Thursday, April 30, 2009
Today’s doubleheader against Texas A&M is a poignant one. Coach Tracy Bunge and five of her seniors (Dougie McCaulley, Val Chapple, Stevie Crisosto, Val George and Elle Pottorf) will play their final games at Arrocha Ballpark, two make up games originally scheduled for March 28 and 29. The series not only marks the last two home games of the 2009 regular season, but also the end of an era.
“Coach Bunge has been like a mother to all of us during our careers here at KU,” senior pitcher Val George said. “For the last 13 years she has devoted herself completely to the Kansas softball program, with the goal of producing teams the University can be proud of. She is a tremendous person who has been such a huge part of Kansas Softball for so long.”
TODAY
Kansas vs. Texas A&M
Arrocha Ballpark
Game 1: 11:15 a.m.
Game 2: 1:15 a.m.
Admission is free for students with a valid KUID.
In order to get a couple of emotionally charged victories, the Jayhawks will have to carry over some momentum from their last two series. Over the last two series, Kansas belted 10 home runs on its way to 25 earned runs in a two game split with Baylor and a two game sweep of Wichita State.
“We played really well in the split with Baylor and against Wichita State,” said Coach Tracy Bunge of the play over the last four games. “Confidence wise we are in a really good spot, we’ve got a lot of bounce in our step. We’ve got to keep this momentum going.”
As of now, Kansas (20-28, 5-9) sits at eighth in the Big 12 but could finish as high as fifth if the team can string together some victories against Texas A&M and Iowa State, with whom they play a two game series over the weekend. Earning a more favorable position in the Big 12 regular season standing could vastly improve the chances Kansas has going into the postseason tournament. Val George commented on the importance of these last two Big 12 conference series’.
“They’re huge. From what I’m aware of, if we can get 2 solid sweeps we would be a good position to finish 5th or 6th and not have to compete in the play-in game. Nobody wants to play the play in game.”
Texas A&M (29-18, 6-8) has earned a sixth place ranking in the Big 12 thus far into the season and have only today’s doubleheader with Kansas and a single game against both Texas and Baylor in order to make a push of its own.
The A&M offense, batting .271 collectively with a .369 on base percentage, is led by sophomore second basemen Natalie Villarreal (.353, 10 2B, 29 R), the only Aggie batting above .300. With a .971 fielding percentage and only 40 errors, the Texas A&M defense is ranked third in the Big 12 and 22nd in the nation, which has been a big help to pitcher Rhiannon Kliesling (20-11) who has shouldered the load for the Aggie pitching staff.
The Aggies come into today’s contests having split with Iowa State over this past weekend. This year’s Big 12 conference has been one of the most competitive in years. Coach Bunge spoke about the level of play throughout the 2009 Big 12 regular season.
“This is the first year that I can remember so much parity in the Big 12. One through ten, anybody can beat anybody, which, from a fan’s perspective, is exciting to see. I’ve never seen a year where the winning team has 4 losses.”
— — Edited by Realle Roth
Softball team seeks Husker revenge
Kansas needs to start push for NCAA tournament before entering tough stretch ...
Seniors bid farewell to Arrocha
Softball team beats Texas A&M 4-1 after first game of doubleheader is ...
Softball faces No. 11 Oklahoma in series
Jayhawks will play Sooners Friday and Saturday after splitting doubleheader against Nebraska ...
Softball loses two close games
Creighton defeats Kansas twice by one point in Wednesday’s doubleheader.
Preparing for Texas heat
Looking to continue their three-game winning streak, Jayhawks face the No. 24 ...
Win in Lubbock would be 400 for ...
Kansas softball coach Tracy Bunge needs just one more win to hit ...
Softball leaves for Georgia
Jayhawks hope for a series sweep
The softball team will face UMKC in a doubleheader today.
Softball looks to end losing streak against ...
A three-game losing streak looms over Kansas as it takes on Missouri ...
Big 12 baseball to start conference play
Big 12 baseball teams are going strong into the start of conference ...
Softball team sweeps Texas Tech in series
Despite cold weather, the softball team led a successful sweep of Texas ...
Softball team to open season in Arizona
Promising team to face four ranked teams in tournament this weekend.
Kansas to take on Wichita State
The softball team faces a strong offense, but weak pitching and defense.
Kansas softball takes on Tulsa
Jayhawks look for a victory over the Golden Hurricane to boost confidence, ...
Jayhawks hope to regain swagger
Baseball team hopes a victory over Northern Colorado will get them back ...
Tough pitching leads to two losses for ...
The Jayhawks lost 14-0 and 8-0 to the Aggies. They will face ...
Jayhawks drop both against Longhorns
Two losses over weekend drop Kansas to 10th place in conference
Softball team optimistic going into Mizzou games
The Jayhawks open their home season against No. 13 Missouri today.
Kansas earns split with Oklahoma State
The softball team lost their Saturday game against the Cowgirls 8-1, but ...
Kansas softball team returns 1-1 from away-game ...
The team will play its fifth and sixth straight away games in ...
Hawks head to Waco after sweep
The Jayhawks stay one game above .500.
Pitchers rested to face Aggies
Kansas will play Texas A&M in the home opener today.
Jayhawks hit season-ending split
The softball team ended the regular season with the most wins since ...
wbbgameday
tease
Schneider: Diamonds in the Rough
The Big 12 is notoriously bad this season. But, perhaps it’s not ...
Seniors look back at softball careers
Five players reflect on the highlights of their time at the University.
Football Notes: Oct. 29, 2007
Another week means another set of school records for the undefeated Jayhawks ...
No. 1 Jayhawks hold off Texas A&M
Kansas faces off against a Texas A&M team that has yet to ...
Softball excited for Big 12 play
Kansas opens conference play at No. 17 Texas A&M.
Softball to face No. 5 Texas A&M
Kansas takes on Texas A&M this weekend at Arrocha Ballpark. The Jayhawks ...
Softball team tames Longhorns in split offense-heavy ...
Pitching dominates 8-1 victory but falters in second game, resulting in 2-1 ...
Softball falls to dominate Aggies
Powerhouse Aggie pitcher holds Jayhawks to one hit. Kansas pitching staff gives ...
Softball team loses two games to Missouri
The Jayhawks lost 7-2 and 6-5 against rival Missouri. Kansas managed only ...
Jayhawk soccer needs a breakthrough
Kansas has not found postseason success in recent years but could surprise ...
Baseball to face critical matchups
The Kansas baseball team will face Big 12 competition for the first ...
Vernon: A&M made a mistake in leaving ...
By joining the Southeastern Conference, the Aggies ensure many future losses in ...
Jayhawk softball splits last home game
Senior pitcher ends career with disappointing performance. Underclassmen step in to finish ...
Aggies cruise, look for redemption against Texas
Texas A&M knocks Missouri out of the Big 12 tournament with a ...
Softball takes doubleheader from Nebraska, Creighton
After sweeping Creighton and Nebraska, Kansas will play No. 3 Oklahoma this ...
Jayhawks fall hard to Aggies
Softball team gets run-ruled in both games against Texas A&M.
Kansas Jayhawk fans hold aloft a reproduction of ...
2 comments
Erin Saupe, a Ph.D. student from St. Cloud, ...
1 comment
0 comments
Armed robbers continue to threaten.
3 comments
Lecture from Greg Mortenson, co-author of New York ...
0 comments
KUnited presidential candidate Libby Johnson and vice presidential ...
1 comment
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID