Kansas Falls to UCF in Extra Innings, 5-4

Saturday, May 3

Lawrence, Kan.

2 p.m. CT

University of Kansas

22-26, 0

University of Central Florida

31-21-1, 0

UCF

Kansas

Kansas Falls to UCF in Extra Innings, 5-4

5/3/2025 4:55:00 PM | Softball

Box Score Box Score (PDF) Conference Stats Season Stats

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:
Win: Isabella Vega (12-4)
Line: 1.2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 SO
Loss: Katie Brooks (8-8)
Line: 2.0 IP, 2 R, 4 H, 1 BB, 1 SO

Up Next:
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:

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.