Thursday, February 19, 2009
Kansas softball fell from the ESPN/USA Softball rankings Tuesday, but it has a tremendous opportunity to get back in the mix as the team travels to Palm Springs, Calif., for the Cathedral City Classic this weekend.
Over the course of the weekend-long tournament, the Jayhawks will play six games in four days.
They kick off the tournament today with a pair of games against No. 21 North Carolina and tournament host, Oregon State.
The team is coming off of a tough weekend at the UCF Early Bird Tournament, where it won two and lost three. The 4-5 Jayhawks need to play tighter on both sides of the ball if they want to get their winning percentage back up above .500.
Kansas ranks second to last in the Big 12 defensively, committing 13 errors in nine games and has a fielding percentage of only .950.
The offense, despite having come up huge in clutch situations, has accumulated 53 strikeouts in 221 at bats while possessing an average of .222 overall, ranking it dead last in the Big 12.
The Jayhawks have showed some promise, however, in their work from the circle and their patience at the plate.
Kansas leads the Big 12 in walks drawn with 26 and is second in doubles with 13. The pitching staff has been able to strike out 61 batters in more than 60 innings, good enough for second in the Big 12.
Senior pitcher and team ace Val George (3-3) is coming off of a no-hitter against Bowling Green and has a 1.78 ERA, issuing seven walks to her 36 strikeouts in 32 and one-third innings pitched, third best in Big 12 rankings. Freshman Sarah Blair (0-1) has a 1.29 ERA and three strikeouts to zero walks issued.
Today
Kansas vs No. 21 North Carolina, 12:30 p.m
Kansas vs Oregon State, 8 p.m.
Offensive Leaders for the Jayhawks
Player AVG. Runs Hits RBI BB SO
1. Chapple .350 3 9 3 1 0
2. Crisosto .330 5 7 3 10 6
3. McCaulley .320 5 9 3 4 4
The Cathedral City Classic will be a difficult challenge for Kansas: Two of the six teams are ranked in ESPN/USA Softball’s top 25 ranking, North Carolina and No. 10 California, and five of the six have winning records.
On Friday the Hawks have a single game against BYU followed by another one Saturday against UC Santa Barbara. To finish the tournament, Kansas plays another pair of games against California and Cal-Poly.
If the Jayhawks can muster a couple of upsets and come away with a winning record in the tournament, they should be able to regain their spot in the top 25 rankings.
The team has already shown it can beat tough opponents earlier this season, winning two of its four games against ranked opponents No. 11 Arizona and No. 12 Northwestern in the Kajikawa Classic.
— — Edited by Melissa Johnson
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