Kansas Plates 10 in First, Throws No-Hitter to Finish Weekend Sweep

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas closed out its opening home weekend in dominant fashion, erupting for 10 runs in the first inning and combining for a no-hitter in a run-rule victory over Utah State on Saturday at Arrocha Ballpark.

"I was really proud of the way our group came out ready to compete," head coach Jennifer McFalls said. "We were aggressive at the plate, had great energy in the dugout and kept building momentum throughout the inning. When our offense gets going like that it takes pressure off everyone, and our pitchers did a great job staying composed and finishing the job."

The Jayhawks carried their offensive momentum from Friday's doubleheader sweep, recording their second straight run-rule win of the weekend while improving to 18-7 overall and finishing the series undefeated at home. Kansas' pitching staff of Kaelee Washington, Kennedy Diggs, Samantha Claire, and Lizzy Ludwig held Utah State hitless, while the offense produced early fireworks to put the game out of reach.

How It Happened | vs. Utah State

Kansas wasted no time at the plate, exploding for 10 runs in the bottom of the first inning. Presley Limbaugh reached on an error before Aynslee Linduff drove her home with an RBI double to start the scoring.
After a walk from Anna Soles, Ella Boyer singled to load the bases before Hailey Cripe brought home another run with an RBI single through the left side.
Kadence Stafford extended the rally with a two-RBI double to left center, scoring Soles and Boyer to push the lead to 4-0.
The Jayhawks continued to pour it on as Ava Wallace launched a three-run home run to deep right field, bringing home Cripe and Stafford to stretch the advantage to 7-0.
Kansas kept the inning alive with a single from Limbaugh before Linduff returned to the plate and blasted a two-run home run to right field, increasing the lead to 9-0.
The inning was capped when Boyer delivered an RBI double to center field, bringing home Soles and giving Kansas a commanding 10-0 lead after one inning.
The Jayhawks added to the lead in the third inning as Madi Hays opened the frame with a solo home run to left field.
Later in the inning, Anna Soles delivered another big swing with a two-run home run to deep right field, extending Kansas' advantage to 13-0.
Kansas plated its final run in the fourth inning when Jaeden Murphy doubled to right center, scoring Emma Tatum from first base.
Meanwhile, the Kansas pitching staff combined for a no-hitter, as Kaelee Washington, Kennedy Diggs, Samantha Claire and Lizzy Ludwig held Utah State without a hit to secure the run-rule victory.

PITCHERS OF RECORD

Win: Kaelee Washington (5-1)
Final line: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 SO
Loss: Jordyn Lish (0-2)
Final line: 0.0 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 0 SO

UP NEXT

Kansas closes out its first weekend at home and now turns its attention to Big 12 Conference play, playing Houston for a three-game series beginning Friday, March 13 at Cougar Softball Stadium. The games will be streamed on ESPN+, and fans can follow along through live stats or by keeping up with the action on the official Kansas Softball X (Twitter) account.

University of Kansas Athletics