Jayhawks To Host Nebraska, Oklahoma In Softball Conference Action This Week
April 7, 2009
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
Kansas vs. Nebraska/Oklahoma Game Notes 
Kansas softball returns home to host Nebraska and No. 12/10 Oklahoma this week at Arrocha Ballpark. KU (12-21, 2-4 Big 12) will take on the Huskers (25-10, 2-4 Big 12) in a doubleheader on Wednesday, April 8 starting at 4 p.m. The Jayhawks then welcome Oklahoma on Friday for a 7 p.m. game and will wrap up the series in a 1 p.m. contest on Saturday afternoon.
Saturday is the Jayhawks For a Cure game. Admission is $3 for fans wearing pink and KU will be excepting donations at the door to benefit Lawrence Memorial Hospital and the KU Cancer Center. Ribbons can also be purchased for the honor/memory board for $1 and a silent auction for various items signed by the team will be available.
Prior to the softball game, a 5K Run/1 mile fun walk will take place at 10 a.m. outside of the Burge Union on the KU campus. Student entry fee is $15 and all others are $20. Proceeds from the run will also go to benefit Lawrence Memorial Hospital and the KU Cancer Center.
Jayhawks Online
Live stats are available for all 2009 Kansas softball contests online at www.KUAthletics.com, the official website for Kansas Athletics. Additionally, Nebraska is doing a live radio broadcast for Wednesday’s doubleheader. The audio stream can be heard on www.huskers.com.
About Kansas
Coming off a split at Texas Tech last weekend, Kansas softball is 12-21 overall and 2-4 in the Big 12. Since the start of conference play, senior Dougie McCaulley has led the team with a .412 batting average in Big 12 games, fourth in the conference. For the season, sophomore Liz Kocon is tops on the team averaging .322 followed by McCaulley (.314). Kocon leads the Jayhawks with 21 RBIs, while sophomore Allie Clark has 18 with a team-high five home runs. Kocon has three home runs in her last four outings. Junior Sarah Vertelka leads the KU pitchers with a 2.84 ERA and is 5-5 in 21 appearances. She has a 2.33 ERA in Big 12 play and has split time from the circle with senior Val George, who has a 2.86 ERA on the season and 126 strikeouts in 115.0 innings.
Extra-Base Hits
The Jayhawk offense has been busy as of late as the team has recorded five home runs and six doubles in the last three games and scoring 16 times in that span. In contrast, KU’s opponents have just four extra-base hits and five runs in the Jayhawks’ last three contests.
Bunge Records Milestone Victory
In her 13th season at the helm of the Jayhawks’ softball program, coach Tracy Bunge recorded her 400th career victory with the Jayhawk softball program on April 4 at Texas Tech with a 10-0 win against the Lady Raiders. Through 12-plus seasons, Bunge is 400-335-2 (.545) all-time at KU and became the program’s winningest softball coach in 2007.
Kocon On a Roll
Liz Kocon recorded four hits in four games for the Jayhawks last week, including three home runs, to help Kansas split a pair of conference series. In the team’s nightcap against No. 11 Missouri last Wednesday, Kocon led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a solo home run to knot the score and pave the way for a four-run KU inning to lift the Jayhawks over the Tigers. At Texas Tech on Saturday, Kocon sent two pitches over the fence during Kansas’ 10-0 route of the Lady Raiders.
Up Next
Kansas will take a break from conference play when its hosts UMKC on Tuesday, April 14 for a doubleheader at Arrocha Ballpark. The games are scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. The Jayhawks then head to Texas April 18-19 to resume Big 12 action.
