OKLAHOMA CITY ? Kara Pierce views Kansas University’s No. 7 seed in the Big 12 Conference softball tournament as a positive.

“The best position is to be the underdog,” said Pierce, a senior pitcher who leads the Jayhawks with 17 victories, “and that’s that position we’re in.”

Kansas will not be the underdog, however, when it meets No. 10 seed Texas Tech in a tourney play-in game at 5 p.m. today at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium. The Jayhawks will be, however, if they win and have to play second-seeded Texas A&M immediately afterward.

KU came within a half-game in the league’s regular-season standings of avoiding a play-in game, but a 3-2 loss to lowly Iowa State last Saturday doomed the Jayhawks.

“We were disappointed,” KU coach Tracy Bunge said, “but you have to turn the page and move on.”

During the regular season, Kansas (31-26-1, 7-11 Big 12) knocked off Texas Tech (22-35, 2-16) twice, winning 2-1 and 4-1 in Lawrence. The Red Raiders have a respectable team batting average (.257), but their pitching has been spotty.

“They’re a dangerous team,” Bunge said. “Their pitching has been their weak point all year long, but they can score some runs. We’ll have to be mentally ready.”

The Jayhawks have two of the league’s best pitchers in Pierce (17-11, 1.74 ERA) and freshman Kassie Humphreys (14-11, 1.59 ERA) and they boast the league’s third best defense, but KU also has the conference’s lowest team batting average (.205).

If the Jayhawks win both games today, they would play again at 8 p.m. Thursday against the winner of Thursday morning’s clash between third-seeded Missouri and No. 6 seed Oklahoma State.

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