RCW: Sport Spotlight 4.29 (Softball)
Let the Orange Game begin! #KUsoftball #JayhawksForACure pic.twitter.com/Hwf2RVnP3R
— Kansas Softball (@KUSoftball) March 31, 2018
A post shared by Kansas Softball (@kusoftball) on Mar 30, 2018 at 4:41pm PDT
KU’s 12-inning, three-hour-and-42-minute marathon of a game against Colorado State on March 30 was the longest game KU has played in 25 years. And that was just game one of a doubleheader that the Jayhawks split with the Rams.
Junior utility Brynn Minor set a Big 12 season high for strikeouts in a game (14) while pitching 9.2 innings of relief during KU’s first extra-inning loss of the season. The Jayhawks are now 4-1 in extra-inning games after the narrow 8-6 loss.
Minor’s relief appearance in the pitching circle began in the top of the third inning with bases load and one out with KU trailing, 3-0. Despite the difficult situation, she proceeded to strikeout seven of the next eight batters she faced.
“Brynn came in the game in a tough situation and did an unbelievable job,” Kansas head coach Megan Smith said. “I know we ended up not winning that first game, but she had really gutsy performance. She did an excellent job. There are a number of things she did well — getting ahead of the count on batters, using her off-speed pitches well — but the bottom line is that Brynn competed hard today. In tough games like that, you have to have someone who is going to compete the entire time and she did just that.”
The 2017 junior college national player of the year kept KU in the game long enough to tie it in the bottom of the seventh inning and force extra innings, before the Jayhawks were edged after 12 innings.
Minor’s relief appearance was also a Big 12 season high for innings pitched, lasting 9.2 innings for a total of 191 pitches.
The last time KU played at least 12 innings was on March 23, 1993, when Kansas and Cal State Northridge tied, 1-1, after 15 innings.
In the 13 known games that have lasted 12 innings or longer in KU history, the Jayhawks have a 6-6-1 record. The short list of extra-inning marathons includes a 17-inning 1-0 loss to Arizona in the 1992 Women’s College World Series.
KU games lasting 12 innings or longer:
| Date | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 4/27/1979 | Pittsburg State | W, 3-1 (12) |
| 3/15/1982 | at UT Arlington | L, 0-1 (19) |
| 3/16/1982 | vs. Texas A&M | L, 0-1 (13) |
| 4/15/1983 | Missouri | W, 1-0 (14) |
| 4/29/1983 | vs. Oklahoma State | W, 2-1 (16) |
| 4/26/1989 | Creighton | W, 3-2 (19) |
| 3/15/1991 | vs. Arizona | L, 2-3 (12) |
| 4/30/1991 | at Wichita State | W, 2-1 (16) |
| 5/2/1992 | vs. Oklahoma State | L, 0-1 (24) |
| 5/23/1992 | vs. Arizona | L, 0-1 (17) |
| 3/7/1993 | vs. Sam Houston State | W, 1-0 (12) |
| 3/23/1993 | at Cal State Northridge | T, 1-1 (15) |
| 3/30/2018 | Colorado State | L, 6-8 (12) |
NCAA Division I games lasting 12 innings or longer this season:
| Date | Teams | Innings |
|---|---|---|
| 3/14/2018 | Rutgers vs. Fla. Atlantic | 15 |
| 3/09/2018 | LSU vs. Auburn | 14 |
| 2/24/2018 | FIU vs. Boston College | 14 |
| 3/31/2018 | Georgia St. vs. Troy | 12 |
| 3/30/2018 | Kansas vs. Colorado St. | 12 |
| 3/28/2018 | Cornell vs. Binghamton | 12 |
| 3/25/2018 | Oklahoma St. vs. Iowa St. | 12 |
| 3/24/2018 | Auburn vs. Kentucky | 12 |
| 3/22/2018 | LSU vs. BYU | 12 |
