Softball Brings Three Game Win Streak Into Baylor Series

April 15, 2005

LAWRENCE, Kan. –

Jayhawks Bring Three Game Win Streak Into Big 12 Series
Kansas softball brings a three-game win streak into this weekend’s Big 12 Conference series against No. 8 Baylor. The Jayhawks (19-16, 2-5 Big 12) will host the Lady Bears (37-7, 5-4 Big 12) Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. at Arrocha Ballpark.

Saturday’s game against BU will be broadcast live on 1320 AM in the Lawrence area. Jud Easterday (play-by-play) and Aaron Clopton (color) will call the action. All games can be followed via Gametracker by logging on to kuathletics.com, the official web site of Kansas athletics.

About Kansas
The Jayhawks are riding a three-game win streak with victories over Oklahoma State, No. 18 Missouri and Southwest Missouri State. KU’s bright spot has been its defense, which ranks second in the Big 12 with a solid .972 fielding percentage. The KU offense is hitting .262 on the season, while the pitching staff (2.72 ERA) has seen improvements already this week, giving up just three earned runs in 14 innings.

The KU defense is anchored by junior infielders Destiny Frankenstein, Nettie Fierros and Jessica Moppin. Frankenstein leads the KU offense with 33 hits and eight home runs for a .344 batting average. Rounding out the top of the batting order are Moppin and freshman catcher Elle Pottorf, who are hitting .295 and .271 on the season, respectively.

Fierros has been the Jayhawks’ leader in the last two outings, batting .600 with two home runs and a double against the Tigers and Bears. Outfielder Heather Stanley is KU’s lead-off hitter and paces the Jayhawks in Big 12 contests with a .333 batting average.

KU uses three starters in its pitching rotation. Settlemier (9-6) has emerged as the Jayhawks’ No. 1 after an injury kept her from pitching most of last season. Freshman lefty Christina Ross (7-5) has pitched 78.1 innings and posts a team-best 1.61 ERA to go with 71 strikeouts. Sophomore righty Kassie Humphreys (3-5) has 59.2 innings under her belt and has improved offensively this season.

About Baylor
The Baylor Bears (37-7, 5-4 Big 12) remained in the nation’s top 10 this week with a No. 8 ranking in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll. BU is coming off a 1-0 loss to No. 4 Texas on Wednesday night. The Bears managed just two hits off Longhorn ace Cat Osterman (18-3) while two BU pitchers held the UT offense to four hits.

Of the Bears’ seven losses this season, only two have been at the hands of unranked foes — Houston (Feb. 18, 4-3) and Oklahoma State (April 2, 3-0).

Chelsi Lake, the Feb. 15 Big 12 Hitter of the Week, leads the BU offense with a .405 batting average, .832 slugging percentage, 13 home runs and 109 total bases. Lake’s walk-off grand slam gave BU the 6-3 win over Nebraska on Sunday. Harmony Schwethel is close behind at a .400 clip and 60 hits in the lead off spot while five other Bears are hitting .300 or better.

The BU offense (.324) is backed by a strong pitching trio of Lisa Ferguson (14-2), Cristin Vitek (11-4) and Tessa Lynam (7-1), who have each earned Big 12 Player of the Week honors this season.

KU leads the all-time series against Baylor 18-8.

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