Kansas Rolls Over NC State, Run Rules Season Opener, 8-0
Feb. 8, 2013
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MIAMI, Fla. – Three hits and three RBIs from senior left fielder Maggie Hull backed by a one-hitter from sophomore Alicia Pille powered the Jayhawks past NC State, 8-0, in Kansas softball’s 2013 season opener Friday afternoon at the FIU Softball Complex.
Facing each other for the first time on the softball field, Kansas (1-0) needed just six innings for its offense to crank out eight runs and 11 hits to defeat North Carolina State (1-1) in a shortened six-inning contest. The afternoon game saw the debut of three Jayhawk newcomers in freshmen Chaley Brickey and Alex Hugo as well as junior transfer Taylor Hatfield, who started at the designated player spot.
It also saw the return of redshirt junior Alex Jones, who missed 2012 with an ACL tear. In her first game back, the team captain went 2-for-3 and scored a game-high three runs. Fellow captain, Hull ignited the offense with two doubles, a single, two runs scored and three RBIs.
KU’s other captains, senior Mariah Montgomery and sophomore Maddie Stein, did their fair share at the plate, driving in two runs apiece.
In the circle, sophomore Alicia Pille (1-0) was equally dominant. In the 2013 opener, Pille carried a no-hitter into the bottom of the fifth before giving up just one single, to lodge the fourth one-hitter of her career. Pille struck out eight and walked three in the win.
The Jayhawks wasted zero time getting their offense off and running, batting around in their first trip to the plate. In Jones’ first game back, she looked more than fully recovered as she tore down the first base line for an infield single to lead off the game.
Hull followed her with a well-placed double down the left field line to put runners on second and third within moments of the first pitch. Stein didn’t leave them their long, ripping a double to the wall to knock in the first runs of the season. Sophomore third baseman Chanin Naudin drilled an RBI single and by the end of the first, Kansas held a 3-0 lead.
Naudin snagged a line drive to kick off a double play to end the second and Pille sat the Wolfpack in order in the bottom of the third and KU kept its 3-0 into the fourth.
After taking a break from the scoreboard in the second and third, Kansas broke the game open in the fourth thanks to Hull’s second double of the game. Hugo reached base for the second-straight at bat with a walk, junior centerfielder Elsa Moyer used her speed to force a bad throw at first and Jones collected her second hit to load the bases for Hull.
The All-Big 12 First Teamer delivered, ripping a double to the centerfield wall and clear the bases. Moments later, Hull tagged on a sac fly from senior second baseman Mariah Montgomery and the Jayhawks took a dominant lead, 7-0.
In their final at bat, Jones sprinted her way on base for the fourth time in the season opener. When Montgomery drove her in, it put the Jayhawks in run-rule position with the 8-0 advantage. Pille did her part in the bottom half of the second, sitting all three Wolfpack batters, including a strikeout for the last out of the game to cement the run rule.
UP NEXT
Kansas stays on the field to take on the host Florida International. First pitch is scheduled for approximately 3:00 p.m. CT.
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