KU Softball Suffers 7-2 Setback at Iowa State
May 2, 2009
AMES, Iowa –
Despite home runs from senior Dougie McCaulley and sophomore Liz Kocon, Kansas softball suffered a 7-2 setback at Iowa State Saturday afternoon to halt a three-game win streak.
Kansas dropped to 21-29 with the loss, including a 6-10 mark in Big 12 play. Iowa State improved to 24-28 and 6-11 in the conference.
KU used three pitchers during the contest but could not silence Iowa State’s bats as the Cyclones out-hit the Jayhawks 11-5.
Senior Val George pitched the first three innings of the game to suffer the loss as she dropped to 10-15 from the circle. Junior Sarah Vertelka and freshman Sarah Blair each pitched a little over one inning in the game.
After four full innings, ISU led 4-0 scoring one run in the first and three more in the third inning off back-to-back home runs.
Kocon helped put the Jayhawks on the board in the top of the fifth with a solo home run over the left field wall. It was her eighth round-tripper of the year and fourth in the last five games. She was the only Jayhawk with multiple hits in the game finishing 2-for-3 from the plate.
The Cyclones extended their lead again in the bottom of the fifth with three more runs off four hits to take a commanding 7-1 advantage.
McCaulley cut the ISU lead by one more run with her first home run of the season and second of her career in the sixth inning with a shot straight out to center field.
KU has at least one home run in its last seven games.
Kansas and Iowa State will close out the series Sunday at noon in both teams’ regular season finale. The winner of tomorrow’s game will claim the eighth spot in the conference standings but depending on other Big 12 opponents, either team could jump as high as sixth in the standings.
