Kansas hosts No. 11/12 Texas
SCHEDULE
Kansas vs. No. 11/12 Texas | Friday, April 26 at 5 p.m. (Salute to Service)
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Kansas vs. No. 11/12 Texas | Saturday, April 27 at 2 p.m.
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Kansas vs. No. 11/12 Texas | Sunday, April 28 at 12 p.m. (Senior Day)
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QUICK HITS
• Kansas stopped a six-game losing streak, beating No. 12/15 Texas Tech 6-4 Thursday, April 18. The Jayhawks dropped the final two games in the series (2-10 and 1-4).
• The Jayhawks earned their first victory over a ranked opponent since March 25, 2017 when KU beat then-No. 14 Baylor.
• Brynn Minor recorded her 10th victory of her Kansas career with the win over Texas Tech on Thursday, April 18.
• Kansas tallied nine hits against Texas Tech (4/18) and it was the first time KU had nine-or-more hits since April 3 at Tulsa (11 hits), which was the Jayhawk’s last victory.
• Madison Sykes hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning against Texas Tech (4/18), and is tied for second on the team with four home runs.
• KU dropped all three games to No. 2/2 Oklahoma April 12-14 in Lawrence, Kan., and lost three games to No. 13/16 Oklahoma State on April 5-6 in Stillwater, Okla.
• The Jayhawks earned their first away victory of the season, beating Tulsa 7-4 at the Collins Sports Complex Wednesday, April 3.
• Senior Jennifer Marwitz was named Big 12 Player of the Week on April 2.
• Marwitz hit her second home run of the season against Tulsa, and second in three games.
• Freshman Lexy Mills earned her team-leading sixth win of the season after pitching 4.2 innings against Tulsa on April 3.
• The series victory over Baylor is the first Big 12 opening series win for the Jayhawks since March 28-30, 2014, when Kansas swept Oklahoma State.
• The series win over Baylor is the first since April 13-14, 2001. Kansas beat Baylor 6-2 (4/13) and 6-0 (4/14).
• Brynn Minor pitched her fifth complete game of the season against Baylor in game one of the doubleheader.
• Jennifer Marwitz hit her first career home run in a Kansas uniform against Baylor (3/31).
WHERE THEY RANK (AS OF 4/22)
• Kansas ranks second in the Big 12 and 27th nationally in double plays per game (0.48).
• The Jayhawks rank sixth in the Big 12 and 113th in the NCAA in doubles per game (1.32).
• KU is 155th in the NCAA in home runs per game (0.57) and sixth in the Big 12.
•Lexy Mills is ranked 53rd in the NCAA and sixth in the Big 12 in strikeouts per seven innings (8.1).
• Mills is also ranked 8th in the Big 12 and 76th nationally in hits allowed per seven innings (5.34).
TEXAS CONNECTION
• Five Jayhawks – Shelby Gayre (Mansfield), Shelby Hughston (Bastrop), Brittany Jackson (Mansfield), Kirsten Pruett (Bastrop) and Tarin Travieso (San Antonio) – are from the state of Texas. Head coach Jennifer McFalls is from Grand Prairie, Texas and was a four-year starter at shortstop for Texas A&M.
MCFALLS | TEXAS LONGHORNS
• Kansas head coach Jennifer McFalls was an eight-year member of the Texas coaching staff as an assistant coach before being hired as the KU head coach.
• McFalls helped lead Texas to NCAA Tournament appearances in each of her eight years as an assistant there (2011-2018), including a Super Regional in 2012 and the Women’s College World Series in 2013.
RECAPPING TEXAS TECH
• Kansas captured the series opening game against No. 12/15 Texas Tech, 6-4, at Rocky Johnson Field Thursday, April 18. The Jayhawks earned their first win over a ranked opponent since March 25, 2017, when KU beat then-No. 14 Baylor. After mounting an early attack, Kansas held a 4-0 lead after the second inning. KU added two more runs on a Madison Sykes home run in the fifth before Texas Tech scored four runs total between the fifth and six innings. Brynn Minor, the KU starter, was replaced by Hannah Todd, and later returned to complete the game.
• In the second and third game of the series, Texas Tech used solid pitching efforts from their top-two pitchers to hold the Kansas attack at bay. KU was only able to score three runs in the two games combined, while TTU scored 14.
VS. TEXAS
• Texas enters the series with Kansas 36-12 overall and 7-6 in Big 12 play. The Longhorns are third in the Big 12 standings, while KU is sixth.
• The Longhorns most recently were swept by No. 1 Oklahoma April 18-20 in Austin, Texas.
• Texas is led at the plate by Mary Iakopo and Janae Jeffereson. Jefferson has started 47 games for the Longhorns and is the team leader in batting average (.426) and hits (63), while Iakopo is the team leader in runs batted in (32), total bases (76), home runs (9), walks (23) and slugging percentage (.650). In total, Texas has four players with a .300 batting average or greater this season.
• As a team, the Longhorns boast a 1.69 earned run average and all four of their pitchers have a sub-2.50 ERA. Shealyn O’Leary has a team-low 0.51 ERA with a 12-1 record, while Miranda Elish has a 1.91 ERA with an 11-8 record. Elish is the team leader in strikeouts (165) and innings pitched (121.0).
TEXAS SERIES NOTES
• Kansas head coach Jennifer McFalls was an assistant coach for eight season at Texas, and it was her previous occupation before accepting the Kansas job.
• Texas senior Ki’Audra Hayter and Kansas senior Brynn Minor each were members of the 2017 Butler County Community College NJCAA Division I National Championship team.
• Jennifer McFalls was the head coach of the National Pro Fastpitch’s Dallas Charge in 2015, while current Texas assistant coach Kailee Cuico was a member of the Chicago Bandits.
• Texas head coach Mike White (Wellington, NZ) and Kansas assistant coach Jeremy Manley (Feilding, NZ), each hail from New Zealand.
UP NEXT
• Kansas concludes the regular season in Ames, Iowa against Iowa State May 3-5.
