2005 Season Wrap-Up

June 8, 2005

2005 Kansas Jayhawks
31-24 overall
9-8 Big 12 Conference; Sixth-Place Finish
NCAA Regional — Athens, Ga.

Kansas Earns First NCAA Regional Bid Since 1999
Kansas earned its first NCAA Regional invitation since 1999 when tournament bids were announced May 15. The Jayhawks joined Georgia Tech, Tennessee Tech and host Georgia in a regional bracket in Athens, Ga., May 20-21.

The Jayhawks, who finished 31-24 overall and 9-8 in the league, were one of eight teams from the Big 12 to receive bids in 2005. KU joined Texas, Baylor, Oklahoma, Missouri, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Nebraska as the most-ever Big 12 representatives in an NCAA Regional. The Pac-10 was the only other league to place eight teams in the bracket.

“Eight Big 12 teams getting in the tournament really speaks volumes about our conference and the level of play we have,” Bunge said after KU was called. “I think the Big 12 by far is the strongest conference in the country. I am extremely excited not only for Kansas, but for our entire conference and my fellow coaches — but most excited for our players here at KU, who have not yet tasted regional competition.”

KU Achieves 21st 30-Win Season
With its sweep of Iowa State May 7-8, KU achieved its 21st 30-win season since 1978. Since her arrival as head coach in 1997, head coach Tracy Bunge has compiled seven 30-win seasons and led the Jayhawks to three NCAA Tournament appearances.

The Jayhawks’ 9-8 finish in the Big 12 in 2005 marked their best conference finish since 2001, when KU finished 10-8 in the league.

Kansas Defense Impressive
KU’s defense, which ranked second in the Big 12 and 14th in the nation in 2005, recorded its best season in program history. The Jayhawks committed just 45 errors in 55 games for a program-best .973 fielding percentage.

The KU previous program-best for best fielding percentage was .969, which the Jayhawks achieved in the 1982, `91 and `92 seasons.

Frankenstein Named First-Team All-Region
Kansas junior shortstop Destiny Frankenstein (Broken Arrow, Okla.) was named First Team All-Region by the National Fastpitch Coaches’ Association, the organization announced May 18.

Frankenstein, a 2005 All-Big 12 First Team selection, led the Jayhawks with a .371 batting average, 53 hits, 106 total bases, 14 home runs and a .741 slugging percentage in the regular season. The Broken Arrow, Okla., native also hit .404 in Big 12 games, slugged .788 and was errorless at shortstop in 17 contests.

Frankenstein became the first Jayhawk to be named all-region since All-American Christi Musser earned first-team honors in 2002.

Five Jayhawks Named All-Big 12
Five KU student-athletes earned All-Big 12 honors and three were named to the Academic All-Big 12 Team May 11 at the 2005 Big 12 Softball Tournament banquet in Oklahoma City.

Juniors Destiny Frankenstein and Heather Stanley earned All-Big 12 First Team honors while Jessica Moppin, Ashley Frazer and Serena Settlemier were named to the all-league second team. Frazer, sophomore Nicole Washburn and senior Kathy McVey each earned Academic All-Big 12 honors for earning a 3.0 GPA or better.

Settlemier is the only Jayhawk to have previously been named all-league, as she was a second team selection as a freshman in 2002, the last time the Jayhawks put five on the All-Big 12 list.

Texas A&M’s Amanda Scarborough was named Big 12 Player and Freshman of the Year while the Aggies’ Jo Evans was Big 12 Coach of Year after leading her team to a regular-season championship. Heather Scaglione of Oklahoma was Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and Texas’ Cat Osterman was Pitcher of the Year.

Prior to the Selection Show, the Jayhawks celebrated the regular season at their team banquet. Frankenstein was named Offensive Player of the Year and Team MVP, Frazer was the Most Improved Player of the Year, Elle Pottorf the Defensive Player of the Year, and Cyndi Duran was given the Jayhawk Pride Award.

Moppin Becomes All-Time KU Home Runs Leader
Junior second baseman Jessica Moppin broke the KU all-time home runs record on May 20, 2005, with the 24th blast of her career and 10th of the season. Moppin’s two-run blast against Georgia Tech in the NCAA Regionals supassed the record of former Jayhawks Leah Tabb and Shannon Stanwix, who set the previous mark of 23.

Jayhawks Dig The Long Ball
The KU offense posted more than twice as many home runs as its opponents in 2005. The 2005 Jayhawks hit 54 homers — the most ever in KU history — compared to their foes’ 23. Prior to this season, the 2003 squad hit a then-program-best 37 blasts.

Junior Destiny Frankenstein led the pack with 14 home runs on the season and has 21 total for her career.

Frankenstein Breaks Single-Season Home Run Record
With her 13th home run of the year at Texas Tech on May 1, junior shortstop Destiny Frankenstein shattered the KU single-season home run record. Frankenstein broke the previous record of 12 held by Leah Tabb (2001) and ended up with 14 on the season and 21 for her career, good for fourth on the KU all-time list.

Jayhawk Breakdown
The KU defense was led by junior infielders Destiny Frankenstein, Nettie Fierros and Jessica Moppin. Frankenstein, the reigning Big 12 Player of the Week, led the KU offense with 54 hits and 14 home runs for a .344 batting average (.404 Big 12) and this year broke the school record for single-season home runs.

Junior outfielder Ashley Frazer finished with a .333 batting average, including a remarkable .419 clip in Big 12 games. Junior right fielder Heather Stanley was very effective in the lead-off spot, hitting .354 in Big 12 games (.282 all games).

Moppin (.281) and junior pitcher Serena Settlemier (.281) rounded out the top of the batting order. Fierros batted .236 with 55 starts in 2005 and set a career high on May 1 against Texas Tech with two home runs and four RBI.

KU used three starters in its pitching rotation. Settlemier (14-9) started 34 games in the circle in 2005 after an injury kept her from pitching most of her redshirt sophomore season (2004). She finished the season with a team-leading 159 strikeouts and set a new career best when she fanned 14 batters at Texas Tech on April 30.

Freshman lefty Christina Ross (12-9) led the Jayhawks through much of the Big 12 season, throwing 138.0 innings with a team-best 1.93 ERA to go with 111 strikeouts. Sophomore righty Kassie Humphreys (5-6) pitched 78.2 innings in 2005 and was strong in the NCAA Regionals, striking out six and allowing just one hit in 5.1 innings of relief.

The Coaching Staff
Tracy Bunge, a former Jayhawk pitcher and All-American, just completed her ninth season as head coach at her alma mater. Bunge holds a 282-245-1 record at KU and a career coaching mark of 374-312-1. She is joined by assistants Jen Sewell (Ohio, 2000) and All-American outfielder Christi Musser (Kansas, 2003).

About Kansas Softball
Jayhawk softball began intercollegiate competition in 1969 and since then has made seven appearances in the AIAW World Series and earned nine NCAA Tournament bids. In addition, KU boasts 10 All-Americans, including current head coach Tracy Bunge and assistant Christi Musser.

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