🥎 Kansas Falls to Two Top 25 Teams on Friday

TEMPE, Ariz. – Kansas softball opened up its 2020 season against two top 25 opponents on Friday in No. 5 Arizona and No. 22 Arizona State to kick off the Kajikawa Classic. Despite battling down the stretch, the Jayhawks fell 11-1 to the Wildcats and 8-5 to the Sun Devils inside Farrington Field.

Game One vs. No. 5 Arizona

Arizona showed early why it is ranked as a top-five program in the nation, putting up six runs in the first two innings on the Jayhawks. Sophomore Morgyn Wynn did her best to try and get the momentum to go in Kansas’ favor in the fourth inning by hitting her first homerun of the season to deep center field to cut the lead to 5-1.

However, the Wildcats were not going to let up as they scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to end the game with an 11-1 final score.

"The game against Arizona was a great challenge for us. There is a reason why they went to the world series last year. They have a bunch of great hitters on their staff. I felt like Hailey Reed did a nice job of competing. We did some really solid things, we just had some throw-away at-bats and a couple of missed opportunities. But otherwise, they were a great team and hopefully we learn from that."

Head Coach Jennifer McFalls

Game Two vs. No. 22 Arizona State

The Jayhawks’ second game of the day came against Arizona State, and Kansas gave the Sun Devils all they could handle on Friday night. Junior Brittany Jackson put KU on the board first with a three-run homerun at the top of the second inning, the first homerun of her collegiate career.

Kansas would then increase its lead to 4-0 in the fourth inning thanks to a solo shot to right field by senior Sam Dellinger. However, the Kajikawa Classic hosts were able to respond by putting up two runs in the fourth and six runs in the sixth to win it 8-5 over KU.

"I felt like against Arizona State the team really responded. I challenged them about being more confident and having some swag about what they are doing at the plate. We totally stepped out early in the game and controlled the momentum. We got some big hits and I thought Tatum Goff competed really well tonight for her first outing as a freshman. Unfortunately, we just let some things get away from us. I think we turned around and gave them some momentum late in the game and they capitalized on that."

Head Coach Jennifer McFalls

Key Statistics

• Junior Brittany Jackson finished the two games 3-for-7 (.429) with one homerun and a team-high three RBI.
• Senior Sam Dellinger went 2-for-6 (.333) and finished with one homerun.
• Sophomore Morgyn Wynn finished going 1-for-5 with a homerun.
• Freshman Tatum Goff had five strikeouts in 5.2 innings of action against the Sun Devils.

Next Up

• Kansas will play its second batch of games for the Kajikawa Classic on Saturday, Feb. 8. The Jayhawks will face off with Seattle at 4 p.m. (central) followed by No. 12 Tennessee at 7:30 p.m. (central).