Kansas Takes Down Indiana State in Five, 8-0
Feb. 15, 2013
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AUBURN, Ala. – Another four-RBI effort from senior left fielder Maggie Hull and a combined shutout from the Jayhawk pitchers propelled Kansas past Indiana State, 8-0, to kick off the Tiger Invitational Friday evening.
Kansas (5-1) came out swinging and chalked up six runs in the first two innings to beat Indiana State (4-3). Hull cranked her second homer of the year, a solo shot in the top of the first, while sophomore third baseman Chanin Naudin tagged her first home run of the season to display the Jayhawks power in the win.
Hull finished 2-for-4 with a double to accompany her home run and four RBIs, moving her into sixth all-time on KU’s career RBI list with 107. In six games, Hull leads the team with 12 RBIs.
Naudin’s first homer of the year highlighted her 1-for-3 day with a pair of RBIs. Sophomore Maddie Stein tied her career high with her 3-for-3 performance, which included an RBI, while redshirt junior right fielder Alex Jonesalso recorded a multi-hit day as she went 2-for-4, extending her hitting streak to six.
In the circle, freshman Kelsey Kessler (2-1) recorded her second victory of the year with a solid start. In four innings of work, the rookie allowed only five hits, struck out two and walked none. Senior Morgan Druhanmade her first appearance of the year in the bottom of the fifth, closing out the game with a pair of strikeouts.
Hull wasted no time getting her team on the board in the top of the first. After watching a ball go by, she blasted a pitch to the opposite field, clearing the left field wall as the second batter of the game. Her second bomb of the year put the Jayhawks up, 1-0, midway through the first. Though captains Stein and Mariah Montgomeryripped singles, the Sycamores kept the Jayhawks to a single run in the opening frame.
A one-out infield single combined with a stolen base had Indiana State threatening to score in the bottom half of the inning when first baseman Megan Stone singled to centerfield. Jayhawk centerfielder Elsa Moyer would have none of it, however, as she fired a bullet to the plate to nab right fielder Alexa Cavin at the plate for her first outfield assist of the season.
The momentum from Moyer’s cannon carried directly over to the offense as Kansas came up in the following at bat to plate five runs and take a commanding lead. Freshman shortstop Chaley Brickey led off the inning with a walk, sending Naudin to the plate for her monster two-run shot. From there, speed took over as Moyer and Jones sprinted on base with infield singles, putting them aboard for Hull.
For the second-straight inning, Hull came through in a big way. The high wall in right centerfield was all that kept her from cranking out her second homer of the game, settling instead for a two-run double for her second and third RBIs of the game. Stein’s RBI double two batters later chased Indiana State starter Stephanie Fougerousse (2-2) from the game after collecting just four outs.
In to relive her was sophomore Ashli Scott, who quickly ended the inning with back-to-back groundouts but the Jayhawks had blown the game open. Scott’s stay was short-lived when freshman Halle Humphrey was called on to start the fourth inning. Hugo and Stein each picked up hits off of her, bringing junior designated player Taylor Hatfield to the plate. She came through with her first RBI as a Jayhawk to push KU’s lead out to 7-0.
Other than Moyer’s pinpoint throw, Kessler cruised through the first three innings without much threat from the Sycamores until the bottom of the fourth. Two-straight singles kicked off the inning and a throwing error put runners on the corners with nobody out. The Jayhawk defense turned it up a notch to keep the shutout intact.
Naudin and freshman catcher Alex Hugo both went after a fouled pop-up, leaving the plate uncovered. Noticing the plate was unguarded, third baseman Shelby Wilson took off for home, but couldn’t beat the race against Hugo. The Jayhawk rookie took the throw from Naudin and dove on the plate for the double play. A groundout by the next batter ended the Sycamores’ last scoring threat of the evening.
Hull used a fielder’s choice to drive in the eighth and final run of the game. Druhan looked solid in the fifth, racking up two strikeouts to protect the 8-0 Kansas shutout.
UP NEXT
Kansas will stay on the field to take on Tennessee-Chattanooga at approximately 8 p.m. CT.
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