Kansas Rally Comes Up Short in Walk-Off Loss at BYU

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas dropped the second game of its series at BYU on a walk-off solo home run in the seventh inning, despite rallying late to tie the game. The Jayhawks scored once in the fourth and evened the score in the sixth on Ella Boyer's two-run home run before the Cougars answered in their final at-bat.

Kansas moves to 24-10 overall and 5-3 in Big 12 play and will look to claim the series in the finale with a 12:30 p.m. CT first pitch.

How It Happened | vs BYU

Presley Limbaugh opened the game with a single to center in the top of the first, but a double play and a groundout ended the early opportunity.
Kaelee Washington earned the start in the circle and Kansas' defense quickly recorded two outs. BYU, however, capitalized with two runners on base, launching a three-run home run to right field to take an early 3-0 lead.
With the Cougars threatening again in the second, Lila Partridge entered in relief to keep the deficit at three.
Kansas broke through in the fourth inning. Hailey Cripe singled, and Anna Soles reached on a fielder's choice that allowed Limbaugh to score, trimming the lead to 3-1.
The Jayhawk defense settled in from there, holding BYU scoreless across the middle innings.
In the sixth, Limbaugh sparked the offense again with an infield single. Ella Boyer followed with her 13th home run of the season to left-center field, tying the game at 3-3.
BYU threatened in the bottom half of the inning with two runners in scoring position and one out, but Partridge recorded a strikeout and Kansas secured a lineout to escape the jam.
In the seventh, Kadence Stafford worked a walk and advanced on a sacrifice bunt, but Kansas was unable to bring the go-ahead run home.
Kansas recorded two quick outs in the bottom of the inning on a swinging strikeout and a lineout, but BYU's final batter delivered a walk-off solo home run to seal the 4-3 win.

Pitchers of Record

Win: Hailey Shuler (5-5)
Final Line: 7.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 3 SO
Loss: Lila Partridge (3-3)
Final Line: 5.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 SO

Up Next

Kansas will wrap up its three-game series at BYU tomorrow. First pitch is set for 12:30 p.m. CT. Fans can follow the action on ESPN+, live stats, and the Kansas Softball X account.

University of Kansas Athletics