Kansas shuts out UMKC, 3-0
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Junior pitcher Andie Formby threw her second-straight complete-game shutout as Kansas softball blanked UMKC, 3-0, in the final game of the Rock Chalk Challenge on Sunday at Arrocha Ballpark.
Formby (10-2) picked up her 10th win of the season after throwing seven shutout innings against the Roos (8-16). The Orange, California, native has not given up an earned run in the last four appearances in the circle, spanning 23.2 innings.
“Our game plan went pretty well today. I came out and trusted my defense while trying to throw as many first-pitch strikes as possible,” Formby said after the contest. “I threw against UMKC recently (on March 8), so I was working on finding strikes early in the count in order to get them to chase certain pitches out of the zone.”
Kansas (22-6) stranded nine UMKC runners on base. None of the Roos’ nine runners advanced past second base as the Jayhawks’ defense clamped down for its 15th errorless game of the season while Formby fanned five batters at the plate.
Senior catcher Harli Ridling jump-started KU’s offense by leading off the second inning with a double to left-centerfield. After freshman Addie Balderston pinch ran for Ridling, senior outfielder Erin McGinley drove in Balderston for KU’s first run of the day on a single up the middle.
The Jayhawks nearly batted through the order in the second inning as freshman Brittany Jackson — the seventh KU batter of the inning — came to the plate with the bases loaded to drive in McGinely with an RBI single, giving KU a 2-0 lead.
As Formby continued to freeze UMKC’s offense, Kansas added another run in the fourth inning on back-to-back at-bats by Sam Dellinger and Madison Sykes. Dellinger hit a one-out single, followed by an RBI double by Sykes — her first double of the season — to give KU a 3-0 lead.
A total of nine Jayhawks got a hit on Sunday, including senior Amanda Organ’s first hit of the season in the sixth inning. Organ entered the game at second base for Dellinger in the fifth inning.
Kansas finishes atop the standings of the four-day, 16-game Rock Chalk Challenge with a 5-1 record, followed by Northern Colorado (4-2), Saint Louis (3-2), UMKC (2-3), Western Illinois (1-4) and Murray State (1-4).
UP NEXT
During the KU’s spring break next week, the Jayhawks will travel to Texas for a doubleheader against Incarnate Word on March 21 in San Antonio, followed by a Big 12-opening series against Texas, March 23-25, in Austin.
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