Reid’s two-hit shutout propels Kansas past Panthers, 4-0
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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – On the heels of a near no hit performance from redshirt freshman Ania Williams, sophomore pitcher Alexis Reid took the ball for Kansas softball in its second game of the day. Reid followed Williams’ act with a great outing of her own, a two-hit complete game shutout, as the Jayhawks pushed four runs across the plate to top Eastern Illinois in the Osprey Invitational hosted by the University of North Florida.
“I was really proud of Alexis today, after having a little bit of a rough day yesterday,” head coach Megan Smith said. “She came out confident and did a much better job of hitting her spots and being precise with her pitches. I thought she did excellent.”
The Jayhawks (7-2) were gifted with two runs in the top of the first inning to get things going in the afternoon contest. Senior left fielder Lily Behrmann led off the game with a single up the middle, and an error on a fielder’s choice put two runners on base for Kansas.
Another fielder’s choice by Eastern Illinois (5-3) left juniors Erin McGinley and Jessie Roane on first and second with one out and a double steal put on by Smith turned out to be more successful than she could have imagined. Both runners were safe on the steals, and the throw by Panther catcher Ashlynn Paul trying to catch McGinley at third went wayward and into the Kansas dugout to allow both runners to advance home for the 2-0 lead.
Reid’s time in the circle started out much like Williams’ day against South Carolina State, as she didn’t allow a hit through the first three innings. Aided with two more runs by the Jayhawk offense in the top of the third thanks to RBIs from junior Harli Ridling and senior Taylor Dodson, the Blue Valley, Missouri native had room to relax in the circle. The sophomore may have relaxed a bit too much though, as she allowed three-straight hits to start the inning.
Despite having the bases loaded with no outs, Reid found a way to work out of the jam by getting a big strikeout, an easy pop up to freshman Becki Monaghan and hard-hit grounder to freshman second baseman Madison Sykes that was reeled to leave the bases loaded.
“I was really excited about Madison Sykes’ performance,” Smith said. “She has been playing a little bit but today we put her out there and defensively she was solid and she had some awesome at bats. It was great to see that from her today.”
McGinley led off the top of the fifth with a single up the middle, and as soon as she reached base the skies opened and the game was suspended for a rain delay. The weather postponement lasted 30 minutes and seemed to slow the momentum of the Jayhawk offense a bit as the next three batters were retired in order.
Luckily for Kansas, the rain delay didn’t affect Reid and she was just as impressive in the final three innings as she had been in the first four, preventing any Panthers from reaching and picking up two strikeouts to match a career-high six for the game, as the Jayhawks went on to win 4-0.
The Jayhawks will conclude the Osprey Invitational on Sunday, February 19 against South Dakota State. The game is slated for an 8 a.m. CST first pitch and will have a live audio broadcast on the Jayhawk Radio Network via KUAthletics.com/Radio.
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