Saturday, March 13
Oklahoma City, OK
1:30 PM
Kansas City
11-4
4
vs
5
Liberty University
17-7
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Kansas City
1
0
2
0
0
0
1
4
8
1
Liberty
1
1
0
0
0
1
2
5
8
2
Photo by: Ellman Photography
Kansas City Drops Heartbreaker to [RV] Liberty University
3/13/2021 4:25:00 PM | Softball
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Kansas City (11-4) had the lead on [RV] Liberty University (17-7) going into the bottom of the seventh inning, but a two-run walk-off homerun would ultimately give the Flames the 5-4 win. The game came down to timely hitting and the eight runners left on base by Kansas City.
"We continue to let opportunities with runners in scoring position slip away and this time it came back to bite us," Head Coach Kerry Shaw said.
Kansas City got on the board first once again in the Hall of Fame Tournament. Katherine Karnatz drew a walk to leadoff the game and advanced on an infield single by Alexis D'Ambrosio. Lia Lombardini seized the opportunity and drove a double to the fence that scored Karnatz. The Roos were shutdown from a big first inning and left two in scoring position.
"Lia was the only hitter really locked in the entire game," Shaw said. "She has all four of our RBIs."
The one-run lead would be equalized by Liberty in the bottom of the inning after a leadoff double crossed the plate for the Flames. Liberty grabbed the lead in the bottom of the second on a sacrifice fly, but Kansas City's Lombardini drove another double to left centerfield that scored Karnatz and Kloe Hilbrenner. Those runs gave the Roos the lead until the bottom of the sixth inning when Liberty squeezed a runner across home plate to tie the game going into the final inning.
The Roos were selective in the top of the seventh. Solid at-bats for Kansas City drew three walks and a free run to give the Roos a one-run lead. A pitching change for the Flames shut down Kansas City's offense and left the bases loaded. Kansas City had a chance to extend their lead in the fifth, sixth, and seventh inning but couldn't get the hit they needed.
"We did not play well in any phase of the game and Liberty took advantage of every mistake we made," Shaw said.
Despite the loss, Kansas City held with a nationally recognized team that is receiving votes to be in the top 25 of NCAA Division I teams. The Flames' six out of seven losses are to teams ranked in the top 10 nationally. The Roos will face tough competition again next weekend as they head to the Oklahoma State Invite. That tournament will feature #7 Oklahoma State, [RV] Wichita State, and UTSA. Kansas City will open the tournament against Wichita State on Friday March 19 at 1:30 p.m.
"We continue to let opportunities with runners in scoring position slip away and this time it came back to bite us," Head Coach Kerry Shaw said.
Kansas City got on the board first once again in the Hall of Fame Tournament. Katherine Karnatz drew a walk to leadoff the game and advanced on an infield single by Alexis D'Ambrosio. Lia Lombardini seized the opportunity and drove a double to the fence that scored Karnatz. The Roos were shutdown from a big first inning and left two in scoring position.
"Lia was the only hitter really locked in the entire game," Shaw said. "She has all four of our RBIs."
The one-run lead would be equalized by Liberty in the bottom of the inning after a leadoff double crossed the plate for the Flames. Liberty grabbed the lead in the bottom of the second on a sacrifice fly, but Kansas City's Lombardini drove another double to left centerfield that scored Karnatz and Kloe Hilbrenner. Those runs gave the Roos the lead until the bottom of the sixth inning when Liberty squeezed a runner across home plate to tie the game going into the final inning.
The Roos were selective in the top of the seventh. Solid at-bats for Kansas City drew three walks and a free run to give the Roos a one-run lead. A pitching change for the Flames shut down Kansas City's offense and left the bases loaded. Kansas City had a chance to extend their lead in the fifth, sixth, and seventh inning but couldn't get the hit they needed.
"We did not play well in any phase of the game and Liberty took advantage of every mistake we made," Shaw said.
Despite the loss, Kansas City held with a nationally recognized team that is receiving votes to be in the top 25 of NCAA Division I teams. The Flames' six out of seven losses are to teams ranked in the top 10 nationally. The Roos will face tough competition again next weekend as they head to the Oklahoma State Invite. That tournament will feature #7 Oklahoma State, [RV] Wichita State, and UTSA. Kansas City will open the tournament against Wichita State on Friday March 19 at 1:30 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: JONES, Naomi (3-0)
L: Hoveland, Mia (5-4)
Batting:
2B: Lombardini, Lia 2 ; Fenoglio, Delainey 1
RBI: Lombardini, Lia 4
Base Running:
RUNS: Karnatz, Katherine 2 ; Hilbrenner, Kloe 1 ; Klover, Maggie 1
SB: Hilbrenner, Kloe 1
Batting:
2B: BISHOP, Autumn 1 ; CANETTO, Kara 1 ; SWEAT, Emily 1
HR: GIBSON, Blake 1
RBI: BISHOP, Autumn 1 ; BISHOP, Amber 1 ; GIBSON, Blake 2 ; CHANNELL, Savannah 1
SF: BISHOP, Autumn 1
Base Running:
RUNS: BISHOP, Autumn 1 ; HODUM, Megan 1 ; GIBSON, Blake 1 ; SWEAT, Emily 1 ; WILSON, Mary Claire 1
HBP: CHANNELL, Savannah 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
4
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
C
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INF
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