Kansas City Looks to Extend Winning Streak with a Doubleheader at KU
4/23/2013 3:20:00 PM | Softball
(Kansas City, Mo.) ? Coming off a doubleheader sweep on the road over league foe IUPUI this past Sunday, tying a season-long winning streak of four games, the Kansas City softball team (16-17, 5-3 SL) will head to nearby Lawrence, Kan. for a doubleheader (5 p.m. and 7 p.m.) Wednesday evening to face the Kansas Jayhawks (27-13, 4-5 Big 12). ??
Originally, the two squads were set to square off in a doubleheader Tuesday in Kansas City, Mo., but were washed away due to low temperatures and rain.
?The Opponent
? Kansas Jayhawks 27-13, (4-5 Big 12)?????? ?
Heading into Wednesday's doubleheader, the Jayhawks dropped two out of three in their series over the weekend at Oklahoma State.?
At the plate, the Jayhawks hold the nation's sixth best batting average (.346) with seven players seeing significant playing time hitting over .300.? Spearheading the Jayhawks' offensive attack is utility player Alex Hugo (.434), who leads the team in home runs (11) and total bases (99), while sitting in second in hits (56), runs (35) and tied for second in RBI (38) with outfielder Maggie Hull (.450).? In the case of Hull, she leads Kansas in hits (58), doubles (13) and sits second in walks (17), whereas pitcher/outfielder Alex Jones (.341) leads the Jayhawks in runs (38) and stolen bases (11).?
In the circle, Jones (7-2) holds a team-best 1.94 ERA with 51 strikeouts, while sophomore Alicia Pille sits at 11-6 on the season with a team-high 136 strikeouts to go along with a 2.67 ERA.? Rounding out KU's pitching staff is freshman Kelsey Kessler (7-5), who is second on the team in strikeouts (92) with an ERA of 2.32. ?????
? The Head Coach: In her fourth season at the helm, Megan Smith has recorded two 30-win campaigns, including last season's 31-20 overall finish.? Before coming to KU, Smith spent three seasons at LSU as an assistant coach.
? The Series: The Kangaroos are 1-28 all-time against the Jayhawks.? Last season, UMKC dropped both games in a doubleheader on the road, 3-1 and 3-2.? As for the Kangaroos' lone win of the series, it came by way of a 2-1 victory in 2011.?
Last Time Out...
The Kangaroos took both games in a crucial Summit League series doubleheader against the IUPUI Jaguars on the road, 5-4 and 4-3.
In game one, the Jags came close to erasing a 5-0 deficit by scoring four runs in the sixth inning.? However, the Kangaroos were able to hold off IUPUI, behind pitcher Deanna Friese (11-9) tallying 14 strikeouts to secure the victory.? Offensively, outfielder Brooke Parker went 2-for-4 with two runs and two stolen bases to lead UMKC, whereas infielder Liz Broyles (2) blasted a two-run home run and tallied a walk.
Meanwhile, the Kangaroos found themselves in game two down 3-2 in the seventh inning until infielder Katie Kelley (5) connected for a two-run homer to left to Kansas City on top for good.? In the circle, starter Cinda Ramos (4-7) recorded three strikeouts and allowed two earned runs in four innings of work, while Friese tallied three strikeouts in three innings to pick up the win in the relief appearance.???
Back on Track
After a season filled with ups and downs, the Kangaroos are currently on their third four-game winning streak of 2013.
During this current stretch, Kansas City is batting .324 with 34 hits, four home runs and 21 RBI, along with outscoring its opponents, 25-12.? Meanwhile, the Kangaroos' pitching staff holds a 2.42 in the process of allowing seven earned runs, 24 hits, 10 walks and recording 26 strikeouts.? In addition, opponents are only batting .235 at the plate.?
Friese Throwing Fire of Late
After picking up her first Summit League Pitcher of the Week award this season on April 8, senior Deanna Friese continued her dominance against IUPUI this past weekend.? Appearing in both games against the Jags, Friese went 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA while surrendering five hits, two earned runs and six walks, to go along with 17 K's.?
In her last seven appearances, including five starts, the Kennesaw, Ga. native, is 4-2 with a 1.13 ERA while allowing 20 hits, five earned runs and 18 walks in 39.2 innings of work.? Friese has also recorded 48 strikeouts and only allowed five extra base hits.?
For the season, Friese leads Kansas City's pitching staff in ERA (5.72), shutouts (3), saves (2) and strikeouts (152) in 122.2 innings of work, while sitting 28th in the nation for most strikeouts per game (8.67).
Ott Showing Her Worth
In her final go-around as a Kangaroo, senior Emily Ott is getting hot at the right time as UMKC is looking to make a push for the league tournament.
In league play (eight games) this season, Ott leads Kansas City in batting (.478), hits (11), doubles (3), slugging (.609) and on-base percentage (.556).?
For the year, she leads the squad in batting (.382), slugging (.551) and doubles (9), while tied for first in hits with freshman Liz Broyles (34).? Ott also sits second in RBI (19) and in a three-way tie for second in home runs (2) on the team.
Earlier in the season against Texas Tech on Feb. 16, Ott hit a solo home run to pass Amanda Rice (1999-02) to become the program's all-time leader in the RBI department with 98.? Currently, her career RBI total stands at 112.
Amongst the League Leaders
UMKC currently has six players in the top 10 in multiple statistical categories across The Summit League.
Offensively, Emily Ott is sixth in batting average (.382) and fourth in doubles (9) while Liz Broyles sits ninth in batting average (.362) and fifth in triples (2).? Meanwhile, Marlee Maples is sixth in RBI (28), whereas Brooke Parker sits sixth (13) and Bri Wyatt (9) is ninth in the stolen base department.
Pitching wise, Deanna Friese is third in strikeouts (152), second in strikeouts per game (8.67), fifth in wins (11), second in saves (2) and sixth in innings pitched (122.2).
Where They Stand in the RPI
Monday, the NCAA released its fifth RPI rankings of the season as the Kangaroos held down the 152nd spot.? After finishing the 2011 with their highest ranking in team history at 117th, the Kangaroos finished last season ranked 150th.
Moving Up the Career List
Five players moved up in the UMKC record books after its doubleheader sweep over IUPUI this Sunday.
In single-season team history, Katie Kelley is now fourth in home runs (5) and Marlee Maples is sixth for most RBI (28).? In the circle, meanwhile, Deanna Friese is eighth in wins (11) and sixth in strikeouts (152). ?
Career wise, Emily Ott is now seventh in walks (42), while Chelsea Hartwig is now ninth in games played (180).
Through 33 Games in 2012...
The Kangaroos were 3-6 in Summit League play and 15-18 overall, coming off a 7-3 win at home over Missouri State.
Next Up for the Kangaroos...
Will be a league series on the road at South Dakota this weekend.? Currently, the ?Roos sit fourth in the league standings, whereas the Coyotes are right behind UMKC in the fifth spot.?????
