Kansas City Softball Opens Season with Two Losses against Tough Competition

Friday, February 11

Tampa, FL

9:00 AM CST

Kansas City

Michigan

Kansas City Softball Opens Season with Two Losses against Tough Competition

2/11/2022 4:45:00 PM | Softball

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

Nichols and Fenoglio blast homeruns against South Florida

TAMPA, Fla. – Kansas City Softball opened their season in the USF Rawlings Invitational today with two losses against tough competition. KC dropped the first game against No. 16 Michigan in a 0-6 final decision. The power came out in game two as Sydney Nichols and Delainey Fenoglio both blasted homeruns but fell short of a comeback in the 4-10 final against South Florida.

GAME 1- INNING-BY-INNING

T1 / 0-2 | The Wolverines drove a two-run homerun to give Michigan the early lead.
B1 / 0-2 | Kloe Hilbrenner earned the first hit for the Roos in 2022. She started where she left off last season with two stolen bases but was left on third as KC remained scoreless.
T2 / 0-3 | An error on a sac bunt tacked on another run for Michigan.
B2 / 0-3 | Fenoglio hit a one-out single but was left where she landed on first base.
T3 / 0-4 | A couple of well-executed hits brought in another Wolverine runner in to score.
B3 / 0-4 | Kansas City's first three batters were retired in a row.
T4 / 0-4 | Jenna Milan took over on the mound for the Roos and escaped unscathed in her first collegiate inning pitched.
B4 / 0-4 | Alexis D'Ambrosio struck one well to right field, but couldn't get one to fall in.
T5 / 0-5 | A late inning rally put another one on the board for the opposition.
B5 / 0-5 | Fenoglio walked and reached base for the second time in a row. Katie Slauson came into pinch run and swiped second but wouldn't make it all the way around.
T6 / 0-6 | A walk led to a run to extend Michigan's lead.
B6 / 0-6 | Back-to-back hits by Lexy Smith and Ally Vonfeldt tried to spark the offense, but the Roos couldn't string anymore together.
T7 / 0-6 | Milan sat down the Wolverine batters in a row to finish her final frame.
B7 / 0-6 | Marina Karnes earned a leadoff walk but three strikeouts to follow would be end of the ball game for the Roos.

GAME 1- STATS TO NOTE

Four different Kansas City hitters earned hits against a tough Michigan pitching staff, including Hilbrenner, Fenoglio, Smith and Vonfeldt.
Fenoglio reached base twice, driving a single through the left-side gap and earning a walk the second time around.
Hilbrenner is already in a race to the top of the NCAA stolen base charts again this year, earning two against the Wolverines.
Mia Hoveland started the game in the circle, going three innings and allowing three earned runs.
Freshman Milan earned her college debut in the first game of the season, pitching four innings, while only allowing two earned runs.
Neither Kansas City pitcher earned a strikeout in the game.

GAME 1- COACH SHAW, QUOTED

"We knew it was going to be tough going up against an All-American pitcher and a perennial deep tournament team. Unfortunately, a lot of balls off the tips of our gloves and a few throwing errors helped dig a hole that we weren't good enough to dig ourselves out of today."
"Jenna was pretty decent in her freshman debut against very talented Michigan hitters. All in all, we hope to learn from it and improve so we are more prepared for big moments against great teams."

GAME 2- INNING-BY-INNING

T1 / 0-0 | Back-to-back walks and a sac bunt by Smith got the Roos in position for success, but KC left the bases loaded.
B1 / 0-4 | South Florida batted through their lineup in the first, earning five hits and four runs for the Bulls.
T2 / 3-4 | Nichols blasted a three-run homerun over the left field fence for her first hit in a Kansas City uniform.

Top 2 | A big KC welcome to Sydney Nichols?? First hit as a Roo is a casual ??????????- ?????? ????????????????????

KC 3
USF 4#ROOUP | @SydNichols5 pic.twitter.com/H1lxH96BuK
— Kansas City Softball (@kcroossb) February 11, 2022

B2 / 3-7 | A triple to the warning track by USF's Pierro extended their lead back to four.
T3 / 3-7 | Three up, three down for the Roos in the top of the third.
B3 / 3-8 | Casey Stout took over in the circle and allowed one more to cross on an unearned run.
T4 / 3-8 | The Roos were retired in a row by the Bulls' relief pitcher, Poepping, a graduate transfer from East Carolina.
B4 / 3-8 | Stout earned KC's first two strikeouts of the day to shutout USF in the fourth.
T5 / 3-8 | Nichols took a free base to lead off the inning. Hilbrenner then reached on a fielder's choice before moving into scoring position on a signature steal but was left stranded.

??5 | Hilbrenner already has 3? stolen bases on the season??#KCRoos | @HilbrennerKloe pic.twitter.com/dcbakovKaF
— Kansas City Softball (@kcroossb) February 11, 2022

B5 / 3-8 | No runners reached base in the fifth frame for South Florida.
T6 / 4-8 | A solo shot over the fence by Fenoglio brought KC one run closer.

??6? | ?????????????? @Deefenoglio

Watch yourself in the outfield when Dee is up ?? pic.twitter.com/S99ulz4SLc
— Kansas City Softball (@kcroossb) February 11, 2022

B6 / 4-10 | A miscue by the Roos brought in two more for the Bulls.
T7 / 4-10 | South Florida's ace entered the game to close out the final frame, striking out the top of KC's lineup.

GAME 2- STATS TO NOTE

Nichols and Fenoglio were the only KC players to record a hit in game two.
Nichols' three-run homeruns was her first hit as a Roo and also her first career homerun after transferring from Wichita State this season.
The power of Fenoglio struck again with her ninth career homerun as she finished the first day of her senior season .500 at the plate.
Camryn Stickel started the game and gave up seven runs on eight hits.
Stout came in for relief and pitched four innings, recording two strikeouts, while giving up four hits and three runs.

GAME 2- COACH SHAW, QUOTED

"We have a lot of girls playing out of position right now so our defensive confidence isn't very high. Hopefully we can work through some adversity and some tough breaks."
"We have to swing at pitches that are there to hit early in counts instead of taking them and putting ourselves in a deficit."

UP NEXT
Kansas City will play two more tomorrow in the USF Invitational, waking up early for a 9:30 a.m. first pitch against No. 6 Florida, followed by a 5 p.m. matchup with Illinois State.