Kansas travels to Lubbock to play No. 12/15 Texas Tech
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas returns to the road and travels to Lubbock, Texas to play No. 12/15 Texas Tech at Rocky Johnson Field April 18-20.
The Jayhawks enter the series fifth in the Big 12 standings, while the Red Raiders are fourth. KU hosted then-No. 2/2 Oklahoma April 12-14, while TTU completed a three-game series sweep of Baylor in the same time frame.
Fans can watch all three games on Texas Tech TV, or listen on the Jayhawk Radio Network via KUAthletics.com/Radio with Jackson Schneider calling the action.
QUICK HITS
• 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).
• Kansas tallied 12 hits in the second game of the doubleheader against Baylor, the seventh timethis season KU has had 10-or-more hits.
• Lexy Mills tallied seven strikeouts against Baylor and has seven games of seven-or-more strikeouts this season.
• KU earned its first Big 12 opening game win after beating Baylor (9-8) since March 28, 2014 when the Jayhawks beat Oklahoma State, 1-0, in Lawrence, Kansas.
• Kansas completed a three-game series sweep over Green Bay (3/22-23), earning its first series sweep since May 12-14, 2016 against Iowa State.
WHERE THEY RANK (as of 4/15)
• Kansas ranks second in the Big 12 and 26th nationally in double plays per game (0.49).
• The Jayhawks rank sixth in the Big 12 and 109th in the NCAA in doubles per game (1.32).
• KU is 123rd in the NCAA in home runs per game (0.63) and sixth in the Big 12.
• Lexy Mills is ranked 49th in the NCAA and sixth in the Big 12 in strikeouts per seven innings (8.2).
• Mills is also ranked 9th in the Big 12 and 69th nationally in hits allowed per seven innings (5.14).
NPF DRAFT REWIND
• Chaley Brickey was the last Kansas softball player drafted in the National ProFastpitch Draft.Brickey was selected by the PA Rebellion with the 16th selection in the 2016 draft, and was the first Big 12 player selected that year. The 2019 NPF Draft was Monday, April 15.
Stiff Competition
• In the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll, Kansas is scheduled to play or have played five teams (No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 8 Tennessee, No. 11 Texas, No. 12 Texas Tech and No. 13 Oklahoma State) in 2019. Six other KU opponents (Stanford, Arizona State, Missouri, Mississippi State, Louisville and Tulsa) are receiving votes in the poll.\
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 VS. GREGORY | TEXAS A&M CAREER
• Both Kansas head coach Jennifer McFalls (1991-94) and Texas Tech head coach Adrian Gregory (2002-05) played at Texas A&M. McFalls is top 10 in seven Aggie career record categories including first in hits (279), tied for second in doubles (48), second in triples (24) and second in batting average (.379). The two former Aggies are top 10 in triples (2. McFalls: 24 | 9. Gregory: 8) and runs (4. McFalls 168 | 10. Gregory: 130).
RECAPPING 2/2 OKLAHOMA SERIES
• Kansas dropped all three games to No. 2/2 Oklahoma April 12-14 at Arrocha Ballpark. In game one against OU, the Sooners were aided by 11 walks by the Kansas pitching staff. The first three innings between the Big 12 schools was scoreless and the Sooners opened scoring with a five run fourth inning. OU added another run in the fifth and four in the sixth. Sam Dellinger earned the only KU hit of the game.
• In the second game of the series, Kansas only allowed five runs and three walks, but again only managed one hit. Becki Monaghan earned her first hit of the series in the seventh inning, while OU was limited to five hits in the seven inning contest.
• Oklahoma captured the series finale over KU 8-0, but the Jayhawks were able to tally three hits in the contest. OU scored all eight of its runs on four home runs, which included a three-run home run in the first inning. Hannah Todd tied a career-high three strikeouts against the Sooners.
VS. TEXAS TECH
• Texas Tech enters the series 33-8 and 6-6 in Big 12 play. The Red Raiders recently swept Baylor April 12-14, including a 11-6 victory in the season finale.
• The Red Raiders are led at the plate by Karli Hamilton, who is their team leader in batting average (.425), runs (43), hits (57), triples (6), total bases (95) and on-base percentage (.490). Hamilton is second on the team in runs batted in (33), doubles (8) and slugging percentage (.709). Texas Tech has eight players with a .300 batting average or greater, and are second in the Big 12 in team batting average (.332).
• In the circle, TTU boasts the third best earned run average (2.53), while limiting batters to a .253 batting average. Missy Zoch has team-high marks in ERA (1.89), games started (20), game appearances (28), innings pitched (118.2) and strikeouts (127). Zoch is second on the team with 14 wins, while Erin Edmoundson is the team leader in wins (15). Edmoundson has 10 complete games, while tossing 108.2 innings with 112 strikeouts.
TEXAS TECH SERIES NOTES
• Kansas holds a 36-25 edge over Texas Tech in the all-time series, while also holding a 18-10 record in Lubbock, Texas.
• TTU head coach Adrian Gregory (2002-05) and KU head coach Jennifer McFalls (1991-94) both played softball at Texas A&M.
• Kansas posted a 12-game winning streak over TTU from 2004-09, including four wins in Lubbock.
• In the most recent series in Lubbock, Texas, KU won the series 2-1, beating TTU 8-5 (4/7/17) and 5-4 (4/8/17). The Red Raiders captured the series finale 3-9 (4/9/17) and have won three additional since the last meeting in Lubbock.
• On April 7, 2013, Kansas freshman Kelsey Kessler pitched a no-hitter against the Red Raiders.
• In the last three series (1998, 2011, 2012) between the two schools when Texas Tech was ranked in the NFCA top 25 poll, the Jayhawks and Red Raiders split the series with one win each. The most recent series in 2012, then-No. 24 Texas Tech won the first game 1-4, while Kansas won the second contest 5-4.
UP NEXT
• Kansas returns to Lawrence, Kansas to face No. 10/11 Texas April 26-28 at Arrocha Ballpark. Friday, April 26 is the Salute to Service game, while Sunday, April 28 is Senior Day. All three games are scheduled to be on ESPN+.
