Kansas Closes Out the Regular Season at Iowa State

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas softball hits the road for its final Big 12 series of the 2015 season as the Jayhawks travel to Ames for a three-game series against Iowa State, May 8-10. KU heads into the series with a seven-game winning streak over the Cyclones after ending the 2012 series with a victory and sweeping the last two series. First pitch is slated for 4 p.m., on Friday, May 8, at the Cyclone Sports Complex.
 
FOLLOWING THE JAYHAWKS
Listen to every pitch, home and away, all season long as part of the Jayhawk Radio Network, in partnership with KJHK, the University of Kansas’ student radio station. For the first time ever, all of KU’s contests will be carried live, for free, at KUAthletics.com/radio or by clicking the links on the online schedule. Fans can also get in-game updates via twitter by following @KUsoftball.
 
LEADING OFF FOR KANSAS
• Senior utility Maddie Stein became the all-time RBI leader in Kansas softball history on March 22 after recording her 141st career RBI with a home run to left field. She currently has 149 RBIs in her career and 40 on the season.
• Setting records has become a trend for the Jayhawks in 2015. Freshman infielder Daniella Chavez is closing in on Kansas’ single-season RBI crown. Chavez currently has 54 RBIs, second-most in KU’s single-season history, and needs eight more to set a record. A year after walking her way into the history books, junior Chaley Brickey is 14 walks away from the Jayhawks’ all-time walk record, which is 108 base on balls set by Tracey Bunge (1983-86).
• Senior hurler Alicia Pille has been making her mark in the circle all season. Her latest feat was reaching 20 wins in a single season, making her the first Jayhawk to do so since 2001. Only 15 previous Jayhawks have reached the milestone. She is also four strikeouts away from becoming just the fourth KU pitcher to reach 650 K’s.
• In the last three seasons, Kansas has recorded three top-10 wins including a victory over then-No. 1 Oklahoma, 2-0, in 2013. This season, KU continued its tradition of upsetting OU with a 4-2 win over the fifth-ranked Sooners on April 24. 
• Head coach Megan Smith recorded her 300th career win after the Jayhawks defeated Georgia State, 5-4, on March 22. During the Oklahoma State series, the Jayhawks recorded their 30th win of the year, marking the fifth-straight season that Smith has guided Kansas to the 30-win plateau.
• The Jayhawks have registered a combined 197 walks during the 2015 season, setting a new team single-season record. The previous mark was 173 walks collected by the 2011 squad. This season marks the seventh time in Kansas history that the Jayhawks have tallied more than 150 base on balls in a season.
• Six members of the Jayhawk starting lineup are hitting above .300 in 2015 and contributing to KU’s .318 batting average, which is the third-best team average in the Big 12 Conference. Junior Chaley Brickey is hitting over .400, posting a .403 batting average.
• Kansas has recorded 48 home runs on the season from seven different Jayhawks. Of the 48 homers, nine have been grand slams. Junior infielder Chaley Brickey leads the team with 13 long balls. Freshman Daniella Chavez has hit a team-best three grand slams, which is three shy of tying the national record.
• Kansas pitchers combined to hurl 22 and two-thirds innings of scoreless softball as they tossed three-consecutive shutouts from Feb. 8-14. The Jayhawks nearly threw a fourth-straight shutout, but Weber State scored a run in sixth inning, ending the KU pitchers’ streak an out shy of 23 scoreless innings.
 
ABOUT THE JAYHAWKS
Kansas will conclude its 2015 regular season with a three-game series in Ames, Iowa against the Cyclones. KU heads into its finale with a 35-13 overall record and 5-10 in Big 12 play. The Jayhawks played their final home series last weekend against Baylor, falling to the Bears all three games. 
 
Six different Jayhawks are hitting over .300, combining for an overall batting average of .318. Infielder Chaley Brickey leads the charge batting .403 with a team-best 62 hits and 26 extra-base knocks.  During her junior campaign, Brickey has launched 13 home runs and registered a .740 slugging percentage. Senior utility Maddie Stein has blasted 15 doubles and six long balls over the course of the season. During her senior campaign, Stein has tallied 40 RBIs and claimed Kansas’ all-time RBI record after registering five RBIs during the Rock Chalk Challenge (March 20-22).
 
Collectively, the squad has recorded 72 doubles and 48 home runs this season, earning a .489 slugging percentage. KU has drawn a record-breaking 197 walks, setting a new team single-season record. The pitching staff is led by senior Alicia Pille who has struck out 173 batters in 176.1 innings of work. The hurler has registered a 3.02 ERA and collected 21 victories in the circle. Overall, the Kansas staff has a 3.79 ERA after pitching 318.0 innings in 48 games, striking out 265 batters.
 
SCOUTING THE CYCLONES
The Cyclones will close out Big 12 play at home this weekend looking to end KU’s seven-game winning streak over ISU. Iowa State has tallied a 26-25 record over the course of the season and has a 3-12 conference record. The squad has won 11 of its 19 home contests in 2015. Last weekend, the Cyclones hosted Texas Tech for a three-game series in which ISU fell, 1-2, in the series, but only lost by a run in both of its defeats.
 
Collectively, ISU has four players batting over .300 and is earning a .293 batting average as a team. Junior Brittany Gomez leads the Cyclones’ offensive efforts with a .424 batting average, connecting on 75 hits, including seven extra-base knocks. Gomez also leads the team in stolen bases, swiping 29 of 34 bags. Junior utility Aly Cappaert has hit a team-best 13 doubles and is second on the team with nine home runs, registering a .629 slugging percentage. ISU has launched 38 home runs this season, as senior Maddie Reese has contributed 11 long balls.
 
The pitching staff is led by senior Stacy Roggentien, who has a 3.51 ERA in 127.2 innings of work, while striking out 105 batters. Collectively, the Cyclones’ pitching staff has recorded a 4.49 ERA, while striking out 213 batters in 332.0 innings.
 
SERIES BREAKDOWN
Record vs. Iowa State
The Jayhawks own a 51-33 mark against Iowa State. The series began in 1980 with a 7-1 decision for KU. Kansas has a seven-game winning streak intact heading into the weekend. In the last seven games against ISU, Kansas has averaged 8.9 runs per game, while the Cyclones are averaging 2.4 runs per game against KU.
 
The Last Time Out
Kansas’ defense had another stellar outing to conclude the 2014 regular season and along with hurler Alicia Pille edged Iowa State, 4-2, in KU’s regular series finale. The victory marked the second-straight sweep for the Jayhawks against the Cyclones. For the third game in a row, KU outhit Iowa State, 7-6. Ashley Newman was the only Jayhawk to tally a multi-hit game after a 2-for-4 performance. She also recorded a RBI and two stolen bases.
 
CLIMBING THE STRIKEOUT RANKS
Senior right-hander Alicia Pille has tossed 646 strikeouts while donning the Crimson and Blue, which is fourth-most in Kansas history. She needs 90 more to surpass Tracy Bunge and move into third place. Pille is one of six Jayhawk pitchers to record 600 or more strikeouts in their career. Stephani Williams holds the record for most strikeouts in a career with 938.
 
UP NEXT
The selection show for the 2015 NCAA Softball Tournament is Sunday, May 10 at 9 p.m. CT on ESPNU. The field of 64 teams that will continue on into the postseason will be announced.
 
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