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Kansas City
Tulsa
Kelley, ?Roos Shut Out Billikens to Earn Saturday Split
3/19/2016 10:02:00 PM | Softball
Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The UMKC softball team rallied behind stellar performances, both in the circle and at the plate, from senior Katie Kelley to shut out the Saint Louis University Billikens, 5-0, in the Rock Chalk Invitational, earning a split on the day, after falling earlier to Tulsa, 10-0, in Lawrence, Kansas.
Things were slow-going in the early innings of UMKC's (8-13) victory over Saint Louis in the late game, as there were just four hits between both teams through the first-three frames. Luckily for the 'Roos, however, three of the four belonged to them, and it gave the team the momentum it needed after the loss earlier in the day.
Kelley (2-7) started the game in the circle for the 'Roos, and sat the Billikens down 1-2-3 in the first, before leading-off the bottom of the inning with a single to right field.
Freshman Bri Sims (0-for-2) walked with two outs, but both she and Kelley (2-for-4) were left stranded in the inning, as freshman Morgan Byrn (2-for-2) grounded out to the pitched to end the inning.
SLU notched a one-out double in the second inning, but Kelley buckled down and struck out the next two batters to stop the threat.
The next six batters, three for the 'Roos and three for SLU, were sat down in order, bring the UMKC bats to the plate in the bottom of the third.
Senior Brooke Parker (3-for-3) led off with a single to second, but left first early attempting to steal with Kelley at the dish, who would then fly out to right field.
Sophomore Kendra Leach (3-for-4), who had her seven-game hitting streak snapped earlier in the day against Tulsa, started a new streak with a two-out single up the middle. Again, a UMKC runner was left stranded, as redshirt-freshman Rachel Pate grounded out to end the third.
Big defensive plays can often times lead to a fire being lit on the offensive side of the dish, and that is just what happened after the 'Roos turned a big double play in the top of the fourth inning.
A one-out walk from Byrn, an SLU error to put junior Alex Gale (0-for-3) on, and a five-pitch walk by junior Abby Warkentine (0-for-2) loaded the bases for UMKC.
Freshman Maegan Rollow (0-for-2) fouled out, but senior leadership prevailed, as Parker ripped an infield single to score the first Kangaroo run of the day.
Bags still packed, Kelley followed her fellow senior captain up with a singled of her own, this one a two-RBI single to left field.
Leach kept the rally going, scorched a single up the middle that brought in Parker and gave the 'Roos a 4-0 lead, before the fire was finally put out.
Kelley cooled down on the mound a bit in the fifth, and walked two and allowed a single, but a fielder's choice and a foul out ultimately left three Billiken runners thinking about what could have been, as they were sent to the dugout scoreless.
Leach tallied another RBI single for good measure in the sixth, giving the 'Roos a 5-0 lead, the eventual final, but not before Kelley went ahead and sat down the Billikens in order in the seventh, including her seventh strikeout, to end the game.
The 'Roos suffered their fourth shutout loss of the season in the earlier game of the day, falling to Tulsa (20-5), 10-0 in five innings.
Sophomore Amber Grove (5-5) got the start against the Golden Hurricane, but struggled in the circle, allowing eight runs, six earned, over three innings of work, before head coach Meredith Smith Neal elected to send senior Kenzie Flaws out for the first time in 2016. Flaws allowed two earned in the inning and gave Tulsa their eventual winning margin of 10 runs.
The UMKC bats struggled in the game, with only three 'Roos tallying hits. Kelley (1-for-1) tallied a one-out single in the first inning, but was left stranded after a strikeout looking and a foul-out ended the top half of the opening frame.
Senior Brooke Parker notched a two out single in the third and stole second base, to give the 'Roos their first baserunner in scoring position. Kelley walked to put two ducks on the pond, but Parker was caught trying to steal third and it ended the UMKC threat.
Sims doubled down the left field line in the fourth, and fellow rookie Morgan Byrn followed up with a walk to give UMKC another chance, but a groundout ended the at-bat and the action on the base paths for the 'Roos in the game, as all-three batters struck out in the fifth inning.
UMKC is back at it on Sunday, March 20, to close out the Rock Chalk Invitational against Minnesota. First pitch is scheduled for 10 a.m. at Arrocha Ballpark in Lawrence, Kansas.
