Completed Event: Softball versus Illinois State on February 6, 2026 , Win , 13, to, 5 , (5 Inn.)
Final
Softball
13
vs Illinois State
(5 Inn.)
5
Saturday, May 3
Lawrence, Kan.
2 p.m. CT
University of Kansas
22-26, 0
4
vs
5
University of Central Florida
31-21-1, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
R
H
E
UCF
0
0
0
0
1
0
3
1
5
9
2
Kansas
1
1
1
0
1
0
0
0
4
14
0
Kansas Falls to UCF in Extra Innings, 5-4
5/3/2025 4:55:00 PM | Softball
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas softball fell to UCF, 5-4, in extra innings Saturday afternoon at Arrocha Ballpark.
UCF (31-21, 11-12 Big 12) opened with a leadoff double in the first, but Olivia Bruno shut the door with three straight outs. Kansas (22-26, 6-17 Big 12) answered in the bottom half of the inning when Hailey Cripe launched a solo homer to straightaway center, putting the Jayhawks up 1-0.
Bruno stranded a pair of UCF runners in the second, and the Jayhawks tacked on another run as September Flanagan doubled and scored on Aynslee Linduff's RBI single to make it 2-0. Bruno then tossed a clean 1-2-3 inning in the third.
Kansas loaded the bases in the third and extended the lead to 3-0 on a sacrifice fly by Flanagan. Bruno continued to dominate, retiring the side in order again in the fourth.
UCF broke through in the fifth on a solo homer off the left-field foul pole by Madison Simon. Kansas responded with a rally of its own. Natalie Marshall and Emma Tatum delivered back-to-back singles, and Presley Limbaugh drove in Marshall with a line-drive single up the middle. Linduff followed with a single to load the bases, but Cripe struck out to end the threat, leaving Kansas ahead 4-1.
Bruno worked around a leadoff walk in the sixth thanks to a double play turned by Campbell Bagshaw. The Jayhawks added another hit in the bottom half but were caught stealing and then hit into a double play.
UCF opened the seventh with a home run by Izzy Mertes, trimming the lead to 4-2. With runners on, Aubrey Evans tied the game on a two-run single. Kansas escaped the inning with the game tied 4-4 after Bagshaw made a play at the plate and Brooks ended the frame with a strikeout.
UCF took its first lead in the eighth with back-to-back doubles, making it 5-4. In the bottom half, Bruno doubled with two outs to put the tying run in scoring position, but Kansas couldn't capitalize.
Pitchers of Record:Â
Win: Isabella Vega (12-4)Â
Line: 1.2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 SOÂ
Loss: Katie Brooks (8-8)Â
Line: 2.0 IP, 2 R, 4 H, 1 BB, 1 SO Â
Up Next:Â
Kansas will wrap up its series against UCF with the finale set for noon CT on Sunday at Arrocha Ballpark. Fans can follow the action on ESPN+, X (Twitter) or via live stats.
Notables:Â
UCF (31-21, 11-12 Big 12) opened with a leadoff double in the first, but Olivia Bruno shut the door with three straight outs. Kansas (22-26, 6-17 Big 12) answered in the bottom half of the inning when Hailey Cripe launched a solo homer to straightaway center, putting the Jayhawks up 1-0.
Bruno stranded a pair of UCF runners in the second, and the Jayhawks tacked on another run as September Flanagan doubled and scored on Aynslee Linduff's RBI single to make it 2-0. Bruno then tossed a clean 1-2-3 inning in the third.
Kansas loaded the bases in the third and extended the lead to 3-0 on a sacrifice fly by Flanagan. Bruno continued to dominate, retiring the side in order again in the fourth.
UCF broke through in the fifth on a solo homer off the left-field foul pole by Madison Simon. Kansas responded with a rally of its own. Natalie Marshall and Emma Tatum delivered back-to-back singles, and Presley Limbaugh drove in Marshall with a line-drive single up the middle. Linduff followed with a single to load the bases, but Cripe struck out to end the threat, leaving Kansas ahead 4-1.
Bruno worked around a leadoff walk in the sixth thanks to a double play turned by Campbell Bagshaw. The Jayhawks added another hit in the bottom half but were caught stealing and then hit into a double play.
UCF opened the seventh with a home run by Izzy Mertes, trimming the lead to 4-2. With runners on, Aubrey Evans tied the game on a two-run single. Kansas escaped the inning with the game tied 4-4 after Bagshaw made a play at the plate and Brooks ended the frame with a strikeout.
UCF took its first lead in the eighth with back-to-back doubles, making it 5-4. In the bottom half, Bruno doubled with two outs to put the tying run in scoring position, but Kansas couldn't capitalize.
Pitchers of Record:Â
Win: Isabella Vega (12-4)Â
Line: 1.2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 SOÂ
Loss: Katie Brooks (8-8)Â
Line: 2.0 IP, 2 R, 4 H, 1 BB, 1 SO Â
Up Next:Â
Kansas will wrap up its series against UCF with the finale set for noon CT on Sunday at Arrocha Ballpark. Fans can follow the action on ESPN+, X (Twitter) or via live stats.
Notables:Â
- Hailey Cripe hit her 10th home run of the season, extending her hitting streak to four games. Cripe's 10 homeruns this season are a career high.
- Anna Soles recorded two hits for her fifth multi-hit game of the season.
- Kansas moved to 13-5 when leading after five innings.Â
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Isabella Vega (12-4)
L: Brooks, Katie (8-8)
Batting:
2B: Aubrey Evans 1 ; Izzy Mertes 1 ; Beth Damon 1
HR: Izzy Mertes 1 ; Madison Simon 1
RBI: Aubrey Evans 1 ; Izzy Mertes 1 ; Beth Damon 1 ; Madison Simon 1
SF: Sierra Humphreys 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Izzy Mertes 2 ; Alexis Morgan 1 ; Samantha Rey 1 ; Madison Simon 1
SB: Sierra Humphreys 1
Batting:
2B: Bruno, Olivia 1 ; Flanagan, September 1
HR: Cripe, Hailey 1
RBI: Limbaugh, Presley 1 ; Linduff, Aynslee 1 ; Cripe, Hailey 1 ; Flanagan, September 1
SH: Bagshaw, Campbell 1
SF: Flanagan, September 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cripe, Hailey 1 ; Bruno, Olivia 1 ; Flanagan, September 1 ; Weber, Bailey 1
CS: Hays, Madi 1
HBP: Linduff, Aynslee 1 ; Marshall, Natalie 1
Game Leaders
p/dp
AB
4
R
1
H
3
RBI
0
AB
5
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
P/UTL
/ Softball
RHP/UTL
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
INF/UTL
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
LHP/UTL
/ Softball
INF
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