Kansas defeats Akron, 4-1
DeLAND, Fla. — Kansas softball finished day two of the Stetson Leadoff Classic with a 4-1 victory over Akron on Saturday afternoon at Patricia Wilson Field.
Senior third baseman Jessie Roane and freshman shortstop Syndee Ramsey recorded two hits each to lead the Jayhawks (3-1) offensively. Junior utility player Brynn Minor (1-0) collected her first win in the circle as a Jayhawk, while senior pitcher Andie Formby picked up her second save of the season after facing the last seven Akron batters in the last two innings with two strikeouts and one hit allowed.
Kansas, acting as the designated home team in the neutral-site game, jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
Freshman centerfielder Brittany Jackson, fresh off a two-hit performance in the first game of the double-header, immediately put pressure on Akron’s defense by leading off the game with a single to center field and stealing a base.
After Jackson advanced to third on an infield groundout, Roane drove in the speedy freshman with a single to left field. Ramsey would drive in her first-career run on a single to right field, scoring Roane to give KU a 2-0 lead in the first.
Akron (0-3) got on the board in the following inning as a pinch-hitting Maddy Clowdus hit a two-out RBI single in the second inning. It would be the only run the Zips scored on Saturday afternoon.
The Jayhawks added two more runs in the bottom of the third inning to take a 4-1 lead. Lily Valeo, pinch-running for Roane, scored as Becki Monaghan hit into an Akron fielding error at second base. Later, Minor helped her pitching cause with an RBI single down the left field line, scoring Ramsey, who had reach earlier on an infield single.
Kansas pitchers Minor and Formby combined for five strikeouts, including a three-K fourth inning for Minor, in the final four innings to keep the Zips scoreless and complete the victory.
KU improves to 5-0 all-time against the Zips from the Mid-American Conference. Four of the five meetings between Kansas and Akron have taken place in DeLand, Florida.
NEXT UP
KU’s run in the season-opening Stetson Leadoff Classic concludes on Sunday morning against College of Charleston at 9 a.m. Central.
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