KU Wraps Up 18-Game Road Swing in Tulsa

March 1, 2007

LAWRENCE, Kan. –

First Pitch
Kansas wraps up its string of 18 consecutive road games Friday through Sunday at the Great Western Downtown Plaza Classic in Tulsa, Okla. The Jayhawks (7-5-1) will play a total of five games against Tulsa, North Texas and Iowa State in the three-day event at the Donna J. Hardesty Sports Complex. Live Gametracker will be available for all games will be available here.

The Jayhawks return 10 letterwinners from last year’s Big 12 postseason championship team, including senior All-Big 12 pitcher Kassie Humphreys. KU’s top five hitters this season are two freshmen and three sophomores. Redshirt sophomore Elle Pottorf leads the Jayhawk offense with a .355 batting average in 2007. Head coach Tracy Bunge is in her 11th season at KU with a 325-276-2 record.

The Great Western Downtown Plaza Classic
Four teams — North Texas (3-10), Tulsa (7-9), Iowa State (3-12) and Kansas (7-5-1) — will compete Friday through Sunday in the Great Western Downtown Plaza Classic in Tulsa, Okla. Of the participants, Kansas and Tulsa advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2006. The Golden Hurricane also claimed the 2006 Conference USA Championship and the Jayhawks won their Big 12 Postseason title. Last year in Tulsa, KU defeated the Golden Hurricane, Stephen F. Austin, Northern Iowa and Nebraska to win the tournament, then called the Best Western Airport Festival (March 3-4, 2006).

Red & Black Tournament Leftovers
Kansas improved to 7-5-1 on the season after a 2-2 showing at the Red and Black Tournament in Louisville, Ky., last week. The Jayhawks defeated Iowa (7-3) and Kent State (4-0) despite some rainy and cold conditions at Ulmer Stadium. Sophomore outfielder Dougie McCaulley paced the KU offense with a .333 batting average and .571 on-base percentage through four games. Senior ace Kassie Humphreys (6-1) went 2-1 with 17 strikeouts in 17 innings to lead the Jayhawks in the circle.

Kansas Quick Hits
-Senior ace Kassie Humphreys (Glendale, Ariz.) is one of the Big 12’s top returning pitchers. She is 6-1 this season with a 1.70 ERA and is holding opponents to a .180 batting average (second-best in the league) in nine appearances.
-The 2007 Kansas squad consists of five upperclassmen — two seniors and three juniors — and 13 underclassmen — seven sophomores and six freshmen.
-The Jayhawks’ eight newcomers in 2007 are the most since the 2003 season.
-Kansas won its first-ever Big 12 Postseason Championship and advanced to the NCAA Regionals for the second consecutive season in 2006.
-KU has made 10 trips to the NCAA Regionals in the last 26 years and gone four times under head coach Tracy Bunge in the past 10 seasons (most recently in 2006).

Up Next: Jayhawk Invitational
After 18 consecutive road contests to start the season, Kansas will open its home schedule March 9-11 with the 2007 Jayhawk Invitational. Participating in the three-day event at Arrocha Ballpark will be Drake, North Dakota State and New Mexico.

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2007 Softball season tickets are on sale now. Adult season tickets are $40, youth and senior citizen tickets are $20, and University of Kansas faculty and staff tickets are $32. To purchase your season tickets call the KU Ticket Office at 800-34-HAWKS or click here.