into center field which plated two runs, giving Kansas the 2-1 comeback victory.
“That was a huge hit for Elle and a huge hit for the team,” coach Tracy Bunge said. “You love to see seniors come up in big moments, and she came up huge. We really needed this win.”
The victory was indeed a must-have for the Jayhawks, who were only three outs away from being swept by the Cornhuskers.
In game one, Nebraska batters made the most of their eight hits, chipping away at junior pitcher Sarah Vertelka for four runs. On the other side of the ball, senior pitcher Molly Hill stifled the Jayhawk bats. Hill allowed only two hits to preserve the 4-0 victory for the Cornhuskers and earn her sixteenth win of the year.
“Hill has really figured out how to get kids out,” Bunge said. “She doesn’t make many mistakes over the plate, but she gave us some chances out there that we should have capitalized on.”
Kansas certainly had its share of chances to get on the board, but left five runners on base and failed to take advantage of three Cornhusker errors.
Hill returned to the circle for game two, and, predictably, Kansas’ struggles seemed to carry over as they stranded eight more runners on base.
But with a final chance in the seventh inning, Kansas got the one big hit it needed.
“It was about time,” Pottorf said. “We had seen her for thirteen plus innings so we just made the adjustments we needed to.”
Another positive for Kansas was the effort from senior pitcher Valerie George. George, who had lost her last five decisions, bounced back with seven strong innings, allowing only one run on five hits. Her effort drew high praise from her coach.
“That was a great outing from George,” Bunge said. “She’s been hurting recently, but she toughed it out and kept us in the game.”
With the split against Nebraska, Kansas now sits at 13-22 overall and 3-5 in the crowded Big 12 Conference. The Jayhawks hope to get a boost from their victory with No. 11 Oklahoma coming to town for a series this weekend.
“It was a huge win,” George said. “Hopefully it gives us some momentum for OU.”
— — Edited by Andrew Wiebe
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