Kansas falls to Louisville, beats Virginia

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Kansas (3-10) softball completed the Tennessee Classic splitting the final day of competition. The Jayhawks started the altered schedule with an early morning defeat by Louisville (5-5), 5-3, and finished the weekend finale with a 5-2 victory over Virginia (4-6) at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.
 
Louisville 5, Kansas 3
After missing an entire day of competition at the Tennessee Classic, Kansas and Louisville finally had their chance to battle at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.
 
The Cardinals didn’t wait long to get on the scoreboard, plating three runs in the first off Kansas starting pitcher Kirsten Pruett. Pruett completed the first inning, but was relieved by freshman Lexy Mills.
 
Mills held the Cardinal bats scoreless for the next three innings, including a three-strikeout fourth inning.
 
In the top of the fifth inning, UL extended its lead to 5-0 and was the only runs that Mills allowed.
 
Madison Sykes with two runners on had a chance to cut into the Louisville lead and did just that, hitting a three-home run.
 
The final two innings between the two squads were scoreless with Mills finishing the last six innings of the game. The Calabasas, Calif., native finished with eight strikeouts, which is the most in a single game by any Kansas pitcher this season.
 
Kansas 5, Virginia 2
An early-morning loss and a rain shortened tournament gave Kansas one last chance to earn a win at the Tennessee Classic.
 
Senior Brynn Minor started for the Jayhawks and pitched four scoreless innings to begin the contest, and did not have any room to work until the third inning.
 
Virginia held the KU batters scoreless until the fourth, when a walk by Becki Monaghan started a three-run inning for the Jayhawks.
 
Following the walk, Kansas tallied a hit by Minor and a wild pitch by Virginia advanced runners to second and third.
 
Sam Dellinger laced a single to right field, giving the Jayhawks their first lead of the tournament and later scored on a hit by Shelby Hughston that plated two.
 
After a scoreless half inning by each team, Virginia launched a solo home run in the fifth off of Minor.
 
The Jayhawks tallied two more runs on the day in the top of the seventh, giving the Jayhawks more breathing room in the final half inning.
 
Minor faced her first real test of the game in the seventh and allowed a single run with the bases loaded. The Wichita, Kan., native rebounded and struck out the final batter of the game.
 
NOTES

  • Lexy Mills notched a career-high eight strikeouts, and pitched a three-strikeout fourth inning against Louisville. Mills eight strikeouts are a team-high in a single game this season.
  • Madison Sykes tallied her first home run of the season against Louisville and notched the only runs by KU in the contest.
  • Brynn Minor earned her first victory of the season, pitching her second complete game of the season.

 
UP NEXT
Kansas competes in its final away tournament of 2019, heading to North Carolina to play in the NC State & Duke Invitational March 1-3. KU starts the tournament with two games in Raleigh, N.C., playing Campbell and host NC State. The Jayhawks then battle with Mississippi State and Duke in Durham, N.C., before closing the tournament against Charleston Southern.
 

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