Roos Split on First Day of Maverick Classic

Friday, February 14

Arlington, Texas

11:30 AM

Kansas City

0-1

Kent State University

4-1

Kent State

Kansas City

Photo by: Ellman Photography

Roos Split on First Day of Maverick Classic

2/14/2020 5:19:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Stats vs SFA Stats vs KSU

Garcia's Walkoff Double Pushes KC over SFA

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Kansas City Softball (1-1) split on day one of the Maverick Classic, falling to Kent St. and bouncing back to defeat Stephen F Austin. It was a tough first two games in terms of difficulty. Kent St. was picked second in the Mid-American Conference preseason poll, while SF Austin was named the preseason favorite in the Southland Conference. However, the Roos battled behind new head coach Kerry Shaw, who picked up his first win with KC.

Game No. Two vs. Stephen F Austin Recap

Two outs, runner on first, bottom of the seventh inning in a 3-3 tie game. The Roos were on the verge of going to extras with the Ladyjacks. However, stepping into the box was Sydney Garcia, one of the top hitters in the Western Athletic Conference last season. Garcia found one she liked and turned on the ball, sending a shot to left center. Freshman Maggie Klover came barreling around the bases, safe at home for the game winning run. The Roos took down SF Austin in their first ever matchup by a score of 4-3. The Ladyjacks came into this game undefeated (4-0), picking up their first loss at the hands of Roos. Sophomore Kailyn Packard found revenge and picked up the win (1-1).

"This game brought a much better start for our pitchers," said head coach Kerry Shaw. "The pitchers had good command and pitched well to contact, letting the defense work behind them."

It was a defensive battle between the Roos and the Ladyjacks, with both pitchers dueling early. Sophomore Mia Hoveland earned the start for Kansas City, going five innings. Hoveland allowed just two runs on six hits and had two strikeouts. Most importantly, she had no walks. The Roos pitching staff struggled in game one finding the strike zone, but bounced back in this one.

Kansas City struck first in the bottom of the first, courtesy of a Chyanne Onstad home run. Last season, Onstad finished tied for first with Garcia in home runs (6) on the team. This season, it look her little time to find the other side of the fence.

From there on out it was a back and forth game, trading run for run. The Ladyjacks put their first run on the board with a home run in the fourth inning. In the bottom half, freshman Abby Sciara picked up her first collegiate hit as a Roo, and it was timely. With the bases loaded, Sciara singled, plating Onstad for the 2-1 lead.

"The key to the game was answering in 3 consecutive innings after they scored," said Shaw.

Abby Sciara's first collegiate hit comes at a good time for the Roos. An RBI single puts Kansas City up 2-1 in the bottom of the fourth ??#ROOUP | #KCRoos | #DeclareKC | #KCcommitted pic.twitter.com/EBNSdjoh2Y
— Kansas City Softball (@kcroossb) February 14, 2020

From the fifth inning on, it turned into the Sydney Garcia show. She homered in the bottom of the fifth, giving the Roos a 3-2 lead. After SFA tied it up in the top of the seventh off of an error, Garcia took over again with the RBI double walk-off style.

"Sydney did a fabulous job of hitting a change-up even when off-balance," said Shaw "She was able to find a way to get enough of the ball to win it for us.

FINAL | ?? ?????????????? ?? Sydney Garcia with an RBI double, plating Klover for the win over SF Austin ?? #ROOUP | #KCRoos | #DeclareKC | #KCcommitted pic.twitter.com/qJSnJeMhj9
— Kansas City Softball (@kcroossb) February 14, 2020

Game No. One vs. Kent St. Recap

Kansas City entered it's first game against Kent State without any nerves. With a new coaching staff under the direction of Kerry Shaw, the Roos dominated the first couple innings. Kent St. committed three errors in the first, allowing four runs to score. Catherine Friloux picked up the lone RBI in the inning off a SAC bunt to give the Roos a quick 5-0 lead. Packard held the Golden Flashes scoreless in the first two innings.

However the second go-round through the order, the Golden Flashes picked up the ball a lot better. They plated six runs in the third inning. The lead proved too much for the Roos, who were held scoreless in the final five innings. Kent St. went on to win in six innings 13-5. Faith Willis, Sydney Garcia, Breanna Hunter, and Alexis D'Ambrosio picked up a hit each in the game.

"We started off great, obviously taking advantage of their miscues," said head coach Kerry Shaw. "But after that first inning we didn't do anything well. Pitchers gave up too many free passes, hitters didn't make adjustment, and defensive errors started to add up."

Kansas City falls to 0-3 all time against Kent St. in its history.

Next Up
Continuing on to day two of the Maverick Classic tomorrow, Kansas City will meet up with Texas Southern at 11:30 a.m. CT. They will then face the hosts, UT-Arlington at 7 p.m. CT. This game will be streamed live HERE.