Kansas beats No. 12/15 Texas Tech
LUBBOCK, Texas – Kansas fought back a No. 12/15 Texas Tech rally attempt to earn its first victory over a ranked opponent since 2017, beating the Red Raiders 6-4 at Rocky Johnson Field. KU last defeated a ranked opponent March 25, 2017 against then-No. 14 Baylor.
The Jayhawks jumped out to an early lead after netting four runs in the second inning, and added two additional runs in the fifth inning off a Madison Sykes two-run home run.
Kansas (15-27, 3-7 Big 12) started its four-run inning with a Becki Monaghan walk and scored its first run on a Jennifer Marwitz double. Miranda Rodriguez singled through the right side, which plated Marwitz.
Two batters later Emily Bermel hit an infield single that scored Rodriguez, and again two batters later Brittany Jackson singled to score Bermel.
Holding a 6-0 advantage, Kansas faced its first test against the hard-hitting Texas Tech squad. The Red Raiders netted their first run of the game after loading the bases, and drawing a walk in the bottom of the fifth.
Emily Bermel saved the Kansas lead with a dive in left field that ended the fifth inning.
TTU added three runs in the sixth inning, but a fly out to Brittany Jackson in center ended the inning.
Brynn Minor reentered in the seventh inning in an effort to stop the Texas Tech attack that crawled back from the six-run deficit.
Minor used a strikeout for the first and second outs of the inning with the second coming with Texas Tech runners on second and third.
A ball laced to Rodriguez caused a small moment of panic, but was swiftly tossed over to Monaghan at first to secure the Jayhawk victory.
Minor earned the victory and pitched six innings in total, while allowing only one earned run with four strikeouts. Hannah Todd relieved Minor and pitched the sixth inning before Minor reentered in the seventh.
NOTES
- Madison Sykes hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning, her fourth home run of the season.
- Jennifer Marwitz hit her eighth double of the season and is tied with Sykes for second on the team behind Becki Monaghan (11).
- Kansas tallied nine hits against Texas Tech and it was the first time KU had nine-or-more hits since April 3 at Tulsa (11 hits), which was the Jayhawks last victory.
- KU earned its first victory over a ranked opponent since beating then-No. 14 Baylor March 25, 2017.
- Brynn Minor recorded her 10th victory of her Kansas career with the win over Texas Tech.
QUOTES
On tonight’s performance …
Our goal tonight was to get an early start. There have been times this season where we have got hot, but it has been late in games. Be ready defensively in the first inning, be ready in the circle in the first inning, and attack early. We stuck to that and got off to a good start in the second inning, scoring four runs. It gave us a lot of momentum. They (Texas Tech) are a great team and compete very well. We are very similar in a lot of ways, especially that neither of our teams quit. I knew having six runs on them might not be enough. I was very proud of our team for being able to battle.
Brynn doing what she was able to do tonight helped control the game. We received a lot of offensive production from unexpected spots. Miranda Rodriguez had two important hits which was a moral boost. Emily Bermel helped us get a timely RBI and a big catch late in the game. The good thing is we are getting a lot from many different players.
What Kansas can take into the final two games of the series …
Number one, we respect them greatly. They are going to compete very hard, and it is very significant to see both of their pitchers tonight. Most importantly we can’t settle for what went on tonight and have the same fight and hunger that we had early on in the game. Hopefully we will get our bats going early and continue to get the defensive stops when we need them.
UP NEXT
Kansas continues its series with No. 12/15 Texas Tech Friday, April 19 at 6 p.m. at Rock Johnson Field.
