Kansas Travels to Wichita State For Nonconference Doubleheader
April 27, 2009
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
Kansas at Wichita State Game Notes 
For its final nonconference games of the 2009 season, the Kansas softball team (18-28, 5-9 Big 12) will travel to Wichita State (20-28, 9-13 MVC) on Tuesday, April 28 for a pair of games scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.
Jayhawks Online
Live stats are available for all 2009 Kansas softball contests online at www.KUAthletics.com, the official website for Kansas Athletics.
About Kansas
The Kansas offense is led by senior Dougie McCaulley who has a .324 batting average and 13 stolen bases. She has collected nine hits in her last six games. Allie Clark (.262 average) has a team-high nine doubles, eight home runs and 28 RBIs. She has three homers in her last five games.
In the pitcher’s circle, senior Val George and junior Sarah Vertelka have combined for a majority of the pitching load. George leads the team with a 2.80 earned run average. She is 9-14 in 30 appearances and is fifth in the Big 12 with 160 strikeouts. Vertelka has gone 7-9 in 29 appearances and owns a 3.27 ERA.
Scouting Wichita State
Wichita State went 2-1 last weekend to win its series versus Drake and is 20-28 overall and 8-11 on its home field heading into Tuesday’s doubleheader. As a team, the Shockers are hitting .272 and are led by Kara L’Huillier’s .352 batting average. She has a team-high 12 doubles and 33 RBIs. L’Huillier and Kiersten Dixon each have eight home runs on the season. Kersti Rowan has been fast on the bases with 15 stolen bases.
Wichita State’s pitching staff has a combined 3.99 earned run average. Kasha Kolb and Brianna Smet have tossed all but 27 innings. Kolb has a team-best 3.60 ERA and is 14-20 in 42 appearances. Teams are hitting .260 off of her. Smet has a 3.63 ERA and is 5-7 in 32 appearances.
The Shockers finished 33-28 in 2008 and return 11 of 16 letterwinners from a year ago. Mike Perniciaro is 125-107 in his fourth year as head coach at Wichita State.
Series Info
Kansas and Wichita State have met 78 times since 1978 with KU leading the all-time series 62-16, including a 25-9 mark in Wichita, but KU has lost its last six contests on the Shockers’ home field. The Jayhawks swept a doubleheader at home last season but lost four of the five meetings prior to 2008. Since 2002, WSU has won eight of the teams’ 13 meetings.
Quick Hits
– Four Jayhawks recorded a home run in the second game against Baylor last weekend. It was the most KU homers in a game this season and Kansas’ seventh contest of multiple home runs.
– For the sixth time this year, KU split a series going 1-1 against Baylor.
– Kansas has eight home runs in the last five games.
– KU has six triples so far this year, the most since the team had six in 2006.
– The Jayhawks stole a season-high five bases in its first game versus Baylor on Saturday.
– For the fifth time this season, the KU pitching staff did not walk a single batter in its second game against Baylor.
Up Next
The Jayhawks return to the friendly confines of Arrocha Ballpark on Thursday, April 30 to host a twinbill with Texas A&M in KU’s final home games of the 2009 season. First pitch is scheduled for 11:15 a.m. Kansas will close out its regular season May 2-3 at Iowa State.
