Two-Year Starter Alex Jones Out for the Season

Jan. 18, 2012

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Two-year starting centerfielder and pitcher Alex Jones will miss the 2012 Kansas softball season due to a torn ACL.

A team captain last season, Jones suffered the injury during the fall and is currently undergoing successful rehab sessions. She will begin the 2012-13 season as a redshirt junior.

“Losing Alex Jones hurts us. She’s been our starting centerfielder and our leadoff batter for two years,” head coach Megan Smith said. “You never want to see anyone injured, but it’s a part of our game that we deal with. We feel really good about whoever it will be out there in the outfield. We feel like we have a strong core of outfielders to pull from, and Alex is going to be there helping them. Certainly, we will be a little inexperienced, but Alex has stepped up and still wants to be a part of things. We will feel confident with whoever is out there.”

In two years, Jones has started all 106 of the Jayhawks’ games, accumulating a .297 career average and 60 runs scored. As a freshman, Jones committed just one error in the outfield en route to being named the team’s Rookie of the Year. Last season, she earned National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-America Scholar Athlete honors.

In the circle, Jones went 6-2 last year with a 2.55 ERA last season to lead the Jayhawk pitching staff. She has 33 career starts and a 3.37 ERA in her first two seasons.