Roos Can't Hold on to Early Leads on First Day in Oklahoma

Friday, March 1

Stillwater, OK

10:00 AM

Kansas City

6-10

Seattle

7-9

Seattle

Kansas City

Photo by: Michael Sudhalter

Roos Can't Hold on to Early Leads on First Day in Oklahoma

3/1/2024 3:52:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

KC dropped a pair of games to Seattle U and Drake to begin the weekend

STILLWATER, Okla. - Kansas City Softball (6-11) jumped out to a pair of early leads, but could not hold on late on the first day of the Tulsa/Oklahoma State Invitational, dropping game one to Seattle U (7-9), 7-3, before falling to Drake (7-4), 5-3. The Roos held the lead at the end of the fourth in both games, but gave up the lead in the fifth inning and were unable to rally.

Camryn Stickel continued to display her ability as Kansas City's ace on the mound, pitching 5.1 innings and giving up two earned runs against the Redhawks before shoving 3.0 innings of one-run ball against the Bulldogs. Briona Woods notched a pair of hits on the day, extending her hitting streak to 14-straight games, while Amelia Fitzgerald drove in four of the Roos' six runs.

KEY MOMENTS VS. SEATTLE U

Bottom 1 / 1-0 | Abby Husak got the Roos started with a leadoff walk and was advanced to third on a double by Katie Noble. Lexy Smith drove Husak in to put the Roos on the board first, but KC was unable to take further advantage of a bases-loaded, one-out situation.
Top 4 / 1-0 | Following a leadoff single to start the inning, Stickel drew a fly out and then forced a 6-4-3 double play, getting out of the inning without taking any damage. Seattle scored two in the fifth to claim the lead.
Bottom 7 / 3-7 | The Redhawks scored five runs in the top of the seventh to expand their lead, but Kansas City would not go down without a fight. Kadin Vire started the inning with a single, and after two quick outs, Woods and Derika Castillo both reached base. Fitzgerald stepped up to the plate and drove in two runs, but the rally would end there and Seattle claimed the win.

KEY MOMENTS VS. DRAKE

Top 1 / 3-0 | The Roos used a quick first inning start to claim a lead for the second straight game. Woods singled to score Vire for the first run of the game, and Fitzgerald drove in Woods and Smith to put KC up by three early. Drake would score a run in the bottom of the inning to get back within two.
Bottom 3 / 3-1 | The Bulldogs were threatening with runners on first and second with one out in the bottom of the third, but Stickel forced a ground out to Elleana Navarro. Drake was aggressive on the base path and the Roos made them pay, getting the third out at the plate as the runner looked to score from second.
Bottom 5 / 3-5 | Drake took the lead for good in the bottom of the fifth, scoring three runs on on four hits and making use of a Kansas City error.

STATS TO NOTE

Woods' 14-game hitting streak is the longest by a Kansas City player in a season in which hitting streak data has been collected. In addition, according to data collected by the NCAA's Michelle Watsky, it is tied for the longest hitting streak in Division One this season. Her .408 batting average currently ranks second in the Summit League
Stickel has pitched three-plus innings in 10 appearances this season, allowing two-or-fewer earned runs in six of them. Her ERA of 2.90 is the sixth-best in the Summit.
The Roos have scored 80 runs this season, 25 of which have been scored in the first inning and 10 of which have come in the final inning. In total, 44% of Kansas City's runs have been scored in either the first or the last inning of the game.
Fitzgerald drove in four runs on the day, bringing her season total to five RBI. Her lone other RBI on the season came against Michigan State on Feb. 16.

UP NEXT
Kansas City has another game against Drake tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. before closing the invitational against Miami (OH) and Tulsa on Sunday.