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Friday, February 11
Tampa, FL
9:00 AM CST
Kansas City
vs
Michigan
Kansas City Opens Season in Tampa, Fla.
2/10/2022 8:00:00 AM | Softball
Roos will face three ranked opponents
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas City Softball will open their season in Tampa, Fla. this Friday and will face four of the top teams in the country at the University of South Florida Invitational. Opening Day features reigning Big Ten Champions, No. 16 Michigan, followed by USF, a 2021 NCAA tournament team. On deck for day two is SEC powerhouse, No. 6 Florida, and rounding out the field is a matchup with Illinois State, the 2021 MVC Regular Season Champions. Before returning home, KC will close out the weekend with a second matchup against No. 16 Michigan on Sunday.
Kansas City Notes
Kansas City Notes
- In just his third season at the helm of Kansas City Softball, Head Coach Kerry Shaw has scheduled an opening weekend against four of the top programs in the country. The head coaches of Michigan, USF, Florida, and Illinois State have a combined 120 years of experience and over 4,000 wins at their respective institutions.
- A high-powered offensive Kansas City team will look to compete with the best in the nation in their opening weekend on the diamond. The Roos finished the 2021 season with a .274 team batting average and 38 homeruns, both second-most in The Summit League.
- KC returns seven starters from the 2021 season, only graduating the starting first baseman and left-fielder.
- The Roos received one NCAA transfer, middle-infielder Sydney Nichols from Wichita State.
- The 2022 freshmen class is comprised of four impact players. Sydney Reid and Lexy Smith will see time on the left side of the infield, while Audrey Danielson and Jenna Milan will make appearances in the pitching rotation.
- Kansas City will have a five-man pitching staff, starred by senior ace, Mia Hoveland, who led the Summit with 193 strikeouts in 190 innings pitched last season.Â
- The Roos return sophomore Camryn Stickel, who finished her freshman campaign with a 14-9 record on the mound. Stickel quickly made her way onto the record books, notching the fifth most wins in a single-season, in program history.Â
- KC received a sophomore transfer, Casey Stout, from North Central Missouri College who recorded a 25-3 record last season with 281 strikeouts, second-best in the NJCAA in 2021.Â
- Alexis D'Ambrosio calls the shots behind the plate and is the cornerstone of the pitching staff. She tallied 240 putouts last season with six of those being runners caught stealing.
- Offensive threats include Kloe Hilbrenner and Ally Vonfeldt. Hilbrenner led the Roos in batting average (.354), total hits (68), runs scored (41), and stolen bases (45) last season. Vonfeldt led in nearly every other category with a team-high slugging percentage (.580), RBIs (47), doubles (12), homeruns (13), and total bases.Â
- This will be the second matchup between the Roos and Wolverines. Kansas City fell 1-4 in their first meeting on Feb. 26, 2011, in Orlando, Fla.
- Michigan finished last season with a 38-8 record. They finished their season with a loss to No. 6 Washington in the Regional round of the NCAA tournament.
- Outfielder, Lexie Blair led their offense with an efficient .406 batting average, totaling 63 hits, 42 runs and 15 doubles.
- The Wolverines' pitching staff is led by the experienced leadership of Alex Storako and Meghan Beaubien. They both allowed just over one-run per game to their opponents last season and combined for 472 strikeouts.
- This will be the first meeting in program history between the Roos and the Bulls.
- South Florida finished 31-19 overall and earned an appearance in the NCAA tournament before losing to No. 4 in the Regional round.
- The Bulls lost their top-three offensive threats from last season. Junior returner, Alexis Johns, finished the season with a .254 batting average, 32 hits and runs scored, as well as 22 stolen bases.Â
- Georgina Corrick is the ace in the circle, finishing the 2021 season with a .98 ERA and 24-9 record.
- This will be the first meeting in program history between the Roos and the Gators.
- Florida ended the 2021 season with an NCAA Super Regional appearance where they fell to No. 8 Georgia, finishing the season with an overall record of 45-11.
- Charla Echols leads the offense for the Gators, racking up 15 homeruns and 11 doubles with a team-best .375 batting average in the 2021 season.
- Elizabeth Hightower and Natalie Lugo split time in the circle last season and will look to best their 17 wins each from last season.
- This will be the first meeting in program history between the Roos and the Redbirds.
- Illinois State finished the 2021 season with a 31-10 record and a Missouri Valley Conference Regular Season title before losing in their conference tournament.
- Kaili Chval will look to be at the top of the Redbirds' offensive charts, finishing last season with a .336 batting average, 39 hits, 22 runs and 17 RBIs.
- There will be a new pitching staff for the Redbirds this season after losing the two pitchers who earned the most production last season.
Players Mentioned
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UTIL
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C/UT
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