Monday, April 13, 2009
When No. 11 Oklahoma loaded the bases with only one out in the seventh inning, Kansas was clinging to a two-run lead.
But senior pitcher Valerie George recovered, bearing down and striking out the final two Oklahoma batters to secure the 4-2 victory for Kansas, earning the team a split of the two game series.
“I was just really determined to get out of there,” George said. “I didn’t want to go to extra innings.”
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Kansas vs. No. 11 Oklahoma
Game 1: Friday OU 8 — KU 0 WP — Mathis (10-3), LP — Vertelka (5-7), SV — none, HR — none
Game 2: Saturday KU 4 — OU 2 WP — George (9-11), LP — Mathis (10-4), SV — none, HR — Ricketts (6)
After the game coach Tracy Bunge spoke glowingly of George’s performance.
“She really toughed it out,” Bunge said. “We wanted the ball in her hands and she made some huge pitches for us.”
With Saturday’s victory over the Sooners in the Pink Diamond Challenge, the Jayhawks avenged Friday’s 8-0 run-rule loss.
The shut-out defeat was a forgettable game for Kansas as Oklahoma came out of the gate swinging, scoring five runs in the first inning. The Sooners tacked on three more runs, but had all the offense they needed with D.J. Mathis shutting the Jayhawk bats down from the circle. The Oklahoma senior struck out seven and allowed only one hit, a double by sophomore catcher Brittany Hile.
“Mathis pitched a heck of a game,” Bunge said. “But still, we’ve got to find a way to get it done; we didn’t make any adjustments at all.”
Mathis was back in the circle on Saturday, but the Jayhawks looked like a completely different team at the plate — and not just because of their white and pink uniforms in support of breast cancer. Unlike Friday’s contest, Kansas came out the aggressor, using some trickery on the basepaths to get an early lead.
With senior outfielder Dougie McCaulley on third and sophomore outfielder Liz Kocon on first, Bunge called for a double-steal. As Kocon took off for second, McCaulley scampered home, giving Kansas a 1-0 lead and a big boost in confidence.
“We did a much better job adjusting at the plate,” Bunge said. “But that first inning was huge; it changed the mindset of the team. Mentally it really picked us up and put us in a different place than yesterday.”
From there, the Jayhawks tacked on three more runs in the second inning, led by an RBI single from junior second baseman Sara Ramirez and a two RBI double by senior catcher Elle Pottorf.
“Our gameplan was to come out swinging,” Pottorf said. “We forced [Mathis] to bring her pitches into the zone and made her pay when she did.”
Still, without the strong outing from George, the four runs might not have been enough to defeat the hard-hitting Sooners. Though hampered somewhat by a leg injury, George tossed her second consecutive complete game while striking out seven Oklahoma hitters.
“George fought through some stuff out there,” Bunge said. “She really deserved that win.”
The victory over 11th-ranked Oklahoma marks the first time Kansas (14-23, 4-6) has beaten the Sooners since the 2007 season. Saturday was also a success in terms of increasing awareness and support for breast cancer; more than $1,700 was donated to the Lawrence Memorial Hospital and the KU Cancer Center. Additionally, the victory marks the fifth Jayhawk victory over USA Softball/ESPN top 25 teams this year.
“There’s no better time than now to turn things around,” George said.
— — Edited by Sam Speer
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