Kansas University started strong but fell victim to the weather and pitching in a softball doubleheader split with the University of Arkansas on Wednesday at cold and windy Jayhawk Field.
KU won the first game 4-1, scoring all of its runs in the first two innings, and lost the second game, 3-0.
Kansas University pitcher Kara Pierce prepares to unleash a pitch during the Jayhawks' 4-1 victory over Arkansas in the first game of a doubleheader on Wednesday at Jayhawk Field. KU lost the second game, 3-0.
"Today, with two games, it took a lot of mental toughness and you have to give Arkansas a lot of credit," KU coach Tracy Bunge said. "They easily could have folded because they were so cold but they bounced back well and did a nice job in the second game.
"You have to take care of yourself and you have to do what's necessary to keep yourself in the game and be ready to play mentally. They did a nice job of it and I don't think we did as good of a job of it in the second game."
KU scored twice in each of the first two innings in the first game. Megan Urquhart drove home Shelly Musser with a single in the first inning and later stole home.
In the second inning, Christi Musser and Amy Hulse scored on Shelly Musser's triple to right field.
"Offensively, we had some people swinging the bat," Bunge said. "Megan Urquhart is continuing to hit the ball hard consistently for us. We had a lot of people on the ball hard and we were on the ball hard early."
Kara Pierce (10-7) picked up the victory for KU.
In the second game, KU had to deal with Arkansas pitcher Heather Schlitchman along with the cold. The freshman hurler pitched a shutout, striking out three and facing just three batters more than the minimum.
"Their pitcher did a nice job," Bunge said. "As a coach, you like to give credit where credit's due and credit was deserved on their pitcher's shoulders. She did a nice job and didn't make many mistakes over the plate."
KU (17-16 overall) couldn't put more than one runner on base in any inning, collected just four hits and hit into two double plays.
"It was very frustrating," Bunge said. "We just offensively kept finding a way to beat ourselves. We really did not do a real good job offensively."
Arkansas (20-17) scored a run in the first inning and two in the fifth after Courtney Wright's error.
"I'm probably most frustrated with us defensively," Bunge said. "We're making a lot of mistakes. We're making a lot of routine errors and that's a little bit frustrating right now."
Kirsten Milhoan took the loss for the Jayhawks.
The defeat ended two streaks for KU. The Jayhawks had won seven straight games at home and five consecutive overall.
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