Kansas seniors play last home game

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

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