Kansas opens Big 12 play against Baylor
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas is slated to open Big 12 play on Saturday, March 30 at 2 p.m. (Alumni Day) when it hosts Baylor for a three-game series at Arrocha Ballpark. The Jayhawks and Lady Bears are scheduled to play a doubleheader on Sunday, March 31 at 11 a.m. (Jayhawks for a Cure) following the schedule change due to weather. The series finale will start at approximately 1:30 p.m. (Superhero Day). on Sunday following the 11 a.m. contest.
KU enters the series winners of five of its last six games, including a three-game series sweep over Green Bay. The Jayhawks earned two 5-4 victories over the Phoenix and tallied the series sweep on a two-RBI walk-off double by Sydnee Ramsey on March 23. In the series opening game, Kansas beat Green Bay 9-0.
Baylor recently completed a midweek game against No. 9/10 Texas, and dropped the contest 2-0. Prior to the game with Texas, Baylor finished its Big 12 opening series against Oklahoma State with one victory and two losses. The Cowgirls captured the series opener and the series finale over the Lady Bears.
Fans can listen on the Jayhawk Radio Network via KUAthletics.com/Radio with Jackson Schneider calling the action.
QUICK HITS
• Kansas completed a three-game series sweep over Green Bay (3/22-23), earning its first series sweep since May 12-14, 2016 against Iowa State.
• Hannah Todd earned her first career victory at Kansas, pitching 5.2 innings with no runs allowed in relief vs. Green Bay (3/23). Todd’s 5.2 innings pitched are a career-high.
• Sydnee Ramsey finished the three-game series vs. Green Bay with a team-high seven RBI, while also earning 11 total bases.
• Todd, Lexy Mills and Brynn Minor each finished with a 0.00 ERA vs. Green Bay (3/22-23) and pitched four innings or more against the Phoenix.
• KU earned its first three-consecutive game winning streak since March 17-21, 2018, when the Jayhawks tallied four wins in a row. KU beat Northern Colorado and Saint Louis on March 17, UMKC on March 18 and concluded its winning streak at Incarnate Word on March 21.
• At Wichita State on March 20, KU fell to the Shockers, 11-10, in extra innings, but Morgyn Wynne hit her first career grand slam in the contest.
• KU scored 10-or-more runs and lost for the first time since March 2, 1996, when the Jayhawks fell to then-No. 16 Minnesota, 11-12 in nine innings.
• The Jayhawks earned their first two-game winning streak of the season, beating Nebraska 1-0 (3/17) and Omaha 8-0 (3/18).
• The shutout victories also mark the first time in back-to-back games since March 17-21, 2018 that KU had held opponents scoreless. On March 17 Kansas held Saint Louis scoreless (4-0) and followed the feat with another zero run affair against UMKC (3-0) on March 18. KU concluded the streak on March 21 against Incarnate Word (5-0).
• Freshman Lexy Mills pitched her first career no-hit performance against Omaha, finishing with 10 strikeouts and four walks while holding the Mavericks hitless. Mills recorded back-to-back double-digit strikeouts, tallying 11 strikeouts against UMKC (3/10) and 10 strikeouts against Omaha (3/18).
• Against Omaha, Kansas recorded its first walk-off victory of 2019, scoring four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to beat the Mavs, 8-0.
• Baylor holds a 36-26 advantage over Kansas in the overall series, including a four-game winning streak over the Jayhawks.
WHERE THEY RANK
• Kansas ranks second in the Big 12 and 70th nationally in double plays per game (0.39).
• The Jayhawks rank fourth in the Big 12 and 98th in the NCAA in doubles per game (1.32).
• KU is 123rd in the NCAA in home runs per game (0.61) and sixth in the Big 12.
• Lexy Mills is ranked 22nd in the NCAA and sixth in the Big 12 in strikeouts per seven innings (9.4).
• Mills is also ranked 7th in the Big 12 and 49th nationally in hits allowed per seven innings (4.68).
WHERE THEY RANK continued…
• Morgyn Wynne is ranked 13th in the Big 12 in slugging percentage (0.631), while Becki Monaghan is sixth in the conference and 106th in the NCAA for toughest to strike out (18.8).
TEXAS CONNECTION
• Five Kansas student-athletes hail from the state of Texas, which is the most represented state on the 2019 roster. Also, head coach Jennifer McFalls’ hometown is Grand Prairie, Texas.
A MAJOR MINOR LEADER
• Since being inserted back into a hitting role for Kansas, Minor has a .244 batting average with 11 hits and has six RBI.
• Minor has also made 21 appearances (101.0 IP) with 12 starts in the circle for Kansas. The senior from Wichita, Kansas leads KU in appearances, games started, ERA (3.74) and innings pitched.
WYNNE THEM OVER
• Wynne has recently been thrust into a unfamiliar role for the Jayhawks, and has been used as a catcher following the injury to Shelby Gayre. Wynne started five of the last six games behind the plate. The freshman from Pittsburg, California finished the previous five games with seven RBI, four home runs (one grand slam) and six hits in 15 plate appearances.
SCHEDULE CHANGES
• Kansas was originally slated to play five games at the Tennessee Classic, but due to inclement weather the Jayhawks were only able to play three games.
• The Jayhawks then played another altered schedule due to weather at the NC State Invitational and Duke Invitational. Originally scheduled to play Campbell on March 1, the Camels and Jayhawks met on March 3. KU was able to compete in all five games in Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina.
• In their first home tournament of the year – The Jayhawk Invitational – Kansas played four games instead of the originally scheduled five. Kansas finished 1-3 in the invitational.
• Originally scheduled for Tuesday, March 12, the single game midweek clash against Omaha was moved to Monday, March 18. KU earned the 8-0 walk-off victory.
• Due to inclement weather on Saturday, March 23, the three-game series against Green Bay was adjusted to a doubleheader on Friday, March 22 and a single game on March 23.
OMAHA | NO-HITTER
• Kansas earned its first walk-off victory and no-hit performance of the season against Omaha on March 18, beating the Mavericks 8-0 in six innings. Freshman Lexy Mills finished with 10 strikeouts and four walks, while holding the Mavs hitless.
• The Jayhawks needed four-runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to end the game, and produced their sixth four-run inning of the season. Sophomore Brittany Jackson laced a double to the outfield, plating the final two runs of the game.
• The Jayhawks tallied their first no-hitter since March 20, 2016 against St. Louis, 9-0. Andie Formby pitched six innings with four strikeouts and one walk.
RECAPPING WICHITA STATE
• On March 20 in Wichita, Kansas, the Jayhawks fell to the Wichita State 11-10 in a nine-inning game. After WSU tallied five runs in the second inning, Morgyn Wynne hit her first career grand slam to pull KU within one run. Two innings later the Jayhawks earned five runs – the most in a single inning this season – and held a commanding 10-5 lead.
• The Shockers netted three runs in the sixth inning and added two more in the seventh. KU netted a run in the top of the seventh, which proved critical to force extra innings.
• Neither team added a run in the eighth, and Kansas was held scoreless in the top of the ninth. Wichita State earned the game-winning run on a single to left field, which plated a runner from third.
RECAPPING GREEN BAY
• The Jayhawks recorded their first series sweep of an opponent since May 12-14, 2016 against Iowa State, defeating Green Bay 5-4 in a walk-off in the seventh inning at Arrocha Ballpark in the series finale with the Phoenix.
• Kansas opened the series with two wins on Friday, March 22, beating Green Bay 9-0 in game one and 5-4 in game two. The Jayhawks earned the 9-0 victory in part to Sydnee Ramsey’s first career grand slam, which extended the lead for Kansas to earn the run-rule victory in the fifth.
• In game two, KU again jumped out to an early lead and command a five-run advantage at the end of the fifth inning. Green Bay stormed back, and scored four runs in the sixth. Hannah Todd appeared in the seventh inning to shut down the Phoenix and earn her first career save.
• Unlike the first two games of the series, Kansas was down to their last two outs against Green Bay, down 4-3 in the seventh. Ramsey against helped KU earn victory with a two-RBI walk-off double to left center. The Jayhawks earned their third-consecutive victory and won five of their last six games.
VS. BAYLOR
• Baylor enters the three-game series in Lawrence with a 36-26 edge in the series history between the two schools, including a 15-8 record in Lawrence. In the last series in Lawrence, the Bears captured the series with a win on March 25, 2017 (6-1) and March 26 (5-1). The Jayhawks stopped the series sweep by beating Baylor 6-4 on the second game of the doubleheader on March 25.
• The Lady Bears completed their first Big 12 series against No. 21 Oklahoma State March 22-24, falling to the Cowgirls twice. Baylor beat OK State on Saturday, March 23, 2-1, to avenge a 21-2 series opening loss. Oklahoma State captured the series victory, beating the Lady Bears 2-1 in the series finale on March 23. The Lady Bears played a midweek contest against No. 9/10 Texas, falling to the Longhorns, 2-0.
• Baylor is led at the plate by Goose McGlaun, who has team-high .395 batting average, while leading the team in on-base percentage (.490), walks (17), hits (32), slugging percentage (.556) and total bases (45). McGlaun is tied with Nicky Dawson for the team lead in hits (32), and the duo each have 11 RBI and are only behind Kassidy Krupit’s 19 RBI. Sidney Holman leads the Baylor inside the circle, and is the team leader in innings pitched (102.2), strikeouts (85), ERA (2.80) and complete games (7).
UP NEXT
• Following the three-game series with Baylor in Lawrence, Kansas, the Jayhawks travel to Tulsa, Oklahoma on Wednesday, April 3 to play a single game against the Golden Hurricane. After the one game, KU continues its Oklahoma-road swing with a three-game series against Oklahoma State in Stillwater April 5-7.
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