Kansas City Softball Falls to NDSU in Summit League Tournament

Wednesday, May 10

Brookings, SD

4:30 PM

Kansas City

9-43

North Dakota State

30-19

Kansas City

North Dakota State

Photo by: Dave Eggen, Inertia

Kansas City Softball Falls to NDSU in Summit League Tournament

5/11/2023 11:46:00 AM | Softball

Box Score

Five hits were not enough to give the Roos an edge over the Bison

BROOKINGS, S.D. – Kansas City (9 – 42, 4 – 17) fell to North Dakota State (29 – 19, 13 – 8) in a low-scoring contest, 0-3. The Roos and the Bison played over the span of two days due to weather, beginning the game Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. and resuming Thursday at 10:30 a.m. NDSU came out hot both days, scoring runs in the bottom of the first and when play resumed in the bottom of the fifth.

The game ultimately came down to a pitching duel between Kansas City's Katie Noble and NDSU's Paige Vargas, both of whom pitched the game in its entirety. The Roos earned five hits, compared to the Bisons's seven, and left six on base.

KEY MOMENTS

Bottom 1 / 0-1 | Kansas City had three quick outs in the top of the inning while the Bison came out hot, pushing a runner into scoring position early and earning one run.
Top 2 / 0-1 | Noble reached first on a fielder's choice and Kansas City's first hit of the day, a drive down the left side from Lexy Smith moved her into scoring position. With two outs already, the Bison earned their third to shut down the Roos' scoring drive.

?? 2 | Our first hit of the day from @Littl_Lex moves @KatieNoble99 into scoring position ??#ROOUP | @MidcoSports pic.twitter.com/QYFIwlFqgP
— Kansas City Softball (@kcroossb) May 10, 2023

Bottom 4 / 0-2 | Notching her second strikeout of the day was not enough for Noble and the Roos, with two outs another Bison player crossed home plate.
Top 5 / 0-3 | Following back-to-back lightning delays — one following the end of the fourth and the other midway through the bottom of the fifth — the game was postponed to the following day. The Bison started the day by bringing in their runner that was stranded on second during the weather delay.
Top 6 / 0-3 | Singles from Amelia Fitzgerald and Marina Karnes moved the Roos into scoring position but with two outs the Roos could not convert.
Bottom 6 / 0-3 | Kansas City came up with a clutch double play to close the inning. Following a short bunt from NDSU, Fitzgerald tagged the runner going home and caught the second runner in between third and home to earn their third out of the inning.

STATS TO NOTE

Smith earned a career high tying three hits, going 3-for-3 at the plate. The last time Smith earned three hits was on Feb. 18 against UT Martin which she earned in four at-bats.
The three runs between Kansas City and NDSU make this matchup one of KC's lowest-scoring games of the season. While the Roos earned five hits and the Bison earned seven, KC stranded seven on base compared to NDSU's eight.
From center field, Karnes led the team in putouts with five. She earned every out of the third inning for Kansas City making plays on a ball lined out and the two balls flied out to center field.
Pitching six innings today, Noble documented her 100 innings pitched this season. She earned two strikeouts in today's matchup, bringing her season total to 37.

SEASON REVIEW
In Head Coach Kiki Stokes-O'Connor's first season, the Roos earned nine wins and qualified for the postseason for the third year in a row. Senior Ally Vonfeldt and junior Sydney Nichols earned All-League honors. Vonfeldt was named to the First Team All-League as a designated player and Nichols was recognized with an Honorable Mention on the All-League Team for infield. Katherine Karnatz, Katelyn Garcia and Vonfeldt will graduate after their years of dedication to the Roos.