Kansas Heads South to Tulsa

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas softball concludes its eight-game road stint by heading to Tulsa for a two game non-conference set against the Golden Hurricane, April 18-19, at the Collins Family Softball Complex. The Jayhawks are utilizing their Big 12 Conference bye weekend with a match-up against Tulsa. First pitch for both games is slated for 2 p.m.
 
FOLLOWING THE JAYHAWKS
Listen to every pitch, home and away, all season long as part of the Jayhawk Radio Network, in partnership with KJHK, the University of Kansas’ student radio station. For the first time ever, all of KU’s contests will be carried live, for free, at KUAthletics.com/radio or by clicking the links on the online schedule. Fans can also get in-game updates via twitter by following @KUsoftball.
 
LEADING OFF FOR KANSAS
• Head coach Megan Smith recorded her 300th career win after the Jayhawks defeated Georgia State, 5-4, on March 22. During the Oklahoma State series, the Jayhawks recorded their 30th win of the year, marking the fifth-straight season that Smith has guided Kansas to the 30-win plateau.
• Senior utility Maddie Stein became the all-time RBI leader in Kansas softball history on March 22 after recording her 141st career RBI with a home run to left field.
• Senior hurler Alicia Pille has been making her mark in the circle all season. Her latest feat was reaching 20 wins in a single season, making her the first Jayhawk to do so since 2001. Only 15 previous Jayhawks have reached the milestone.
• The Jayhawks’ red-hot start to the 2015 campaign put Kansas on the national radar previously in the season. It marks the first time since the 2011 season that the Jayhawks had been nationally-ranked. KU found themselves in the Top-25 for seven consecutive weeks, reaching as high as No. 22. While the Jayhawks aren’t currently ranked, they are receiving multiple votes in both the USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate polls.
• Six members of the Jayhawk starting lineup are hitting above .300 in 2015 and contributing to KU’s .340 batting average, which is the second-best team average in the Big 12 Conference. Junior Chaley Brickey is hitting over .400 posting a .423 batting average.
• Kansas has recorded 44 home runs on the season from seven different Jayhawks. Of the 44 homers, nine have been grand slams. Junior infielder Chaley Brickey leads the team with 11 long balls. Freshman Daniella Chavez has hit a team-best three grand slams, which is three shy of tying the national record.
• The Jayhawks have outscored their opponents 271-146 in 40 games, including seven shutouts and a no-hitter. KU scores its most runs during the first and third frames after plating 63 and 43 runs, respectively. Kansas has an 18-3 record when scoring a run in the first inning and has a 24-1 mark when the Jayhawks strike first putting a run on the scoreboard.
 
ABOUT THE JAYHAWKS
The Jayhawks take a break from conference play and head to Tulsa for a pair of games that will conclude their eight-game road trip. Kansas holds a 29-2 non-conference record and looks to continue its success against such opponents with its weekend matchup against the Golden Hurricanes. KU heads to Tulsa after falling to Texas Tech, 1-2, in the three-game series last weekend. Despite their two losses, the Jayhawks defeated the Red Raiders, 11-9, in extra innings after the senior duo of Maddie Stein and Chanin Naudin collected five RBIs in the 10th inning. Kansas has a perfect 4-0 record when heading into extra innings.
 
Junior infielder Chaley Brickey is one of six Jayhawks hitting over .300, and the lone Jayhawk to hit over .400, registering a .423 batting average on the year. Brickey has launched a team-best 11 home runs while collecting 49 RBIs.  During her junior campaign, Brickey also leads the team with a .754 slugging percentage and tagging 98 total bases over the 2015 season.  Senior utility Maddie Stein has posted a team-best 12 doubles so far this season and claimed Kansas’ all-time RBI record after registering five RBIs during the Rock Chalk Challenge (March 20-22).
 
As a squad, Kansas has connected for 62 doubles and 44 home runs while registering a .340 batting average over the course of the 2015 season.  In the circle, Kansas has tossed a 3.47 ERA in 264.0 innings of work, throwing a combined 236 strikeouts. Senior hurler Alicia Pille leads the staff with a 2.72 ERA, throwing 155 strikeouts. The Royse City, Texas native has found a rhythm in the circle, recording 20 victories, just two wins shy of making Kansas’ all-time top 10 in victories in a single season.
 
Kansas has a .522 slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .436, which is the 15th-best mark in the country. KU is 24-for-30 in stolen base attempts and has drawn a total of 174 walks, which set a new team single-season record. Kansas pitchers combined to hurl 22 and two-thirds innings of scoreless softball. KU tossed three-consecutive shutouts from Feb. 8-14. The Jayhawks nearly threw a fourth-straight shutout, but Weber State scored a run in sixth inning, ending the KU pitchers’ streak an out shy of 23 scoreless innings.
 
SCOUTING TULSA
The Golden Hurricane boast a 27-15 record thus far in the 2015 season. Tulsa just completed a three-game series sweep over conference foes East Carolina to hold an 8-4 record in the American League. The squad currently has six members hitting over .300 on the year. Collectively, the team is batting .305 with 350 hits, including 115 extra-base knocks.
 
The Tulsa offense is led by senior infielder Julie Kernen, who has registered a .362 batting average. Kernen leads the team in multiple statistical categories, including doubles (14), home runs (10), RBIs (53) and total bases (91). Starting all 42 games, senior utility Erica Sampson sits second on the team with a batting average of .355 while hitting six doubles, four triples and eight home runs in 2015.
 
The Golden Hurricane’s pitching staff has combined for a 2.73 ERA, hurling 224 strikeouts in 279.2 innings of work. Senior Bailey Erwin leads the staff with a 12-3 mark in the circle and has struck out a team-best 89 batters in 99.2 innings pitched. Freshman Emily Watson has posted a team-low 2.40 ERA, while also striking out 67 batters.
 
SERIES BREAKDOWN
Record vs. Tulsa
Kansas leads the all-time series 8-7, which started in 1994 with an 8-0 Jayhawk victory. KU downed the Golden Hurricanes in four of the first five meetings, but has lost the last three contests to Tulsa. Kansas owns a 3-2 mark when playing the Golden Hurricanes in Tulsa and it’s the first trip down south for KU since the 2009 season.
 
The Last Time Out
Liz Kocon’s 12th home run of the season in game two of a doubleheader against Tulsa (4/20/11) provided the only runs for the Kansas offense as the Jayhawks dropped both games of the twinbill to the Golden Hurricane, 3-0 and 4-2. Eight Jayhawks combined for 11 hits between the two games but Tulsa’s pitchers combined for 20 strikeouts on the day, including 12 from Aimee Creger in her complete game victory during the nightcap.
 
JAYHAWKS AMONG THE NATION’S BEST
Kansas is among the top in the country in several statistical categories. The Jayhawks have the 11th-best winning percentage in the nation (.825) with a 33-7 record. KU is 19th in fielding percentage (.974) and 15th in on-base percentage (.436), while also posting the 17th-best batting average (.340). Individually, junior infielder Chaley Brickey and Daniella Chavez rank No. 26 in the country in RBIs with 49 a piece. Sophomore utility Lily Behrmann is 10th in the nation in walks (38). Senior hurler Alicia Pille is 13th in victories (20).
 
HOW KANSAS STACKS UP IN THE BIG 12
The Jayhawks own the second-best batting average (.340) in the Big 12 Conference while in the circle, KU has the fourth-lowest ERA (3.47). Kansas also has the second-best fielding percentage (.974) in the league. Senior utility Maddie Stein has tallied a conference-leading 12 doubles. Junior infielder Chaley Brickey and freshman infielder Daniella Chavez share third place in the league in RBIs (49) while Brickey also ranks third in hits (55). Senior pitcher Alicia Pille is among the top three in nearly every pitching category. She leads the Big 12 in wins (20), complete games (17) and is second in strikeouts (155) and saves (3). 
 
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
While Kansas will play its most home games (22) since 2009, the Jayhawks opened the season on the road, playing the first five weeks of the 2015 campaign away from Lawrence. KU played a total of 23-straight games on the road before making its debut in Arrocha Ballpark at Rock Chalk Park on March 13. The Jayhawks have compiled a 21-2 non-conference mark on the road with their only two losses against Chattanooga and at No. 1 Florida.
 
UP NEXT
Kansas returns home for a midweek match-up in Arrocha Ballpark at Rock Chalk Park against SIU-Edwardsville. The game is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, April 22.  It will also air on the Jayhawk Radio Network and Jayhawk Television Network.
 
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