Softball sees victory in game one but loses nightcap

By Ben Ward

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Tuesday’s doubleheader in Tulsa amounted to yet another split for Kansas Softball.

The Jayhawks won the first game 6-3 but fell in the second 4-0, marking the team’s fifth split in its past seven series. Inconsistent play has plagued Kansas (17-26, 4-8) all season. The two contests on Tuesday exemplified the team’s struggles.

“The two games were night and day,” senior outfielder Dougie McCaulley said. “We played well in game one, but in the second game we made a bunch of mistakes defensively and just couldn’t get the bats going.”

Game 1: 6-3, W

WP – Blair (2-3), LP – Kinard (10-6), SV – George (1), HR – Pottorf (3), Clark (6)

Game 2: 0-4, L

WP – Lawrence (13-4), LP – Vertelka (6-9), SV – none, HR – Swanson, S.

The Jayhawks had those bats going early in game one, though, scoring five runs the first inning. McCaulley led off the game with a triple and soon scored on an RBI single by senior third baseman Val Chapple. On the next pitch, senior catcher Elle Pottorf blasted a home run, and two batters later sophomore utility player Allie Clark launched a home run of her own.

“It was a huge boost to get those runs so quickly,” Bunge said. “It really picked us up and made it much easier for our pitching staff.”

Tulsa countered with three runs of its own in the second, but the Jayhawk pitchers held off the Golden Hurricane bats the rest of the way.

Freshman Sarah Blair picked up a victory for Kansas after relieving senior Valerie George in the second inning. Blair struck out two in the next four frames and retired nine Tulsa batters in a row at one point.

George returned to the circle in the sixth inning, and she worked the final two innings on the way to earning her first save of the season.

“Blair struggled in her first inning but settled down really nicely and gave us some strong innings,” coach Tracy Bunge said. “But with a couple runners on in the sixth, we had to bring George back in with the experience, and she shut them down.”

The Jayhawks also had a balanced offensive attack, with six players combining for eight hits in the game. McCaulley and junior first baseman Amanda Jobe each had two hits and two runs scored.

Tulsa got on the board first in game two, jumping ahead 1-0 in the fourth on a sacrifice fly. The Golden Hurricane then smacked six hits in the fifth, chasing junior pitcher Sarah Vertelka from the game and extending the lead to 4-0.

“Sarah was actually pitching pretty well out there,” Bunge said. “She just made a couple of mistakes here and there, and Tulsa really made the most out of them.”

Despite racking up their six runs and eight hits in the first game, the Jayhawk bats were silenced in the nightcap. Tulsa junior Jackie Lawrence was strong from the circle, allowing only five hits while striking out seven Kansas batters.

Despite two hits apiece from McCaulley and sophomore shortstop Kolby Fesmire, the team was unable to duplicate the offensive success of game one.

McCaulley said Lawrence had pitched a good game but should have been hittable for the Jayhawks.

“We’ve got to work through our at bats better,” McCaulley said. “We just struggled to make adjustments.”

— — Edited by Jesse Trimble

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