Kansas City
Centenary
UMKC Takes First Two From Centenary To Open Series
4/9/2011 7:03:00 PM | Softball
Shreveport, La. -- The UMKC softball team (22-12, 9-5) notched a pair of Summit League wins against Centenary (4-24, 2-12) on Saturday at the CC Softball Complex. The 'Roos opened the day with an 8-2 win over the Ladies before taking game two, 6-2.
Deanna Friese (16-6) was the hero of game one, as the sophomore finished one strikeout shy of her career-high with 15 punch-outs, while retiring the first 15 batters she faced. In all, the Kennesaw, Ga., native threw her 17th complete game of the year, allowing two runs on two hits.
In the game, the 'Roos opened with three runs in the top of the first off Centenary starter Lauren Highsmith. Junior Kelly Fischer got the inning started with a single and quickly stole second before a double by fellow junior Anna Sokolik plated the UMKC second baseman. The 'Roos clean-up batter, sophomore Emily Ott, then reached on a Centenary error, with Sokolik coming around to score on the play. Third baseman Megan Ussary then singled in Ott to put the 'Roos ahead 3-0 after one.
In the second inning, junior Ashley Whiteside led off the inning with a walk and stole second before advancing to third on a wild pitch. Two batters later, Fischer walked to put runners at the corners for the Kangaroos. The baserunning duo then executed a double steal as Fischer took second and Whiteside crossed the plate to put UMKC on top 4-0.
The 'Roos extended the lead to 5-0 in the sixth when junior Kaelene Curry singled in Amanda Kinn from third after the senior was hit by a pitch earlier in the inning.
Friese, meanwhile, took a perfect game into the sixth when a lead-off home run by the Ladies' Leah Dark ended the shutout. Centenary then tacked on another run in the inning to cut the UMKC lead to three heading into the final stanza.
The 'Roos though, would put the game away with a three-run seventh. Sokolik led-off the inning with a walk and advanced to second on Ussary's single. UMKC then executed another successful double steal with Sokolik scoring and Ussary advancing to third on a Centenary error. Freshman Katie Henning followed with a sacrifice fly to drive in Ussary. The 'Roos registered their final run when Whiteside singled in Danielle Bennefeld, who was pinch running for Megan Vicino.
Friese then wrapped-up the game in the bottom half of the frame with a perfect 1-2-3, three-strikeout inning.
In the second game, Centenary jumped ahead early with a first inning run, but the lead was short-lived after a five-run second inning by UMKC. Ott led-off the inning with a double and came around to score three batters later on Bennefeld's two-out single to left. After a walk to Vicino, an error by the Ladies' shortstop allowed Bennefeld to score and gave UMKC the 2-1 lead. A walk to Curry loaded the bases and a walk to Fischer forced in Vicino for the squad's third run of the inning. Sokolik then finished off the inning with a single to center that knocked in Whiteside and Curry and put the 'Roos up 5-1 after two innings of play.
The score would remain 5-1 until each team added a run in the seventh. The 'Roos scored their run on a Lauren Rodrigues single to short knocked in Ott, who had walked earlier in the inning.
Sokolik, the UMKC starter, would walk in a run in the bottom half of the inning, but held on to pick up her second win of the season. In the game, the Bettendorf, Iowa, native tossed a complete game, seven hitter, allowing two runs, while striking out five.
On the day, Sokolik led the UMKC offense with three hits and three RBIs, while scoring twice. Ussary also notched three hits for UMKC, while collecting an RBI, scoring a run and stealing two bases. In all, the 'Roos were 10-of-11 on stolen base attempts, led by Whiteside's 3-for-3 effort. Curry, meanwhile, extended her hit streak to 19 games.
The two squads will conclude the three game series tomorrow with a 10 a.m. scheduled first pitch.
