Pair of Home Runs Lead KU to Victory
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Home runs from freshman Lily Behrmann and sophomore Chaley Brickey got Kansas’ offense rolling in its 15-0 win over Avila on Thursday night. KU amassed 14 hits and improved to 5-0 in the fall season.
“The offense looked good tonight,” said head coach Megan Smith of Kansas’ 15-0 win. “Again, we saw a lot of good adjustments from our offense. We’ve challenged some players to step up after losing some key players from last year. Chaley Brickey has proven this week that she is one of those players that can step up and Lily Behrmann continues to be phenomenal offensively.”
Behrmann hit a two-run home run over the right field fence in the first inning which gave KU an early 2-0 lead. Brickey followed with a grand slam in the second inning increasing the Jayhawks lead, 6-0. Brickey ended the night a triple shy from hitting for the cycle. She was 3-for-3 at the plate with a walk and nine RBI. Behrmann finished 2-for-2 with two RBI.
In the third inning, Brickey extended KU’s lead to 8-0 with a hard-hit single up the middle. The Jayhawks added six run on four hits in the fourth inning increasing their lead 14-0 over Avila.
“Chaley had a really great night,” Smith said. “She has been working really hard in the batting cages and it showed tonight. We saw the best at-bats she’s had all fall season tonight.”
Junior Chanin Naudin drove in the final KU run with a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning. She had two RBI on the night.
Junior Alicia Pille started in the circle and tossed four scoreless innings. She limited the Eagles to two hits and recorded five strikeouts in the combined shutout.
Beth Wilson took over in the fifth inning and threw three hitless innings of relief. She struck out two in her second appearance.
“Beth threw extremely well,” said Smith of Wilson’s performance in the circle. “She threw in our first tournament and I could tell she was nervous. Tonight she was calm and poised. She looked sharp tonight and I’m glad to see that.”
Kansas hits the road for the first time on Saturday, Oct. 12 to take on Iowa at 1 p.m.
“We’re excited to face Iowa,” Smith said of KU’s first road trip. “We’re going to challenge ourselves this fall and see how we stack up.”
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