Kansas City Softball Gives Strong Performance in Opening Day of Hall of Fame Tournament

Friday, March 12

Oklahoma City

9:30 AM

Kansas City

11-2

University of Houston

7-11

Houston

Kansas City

Kansas City Softball Gives Strong Performance in Opening Day of Hall of Fame Tournament

3/12/2021 8:52:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Game 1- Final Box Game 2- Final Box

The Roos beat Houston and show fight against #1 Oklahoma

Kansas City Softball (11-3) entered The Hall of Fame Tournament with a mission to compete and the will to win. The Roos put the first game out of reach early against the University of Houston Cougars (7-11) and held on to a 9-3 victory. Kansas City also led the Oklahoma Sooners (20-0) through the first four innings but couldn't hang on to upset the number one team in the nation.

"Being able to compete against the #1 team in the country with TV coverage gives Kansas City softball some coverage and notoriety," Head Coach Kerry Shaw said.

Kansas City v. Houston [Final 9-3]
Kansas City came out swinging in the opener of the Hall of Fame Tournament. The Roos notched 13 hits in their game against the University of Houston Friday morning.

"We came out with an aggressive offensive mindset and we were able to string enough hits together to create a big first inning," Coach Shaw.said

The Roos built themselves a cushion in the first inning as they exploded for five runs, batting through the entire lineup in the frame. Katherine Karnatz and Kloe Hilbrenner connected on base hits to lead off the inning. Lia Lombardini continued her hot hitting with a double that got the Roos on the board. Ally Vonfeldt dropped one in to score Hilbrenner, followed by Delainey Fenoglio who found a hole in the outfield to bring in Lombardini. Ashley Thorne loaded the bases for Faith Willis who drove in two more for Kansas City to complete the big first inning.

The Cougars answered back in the top of the second with a two-run homerun. But Vonfeldt did one better and blasted a three-run homerun that scored Hilbrenner and Lombardini in the bottom of the second.

"Cam shook off a couple long balls and gave another incredibly solid performance," Shaw said. "Our defense dominated the routine plays like we preach."

Alexis D'Ambrosio scored Willis in the bottom of the third to extend the Roos' lead to 9-2. Houston plated one more on a solo homerun, but the Roos' pitching and defense held strong the remaining four innings to hold on for the 9-3 win. Kansas City's defense was flawless behind freshman pitcher Camryn Stickel who finished with three strikeouts, only giving up five hits, three runs, and no free bases in the game.

Kansas City v. #1 Oklahoma [Final 2-6]
The Roos faced the four-time National Champion, Oklahoma Sooners, and their ace pitcher Giselle Juarez in game two of the Hall of Fame Tournament. Juarez is a well-decorated pitcher, being named 2018 and 2019 First-Team All-America.

Kansas City jumped on the All-American pitcher in the second inning. Vonfeldt was the first Roo onboard with a double down the right field line. Then Fenoglio blasted a two-run homerun over the fence to give the Roos a lead.

"G Juarez really settled in after the rain delay and stymied us after Delainey's two-run homerun," Shaw said.

The first three innings were all Kansas City, but then a heavy rain brought a 30-minute rain delay that took away Kansas City's momentum. Kansas City held the Sooners scoreless through the first four innings before Oklahoma broke it open the bottom of the fifth.

"We couldn't keep their offense down," Shaw said. "Mia threw a great game for four innings, but their hitters adjusted to what we were trying to do."

Oklahoma entered the game leading the country in offense, hitting .479 as a team. Mia Hoveland held them through four innings. After a fifth inning run by Oklahoma, Kansas City brought in Hayley Patterson to close out the game. Patterson only allowed one run and three hits in the final two innings. Kansas City held the Sooner offense to only six runs and one homerun, when they average 12.3 runs and 3.5 homeruns per game.

"Although we couldn't hang on to win the game, I am proud of the way we stayed positive and kept competing to the end," Shaw said.