Softball team comes out ahead during spring break
Players pick up five wins and only two losses
The KU softball team stayed busy during break with the Kansas Invitational tournament, and the Big 12 conference opener against Oklahoma.
By Kelly Breckunitch (Contact)
Monday, March 24th, 2008
The University of Kansas softball team picked up five victories and two losses during spring break.
The Jayhawks started off the spring break with the Kansas Invitational tournament in Lawrence. The team swept the weather-shortened tournament, scoring more than nine runs in each of the three games.
Photo by Weston White
Junior third baseman Val Chapple steps into her throw to first base after fielding a ground ball during a game against Indiana State on March 8.
The team opened up the tournament with a run-rule victory over Buffalo, going up by eight runs in five innings. Junior pitcher Valerie George held Buffalo scoreless, and the KU offense scored nine runs. Junior third baseman Val Chapple was a perfect three-for-three with three home runs and six RBIs. Chapple’s three home runs tied a KU record for home runs in a single game. Freshman right fielder Liz Kocon had two hits, three RBIs and added another home run for the Jayhawks, and junior center fielder Dougie McCaulley was two-for-two with three runs scored.
The Jayhawks defeated the Buffalos 12-5 in the second game of the tournament. McCaulley scored three more runs and had one RBI on two hits, while Chapple had another stellar performance with three hits, including one home run, four RBIs and three runs scored. Senior left fielder Betsy Wilson hit the second triple of the season for the KU softball team and had two RBIs in the game and freshman catcher Brittany Hile had two hits and three RBIs.
The team closed out the Kansas Invitational tournament with another run-rule victory, this time over Louisiana Tech. Chapple played well again with two runs scored and three RBIs on one hit. McCaulley scored four more runs and sophomore first baseman Amanda Jobe had two hits and scored three runs. Ally Stanton had a great game as well with two hits and three RBIs.
Coach Tracy Bunge was happy to the see the offensive output in the tournament.
“Offensively, it’s nice to see us come alive and take a little pressure off the pitching staff,” Bunge said
Chapple was rewarded for her performance in the tournament by earning Big 12 and national player of the week honors. Chapple finished the weekend with seven hits, four home runs and 13 RBIs. Bunge was impressed with her accomplishments.
Spring Break results
3/14 — vs. Buffalo W, 9-0 (5)
vs. Buffalo W, 12-5
3/16 — vs. Louisiana Tech W, 11-3 (5)
3/18 — vs. Bradley W, 2-0
vs. Bradley W, 3-2
3/21 — at No. 11 Oklahoma L, 3-2
3/22 — at No. 11 Oklahoma L, 8-0 (6)
Rankings from espn.com/USA Softball poll
“Obviously, national player of the week is a very special honor,” Bunge said.
Kansas hosted a double-header against Bradley last Tuesday and kept the winning streak going. George pitched the first game and threw her fourth shut-out of the season, striking out eight batters while giving up only one walk. Sophomore second baseman Sara Ramirez drove in the only runs of the game with a two-run home run to help KU earn the victory.
The Jayhawks swept the doubleheader with a 3-2 victory in the second game. Junior shortstop Stevie Crisosto had one hit, a double, and two RBIs to help the Jayhawks and Chapple continued to play well with two hits and a run scored in the game.
Bunge said she was happy with the execution of the small things in the games throughout the week.
“This is a very good team in all three phases of the game right now,” Bunge said.
The Jayhawks lost the momentum of their five-game win streak in the conference opener against Oklahoma. The Jayhawks’ only games outside of Lawrence over the break were forgettable. The team suffered a walk-off loss in the first game against Oklahoma. McCaulley was one-for-three with one RBI, and Hile drove in the only other KU run, but it wasn’t enough.
Oklahoma senior right fielder Susan Ogden drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning. The KU offense put up only four hits in the shut-out loss to the Sooners on Saturday. The Sooners scored eight runs, benefitting from two home runs by freshman left fielder Haley Anderson and senior shortstop Savannah Long.
Bunge stressed the importance of the conference season and how tough the Big 12 conference was going to be.
“All other nine teams in the conference that play softball all are playing well right now,” Bunge said. “All have the potential to beat you any given day, and we’re not going to have a lot of games in the conference schedule that are going to be easy games or blowout games.”
The Jayhawks play Missouri State in a doubleheader on Wednesday at Arrocha Ballpark.
—Edited by Sasha Roe
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