LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Kansas Jayhawks (27-24-1, 11-16 Big 12) are set to compete in the 2024 Phillips 66 Big 12 Softball Championship in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, from May 8-11 at OGE Energy Field at Devon Park. The Jayhawks will face off against Houston in the first round on Wednesday, May 8, at 5 p.m. CT with the winner playing against Oklahoma in the second round on Thursday at 1:30 p.m.
The Jayhawks currently have the No. 34 ranked strength of schedule in the country. This season, Kansas has faced seven ranked opponents in 15 games, most recently at No. 4 Oklahoma State in Stillwater. Kansas has earned four ranked wins this season as it has defeated No. 18 Texas A&M and No. 19 Baylor (three times).
Sophomores Presley Limbaugh, Campbell Bagshaw, Hailey Cripe and Aynslee Linduff have all started in 35 or more games this season and each lead a statistical category on the team. Limbaugh leads the team with an average of .379, which is tied with June Koleber (1980) for 10th on the all-time single season list. Cripe leads the squad with 10 doubles, 75 total bases and 34 RBI, including her first career multi-home run game at Houston on March 22. She has hit two grand slams this season, most recently at Iowa State, and with her most recent home run against No. 1 Texas Cripe tied Lyric Moore for the most home runs on the team with six.
Defensively, Cripe holds down the left side of the infield as the shortstop as she leads the team with 105 defensive assists, third-most in the Big 12, and 13 double plays. Bagshaw has come into her own this season after only seeing a few innings last season. She has solidified herself in the starting lineup and has amassed a batting average of .302, the second-best average on the squad. She hit her first home run, a grand slam, against Wichita State on March 12 and hit her second career home run in the very next game against Baylor. She scored Kansas’ lone run against Oklahoma on March 28 with a solo blast to right center to put her total at three home runs. Linduff has started in right in 50 games this season and is second on the team with 43 hits.
Senior catcher Lyric Moore has also had a stellar season, as she has already topped her home run total from a year ago with six and leads the Big 12 with 11 runners caught stealing. She has led the way in conference play this season, as she has amassed a .320 batting average in 75 at-bats, along with three home runs and 11 RBI.
This season, Kansas has been led by its stellar pitching, specifically left-hander Kasey Hamilton and right-hander Katie Brooks. Hamilton has six shutouts and has thrown 18 complete games, the 20th-most in the NCAA and most in the Big 12, in 26 starts this season. Hamilton leads the team with 97 strikeouts in 159.0 innings pitched, the most IP in the Big 12. Her six shutouts lead the Big 12 and rank 19th in the nation. This season, she has allowed 76 earned runs and an opponent batting average of .235.
In her junior season, Brooks has earned a 12-6 record in 105.0 innings pitched. One of her best performances came against UTSA on Feb. 23, when she struck out 10 batters in just five innings of action. She has the best ERA (3.13) among qualified pitchers and has struck out 64 batters while allowing just four home runs this season, second-least in the Big 12. After picking up three wins against Wichita State and Baylor, Brooks was selected as the D1Softball National Pitcher of the Week (3/19).
Kansas picked up its first win in the Big 12 Championship since 2007 with its comeback, 8-7 victory over Oklahoma State last season, before falling to Texas in the next round. Kansas last won the Big 12 Championship in 2006, when it earned wins over Baylor (5-1), Missouri (2-0), Nebraska (2-0) and Oklahoma (4-2). This was the first and only time KU has won the Championship.
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
The Big 12 Championship will be streamed via Big 12 Now on ESPN+, and KJHK will call every game on 90.7 FM. Fans can also catch play-by-play action with live statistics and are encouraged to follow the official Kansas Softball X Account for live updates throughout each contest.
