?Roos Look to Shake Off Rust in Texas Tech?s Jeannie McHaney Memorial Classic
3/7/2013 11:21:00 AM | Softball
(Kansas City, Mo.) - After not participating in last week's Missouri Coaches and Cancer Tournament in Cape Girardeau, Mo. due to inclement weather, the Kansas City softball team (7-7) will head south for Texas Tech's Jeannie McHaney Memorial Classic, in what will be its final tournament of the season. Currently, the Kangaroos are riding a four-game winning streak.
Beginning Friday, the Blue & Gold will face the Red Raiders (13-7) at 1 p.m., in what will be the first of three matchups throughout the weekend. On Saturday, meanwhile, Kansas City will take on Troy (10-10) at 11 a.m., followed by a contest against Texas Tech (4 p.m.). To conclude the weekend, the 'Roos will square off on Sunday against the Red Raiders (12 p.m.) and UT-Arlington (8-7) at 3 p.m.
The Opponents
» Texas Tech Red Raiders (13-7, 0-0 Big 12)
Texas Tech enters the weekend hosting their second tournament in back-to-back weeks. Last weekend, the Red Raiders went 3-2 in the Texas Tech Invitational with wins over Jackson State, McNeese State and Northern Colorado, while falling to Jackson State and McNeese State as well.
Offensively, nine Texas Tech players are hitting at least .300 so far in 2013, led by outfielder Katelyn Williams batting .415 with 22 hits, three doubles, four home runs and 14 RBI in 19 games (16 starts). Behind her, starting in each game this season, outfielder Mikey Kenney holds a .414 batting average with a team-high 21 hits and 24 runs scored to go along with four doubles, four home runs, 13 walks and 12 RBI. Meanwhile, despite being fourth on the team in batting (.359), catcher/infielder Adriana Perez leads Texas Tech with 10 home runs and 29 RBI while maintaining a .844 slugging percentage.
In the circle, sophomore Cara Custer (6-2) holds a team-best 2.30 ERA to go along with a team-high 43 strikeouts and one shutout, whereas junior Brittany Talley sits at 4-3 with a 3.15 ERA and 38 strikeouts.
» The Head Coach: In his fourth season at the helm, Shannon Hays has led the Red Raiders to back-to-back 40-win seasons. With his record at 134-58, he is five wins shy of becoming the program's all-time winningest head coach.
» The Series: The Kangaroos are 1-6 all-time against Texas Tech. Earlier in the season, the two squads met twice in Troy Cox Classic in Las Cruces, N.M. with the Red Raiders winning both games (14-2 and 11-3) in five innings. The lone win for Kansas City came in 2000 in the Texas A&M Corpus Christi Tournament, 3-2.
» Troy Trojans (10-10, 0-0 Sun Belt)
Coming off a split with Middle Tennessee in a Wednesday doubleheader, the Trojans are now 3-2 in their last five games.
Throughout the season, infielder Caitlin Ortiz leads Troy in batting (.429) and slugging (.561) to go along with 18 hits, six doubles, two home runs and 14 RBI. Meanwhile, infielder Chandler Griffin is batting .338 with a team-high 22 hits with 11 RBI, six doubles and one homerun, whereas catcher Hannah Renn leads the squad in RBI (18) and home runs (5) while batting .323.
In the bullpen, three pitchers have seen significant this season with freshman Rachel Rigney (5-4) holding the best record while posting a 4.02 ERA and tallying a team-high 32 strikeouts in 13 appearances (nine starts). Despite holding a team-best 3.71 ERA, sophomore Sarah Thomas (0-3) is winless in nine appearances (three starts), while sophomore Jaycee Affeldt is 4-1 on the year with a 4.48 ERA and 14 strikeouts in eight appearances (four starts).
» The Head Coach: With over 800 career wins, including 31 victories or more in 18 seasons at Troy, Melanie Davis is in her 20th season with the Trojans. Last season, she led Troy to a 31-24 overall record with wins over ranked opponents Auburn, Florida State and Louisiana-Lafayette.
» The Series: Kansas City is 0-1 all-time against the Trojans. In their lone meeting, Troy picked up a 7-5 win in the Georgia State Tournament in 2001.
» UT-Arlington Mavericks (8-7, 0-0 Western Athletic Conference)
The Mavs head into the Jeannie McHaney Memorial Classic coming off a 2-3 finish in their tournament last weekend with victories over Lamar and Creighton, while suffering two losses to Tulsa and dropping one to Creighton.
Leading the way at the plate, infielder Meagan Michelle leads UTA in batting (.385), runs (7), hits (15), home runs (2), RBI (6) and slugging (.564).
Pitching wise, junior Teri Lyles (7-2) currently holds a 1.78 ERA with 41 strikeouts in nine appearances (eight starts).
» The Head Coach: Kristie Fox is in her first season with the Mavs. Before accepting the position, Fox was an assistant coach for three seasons at Texas Tech. As a player, Fox starred at Arizona on her way to earning All-American honors and helping the Wildcats to two national championship titles.
» The Series: The Blue & Gold are 0-4 all-time against the Mavs. The two squads last met in 2009 with Kansas City falling 2-1 in game two of the UT-Arlington Tournament.
Last Time Out...
The Blue & Gold went 4-1 in the Blues City Classic (Feb. 22 - 24), hosted by the Memphis Tigers.
In its first game, Kansas City fell 4-2 to the SIU-Edwardsville Cougars, despite pitcher Cinda Ramos (2-3) allowing six hits and three earned runs to go along with three walks surrendered and tallying one strikeout.
The following day, in the first game of a doubleheader, the Kangaroos bounced back by holding off a seventh inning rally by Indiana State to come away with a 5-3 win. Offensively, Kansas City managed 12 hits, led by infielder Liz Broyles going 4-for-4 at the plate. Also, outfielder Emily Ott went 2-for-4 with three RBI, while outfielder Kelsey Dean chipped in with a 2-for-3 performance to go along with an RBI and a stolen base. In the circle, senior Deanna Friese (4-3) struck out 11 batters, allowed seven hits and surrendered three walks.
Later in the day, the Kangaroos erased a 2-0 deficit to take down Belmont, 4-3. At the plate, despite Belmont out-hitting the Kangaroos, 6-5, Broyles went 1-for-1 with two RBI and a walk, while infielder Marlee Maples went 1-for-2 with a walk and two stolen bases. In addition, Jenna Rangel, Dean and Brooke Parker all tallied a run and a hit each. Pitching wise, Ramos finished the game allowing six hits while tallying two strikeouts and walked two to pick up her first win of the season.
To wrap up the Blues City Classic, Kansas City tied a season-high in runs and connected on a season-high 17 hits, with five players accumulating at least two hits in a 16-3 win over Nicholls State in five innings. Leading the offensive charge, infielder Jenna Rangel and Broyles both nearly hit for the cycle by going 3-for-4 with Rangel driving in three runs and scoring twice while Broyles tallied two RBI and scored once. Also, infielder Chelsea Hartwig went 3-for-4 with two RBI, a run scored and a stolen base, whereas Ott and infielder Katie Kelley both went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Ott also scored twice while Kelley scored once.
Against Detroit, later in the day, the Kangaroos won 6-1. At the plate, Ott, Kelley and catcher Caitlin Christopher each went 2-for-3, as Ott drove in three RBI. In the circle, along with allowing one earned run, Ramos' outing included two strikeouts and no walks.
Ott, Kelly and Broyles Earn Blues City Classic All-Tournament Team Honors; Broyles Named Summit League Player of the Week
With their stellar performances in the Blues City Classic, senior Emily Ott, along with freshmen Katie Kelley and Liz Broyles, garnered All-Tournament Team honors.
For Ott, she earned Second Team honors as she batted .400 with six hits, seven RBI and two runs scored, while Kelley managed a .438 batting average with seven, three RBI, three doubles, two runs, a walk and a home run to be named to the First Team.
In the case of Broyles, she received First Team recognition as she batted .667 with 10 hits, five RBI, two doubles and two triples, to go along with a .611 on-base percentage and 1.067 slugging percentage. With these efforts, the Blanchard, Okla. native, earned Summit League Player of the Week honors as well.
Watch Out, Freshmen Coming Through
Through 14 games, three freshmen are leading the Kangaroos in batting average.
At the top of the list, starting in every game at shortstop, Liz Broyles is batting .500 with a team-high 20 hits to go along with nine runs, two doubles, two triples, seven RBI and a home run. Additionally, she holds Kansas City's highest on-base percentage at .532.
Behind Broyles, in 13 starts this season, Katie Kelley is batting .462 with 18 hits and leading the Kangaroos in home runs (3). As a pitcher, she is 1-1 on the season, picking up her lone win against North Carolina Central on Feb. 9.
Meanwhile, Jenna Rangel currently holds a .375 batting average in 11 starts at second with 12 hits, three doubles, a triple, eight RBI and 10 runs scored.
All-Around Maples
Starting every game at third, sophomore Marlee Maples is batting .302, which is good for seventh on the squad. So far this season, the Spring, Texas native, leads Kansas City in RBI (17), runs (14) and is tied with Emily Ott for the team's leader in doubles (5). Additionally, Maples is tied with outfielder Bri Wyatt for the Kansas City's leader in stolen bases as she's a perfect 6-for-6 on the season.
Friese, Ramos Bounce Back
After rough outings in the Troy Cox Classic earlier in the season, pitchers Deanna Friese and Cinda Ramos returned to form with their performances in the Blues City Classic.
In two starts, including 12 innings of work, Friese went 2-0 while allowing 12 hits, four earned runs, walking six batters and striking out 18 batters. Despite allowing seven hits, her best game came against Indiana State when she struck out 11 batters for the second time this season.
As for Ramos, she went 2-1 in three starts while allowing seven earned runs, walking five batters and totaling five strikeouts. Her best game came against Detroit as she allowed one earned run, struck out two batters and surrendered no walks.
Through 14 Games in 2012...
The Kangaroos were 9-5 coming off a 6-0 loss to the Missouri Tigers in the final game of the Missouri Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament, snapping a seven-game winning streak for Kansas City.
Next Up for the Kangaroos...
Will be a doubleheader on Wednesday, March 13 at Wichita State (5 p.m. and 7 p.m.). The two squads split a doubleheader last season with Kansas City taking game one, 4-1, and the Shockers winning game two in eight innings, 3-2.
