Softball Closes Season After First Round Loss in Summit League Championships

Thursday, May 12

Brookings, SD

12:00 PM

Kansas City

29-27

South Dakota

28-23

Kansas City

South Dakota

Softball Closes Season After First Round Loss in Summit League Championships

5/12/2022 2:53:00 PM | Softball

Box Score Final Box

Seniors combined for six hits and Hoveland threw seven strikeouts

BROOKINGS, S.D. – After five changes to the schedule due to the weather and field conditions at the 2022 #SummitSB Championship, Kansas City Softball (13-34, 9-11) dropped the single-elimination game to South Dakota (28-23, 11-10) to bring the 2022 season to a close. The Roos' bats started hot and seniors Alexis D'Ambrosio, Kloe Hilbrenner, Delainey Fenoglio and Ashley Thorne combined for six hits, two RBI and two runs scored early. Mia Hoveland also finished off her career with a solid performance in the circle, striking out seven Coyote batters with five of those looking.

KEY MOMENTS

T1 / 1-0 | Hilbrenner leadoff the game reaching base on an error, then D'Ambrosio singled through the infield and Fenoglio ripped one up the middle to score Hilbrenner and give the Roos the lead.
T2 / 3-0 | Thorne and Sydney Nichols hit back-to-back singles, then Katelyn Garcia hit a line drive up the middle to score Thorne. D'Ambrosio stayed hot and singled to bring in Nichols before Garcia was thrown out trying to take an extra base.
B4 / 3-1 | Mia Hoveland struck out three Coyotes' batters in the fourth, but South Dakota pushed one across.
B5/ 3-4 | Big hits by the Coyotes and miscues on defense by the Roos gave South Dakota the lead after a big fifth inning.
T7 / 3-4 | The Roos loaded the bases to try and tie it or take the lead but could not get the hit needed.

STATS TO NOTE

Four seniors combined for six of the Roos' nine hits in the game and two of KC's three RBI and runs scored.
Hoveland added seven strikeouts today to finish the season with 95 strikeouts, totaling 382 in her career to reach third on the program's all-time strikeout list.
D'Ambrosios' offense was at an all-time high in her final week at the plate. She finished the day 2-for-3, while hitting .643 in the last week of the season, adding nine RBI and five runs scored.
Hilbrenner finished the season hitting .369, recording the seventh best single season batting average in program history. She also finished her career with a .361 batting average, third best on the Roos' career batting average list and sits in second on the all-time stolen bases list with 75 in just two seasons.
Fenoglio ended her career with 14 home runs and Ally Vonfeldt totaled 17 after her junior season, good for fifth and seventh on the all-time career home runs list, respectively.

SEASON WRAP-UP
Kansas City finished the season with its strongest strength of schedule in program history, playing 40% of their schedule against top-60 opponents in the RPI. Head Coach Kerry Shaw finished his third season at the helm, reaching his 100^th career win on April 23 in the Roos' win over Western Illinois.