Kansas softball arrived at Arrocha Ballpark on Friday to host No. 12 Stanford, Central Arkansas and South Dakota State in the Jayhawk Classic. Unfortunately for the Jayhawks, they did not benefit from any kind of home field advantage, as they were mercy ruled in both of their games against Stanford, 9-0, and Central Arkansas, 13-0.
Starting the day for the Jayhawks, junior left-hander Kasey Hamilton took the mound for Kansas against No. 12 Stanford. She cruised through the first inning but allowed three base runners in the second with one run scoring on an RBI double to put the Cardinal up 2-0.
Hamilton gave up a single to the third batter of the third inning but cleaned it up by inducing a foul out.
Kansas got a runner on base in the first, second, and third on two singles and hit-by-pitch, but could not do any damage past that, keeping its deficit at two.
Unfortunately for Hamilton and the Jayhawks, the game began to fall apart in the fourth. The Kansas starter gave up a single to the first batter. She forced a fly out, but then gave up another single which put runners on the corners for Stanford. After this, another single scored the runner and kept the Cardinal on first and third, and a fielder's choice that failed to record an out scored Stanford’s fourth run. A bunt single to load the bases followed by a double scored two more Cardinal and forced Hamilton out of the game.
Freshman right-hander Lizzy Ludwig took the mound, forcing a lineout for the second out of the inning. Unfortunately, a walk to load the bases followed by another walk and two RBI doubles put the Cardinal ahead 9-0 before Ludwig could snag the last out of the inning via groundout.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Jayhawks went in order.
In the top of the fifth, Ludwig settled in for a 1-2-3 inning, recording one strikeout.
After snagging a single and hit-by-pitch to start the bottom half of the frame, the Jayhawks threatened to retaliate. But three outs in a row would end the threat and the last chance for the Jayhawks to score.
Since Stanford was led by more than eight runs after five innings of play, the plate umpire declared the “run-ahead” rule, ending the game at 9-0.
Less than three hours later in its second game of the day, Kansas looked to avenge itself and even out its home record. Junior right-hander Addison Purvis stepped into the circle to face the Bears in the top of the first.
The game turned ugly quickly, as a leadoff double, a single, and a walk quickly loaded the bases without Purvis recording an out. A single from Central Arkansas’ cleanup hitter plated two runs, then another single loaded the bases for the second time. Purvis got her first out with a swinging strikeout and looked to be almost in the clear when she induced a fielder’s choice, but an error by the freshman second baseman Emma Tatum allowed all runners to advance and one to score. Then a quick single scored the Bears’ fourth run of the inning. Purvis recorded a second out via fielder’s choice, but junior designated player Savanna DesRochers was tasked with getting the last out of the first, which she did with Kansas’ second strikeout.
After getting behind early, the Jayhawks found no offensive luck for themselves in the bottom of the first, as they went in order.
A groundout from Central Arkansas started the second, but unable to hold it down, DesRochers gave up a single, walked a batter, and allowed a three-run home run to put the Jayhawks down seven runs and end her day in the circle. Sophomore right-hander Katie Brooks came in to finish the inning, and did so with ease, preventing any further damage.
Once again Kansas went in order with two batters striking out in the bottom of the second.
In the third, a single, hit-by-pitch, and fielder’s choice put two runners on with one out. Another fielder’s choice and single loaded the bases for the third time and a second error by Tatum allowed two unearned runs to score. Finally, Brooks forced a groundout to third to end the inning, with the Jayhawks facing a 9-0 deficit.
The Jayhawks recorded three straight groundouts and now had three innings without a batter reaching base.
The Bears tacked on another three runs in the top of the fourth via three singles, a wild pitch, and an RBI double.
Although they failed to score, the Jayhawks did get their first hit of the game thanks to a single freshman outfielder Presley Limbaugh, and a fielder’s choice that resulted in an error even advanced her to third. Then a double play in the next at-bat erased both runners and ended the inning.
A single and double in the fifth scored Central Arkansas’ final run, 13-0, before Brooks got out of the inning thanks to a groundout.
The Jayhawks went in order in the fifth, ending the game with only one hit as the mercy rule was called again after five innings of play.
Kansas will try to bounce back against South Dakota at 12 p .m. and 2:30 p.m. on March 12.
