Softball Eliminated From Big 12 Tourney

May 14, 2004

OKLAHOMA CITY – The seventh-seeded University of Kansas softball team shutout No. 6 seed Oklahoma State 3-0 before bowing to fifth-seeded Oklahoma 1-0 in the bottom of the seventh at the 2004 Big 12 Softball Tournament Friday at the ASA Softball Stadium.

The seventh-seeded Jayhawks (33-28-1) went 2-2 in the ninth annual tournament, falling short by one run in both losses.

In Game One, senior third baseman Sandy Smith put the Jayhawks on the board with a solo homerun (fourth of the season) in the top of the third.

Kansas added to its lead in the top of the fifth, scoring one run on two hits. Smith lead off with a walk and speedy Ashley Goodrich came in to pinch run. With one out, left fielder Heather Stanley singled to left center and catcher Dani May singled up the middle to load the bases for shortstop Destiny Frankenstein.

Frankenstein flied out to deep left and the KU runners were unable to tag up. The OSU left fielder then threw to second in an attempt to pick off Stanley, giving Goodrich an opportunity to score and give KU a 2-0 lead.

The ‘Hawks added an insurance run in the sixth. Center fielder Mel Wallach and first baseman Leah Mountain walked to lead off. Wallach stole third and Mountain advanced to put two in scoring position for Smith. Smith then notched a sacrifice fly to center to score Wallach for her second RBI against the Cowgirls.

Pierce (19-12) struck out seven and allowed three hits in her third complete game of the tournament. The KU offense notched a total of five hits (two from Mountain) while both teams stranded six runners.

After a 7-0 loss to Nebraska that included a perfect no-hit performance by Peaches James (32-7), fifth-seeded Oklahoma elminated KU from tournament play in Game Two.

The teams remained scoreless through the top of the seventh innings behind strong pitching from KU’s Kassie Humphreys and OU’s Kami Keiter. The ‘Hawks tallied four hits but left all four stranded.

With one out in the bottom of the seventh, Jamie Fox hit a stand-up double to left center and moved around to third on a ground out. Humphreys retired the next batter and with Fox on third, Keiter stepped to the plate and hit a walk-off game-winning single to the gap in left center.

Humphreys (14-12), a freshman from Glendale, Ariz., struck out three and allowed four hits on the day in 6.2 innings of work. In addition to the game-winner, Keiter (17-10) struck out four and walked just one.

“I thought we played very well for the whole tournament,” KU head coach Tracy Bunge said. “Kassie (Humphreys) threw a tremendous game. I’m proud of my ball club and the season they had. I thought we finished well. There is an outside chance that we are not over and I hope we are not. We’ll find that out Sunday night.”

Complete Big 12 Tournament results are available on www.big12sports.com. With the win, No. 21 OU moves on to play three-seed Missouri Saturday at 10 a.m.

KU will await an NCAA Tournament bid as selections are announced at 7:30 p.m. Sunday on ESPNews.