Jayhawks Host UMKC Tuesday
April 4, 2005
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
Kansas softball will look to snap a six-game skid Tuesday as it hosts non-conference foe UMKC at 3 p.m. at Arrocha Ballpark. The Jayhawks are 15-15 overall and 0-4 in the Big 12 after losses to Nebraska, Wichita State and Texas A&M last week. KU will return to league play Saturday and Sunday with a Big 12 series against Oklahoma State in Stillwater.
Tuesday’s game will be broadcast live on ESPN 1320 AM in Lawrence and the surrounding areas. Jud Easterday (play-by-play) and Aaron Clopton (color) will call the action from Arrocha.
About Kansas
The Jayhawks are 15-15 overall and 0-4 in the Big 12 and trying to snap a six-game losing streak. KU’s bright spot has been its defense, which ranks second in the Big 12 with a solid .973 fielding percentage. The KU offense is hitting .261 on the season while the pitching staff (2.94 ERA) has been struggling as of late and gave up 34 earned runs in five games last week.
The KU defense is anchored by junior infielders Destiny Frankenstein, Nettie Fierros and Jessica Moppin. Frankenstein leads the KU offense with 28 hits and seven home runs for a .346 batting average. Rounding out the top of the batting order are Moppin and pitcher Serena Settlemier, who are hitting .307 and .286 on the season, respectively.
KU uses three starters in its pitching rotation. Settlemier (7-5) has emerged as the Jayhawks’ No. 1 after an injury kept her from pitching most of last season. Freshman lefty Christina Ross (5-5) has pitched 60.1 innings and posts a team-best 1.97 ERA to go with 55 strikeouts. Sophomore righty Kassie Humphreys (3-5) has 59.2 innings under her belt and has improved offensively this season.
About UMKC
Kansas and nearby foe UMKC will meet for the 16th time in program history Tuesday The Kangaroos have lost 15 straight and are 4-27 on the season with wins over SMS, Valpo, Utah Valley State and Louisiana-Monroe.
UMKC is coming off a heartbreaking 5-4 loss to Mid-Continent foe Southern Utah. The Roos led 4-2 until an error by Veronica Weaver in the top of the seventh inning opened the door for Southern Utah, which scored three unearned runs to snatch the win.
Freshman pitcher Jessica Heimann (4-10) took the loss, allowing seven hits while striking out three batters.
Junior infielder Casie Wolf leads the UMKC offense (.183) this season with 19 hits for a .235 batting average. Junior infielder Kylie Williamson is close behind with 13 hits and a .217 clip.
KU leads the all-time series against the Kangaroos 16-1.
