🥎 Kansas to Host Iowa State in Final Regular-Season Series
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Kansas softball team (22-23, 2-13 Big 12) will wrap-up regular-season action this weekend hosting Iowa State (28-19, 3-12 Big 12) at Arrocha Ballpark. The three-game series is scheduled to begin on Friday, May 7 at 6 p.m. Action continues on Saturday, May 8 at 2 p.m., before concluding on Sunday, May 9 at noon.
The weekend’s games will be available to watch on the Big 12 NOW on ESPN+. Leif Lesic will be on the call doing play-by-play all weekend. He will be joined by Jill Dorsey Hall on Friday and Saturday. Dave Stewart will join Leif on Sunday. Fans can also listen to the games on the Jayhawk IMG Radio Network. Links to watch and listen to the game can be found at on the Kansas softball schedule page.
Saturday’s game will play host to Kansas’ Senior Day. Prior to first pitch at 2 p.m., KU welcomes back the 2020 senior class of Madison Sykes, Becki Monaghan, Mandy Roberts, Sam Dellinger, Shelby Hughston and Kirsten Pruett to be recognized. Following the game, Kansas will honor the current senior class of Hannah Todd, Miranda Rodriguez, Hailey Reed, Tarin Travieso and Sydnee Ramsey. The Jayhawks will also recognize two senior managers, Jeremy Eilert and Nate Thompson, postgame.
The last time Kansas and Iowa State met was in May 2019 since the 2020 Big 12 conference schedule was canceled due to COVID-19. The Jayhawks dropped the series in Ames, Iowa to the Cyclones after sending two of the three games into extra innings, including taking the first game to nine innings and the series finale to eight.
During the 2019 series, four current Jayhawks made an impact offensively. Morgyn Wynne led the charge with three hits, two RBIs and one run scored. Rodriguez had five hits and one RBI. Brittany Jackson tallied two hits and one run, and Sydnee Ramsey scored one run.
From the circle, Lexy Mills is the only pitcher who returns to the squad from that series. Mills pitched 5.2 innings with five strikeouts in the final game of the series against the Cyclones.
Overall, Kansas leads the series 56-40. For games played in Lawrence, the Jayhawks hold a 26-12 record over Iowa State including winning the last game that was played in Lawrence, 4-1, back on May 6, 2018.
Last Outing
The Jayhawks are coming off a series loss at Baylor last weekend. The Jayhawks were led at the plate by Wynne who batted .444 with four hits including two home runs. Freshman Lyric Moore followed Wynne with a .400 average with two hits, two runs scored and three RBIs. Moore helped spur KU’s late rally in the second game of the series with a double and two RBIs. Moore also clocked her first-career home run with a solo shot out of left center in the series finale.
From the circle, Hannah Todd maintained a team-low 2.10 ERA through 3.1 innings pitched at Baylor. She also led the Jayhawks with four strikeouts through two appearances. Kasey Hamilton pitched the most innings (five) and had one strikeout. In total, five different Jayhawks saw time in the circle for Kansas spread over 18 innings.
Up Next
The Big 12 Championships will run May 14-15 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma at the USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex. Game times and a bracket are still to be announced based on this weekend’s results. Only the top six teams in the Big 12 will make it.
