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Kansas City
Minnesota
?Roos Out-Hit No.17 Gophers, But Fall 2-1
3/20/2016 2:29:00 PM | Softball
Box Score
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The UMKC softball team hung tough with Minnesota, who is ranked No. 17 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball national poll, out-hitting the Golden Gophers 6-4, in large-part to multi-hit performances from sophomore Kendra Leach and redshirt-freshman Rachel Pate, but the 'Roos ultimately fell, 2-1, in Lawrence, Kansas.
The 'Roos (8-14) left two runners stranded in scoring position in the top of the first inning, after Leach (2-for-3) worked a two-out walk, and freshman Bri Sims (1-for-4) followed with a single through the left side of the infield. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch, but freshman Morgan Byrn (0-for-2) was unable to move them any further, as she went down swinging to end the threat.
The Gophers (19-9) jumped on top early, hitting a leadoff home run off sophomore pitcher Amber Grove (5-6) in the first, and adding another run in the second, putting the 'Roos in a 2-0 hole.
UMKC bounced back with an RBI-double from Pate (2-for-4) to score senior Brooke Parker (0-for-2) who reached base on a hit-by-pitch. The bean-ball extended Parker's reached-base safely streak to nine games, tallying a hit in the previous-eight games.
Head coach Meredith Smith Neal brought senior Katie Kelley in to relieve Grove of her duties in the circle in the bottom of the third, and allowed just two hits through four innings, while striking out three Gopher batters.
The 'Roos left a runner hanging at second base in the top of the fourth, one stranded at third in the fifth, runners at second and third in the sixth, and another at first in the sixth, to ultimately fall to the nationally-ranked Gophers, 2-1.
The 'Roos visits another nationally-ranked opponent next weekend, as they head to the Sooner State to face perennial powerhouse Oklahoma for a two-game set. The first will take place Friday, March 25 at 6 p.m. in Norman, Oklahoma, and the weekend will wrap when the two teams square-off at the ASA Hall of Fame Complex in Oklahoma City at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 26.
