photo by: AP Photo/Colin E. Braley

Kansas catcher Lyric Moore (3) during an NCAA college softball game on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, in Lawrence.

The Kansas softball team stumbled on the road in Lubbock, Texas, dropping two of three to Texas Tech, which previously had just four conference wins on the season.

The Red Raiders battled back from a three-run deficit to win 6-5 on Friday, then erased multiple four-run KU leads on Saturday, only for the Jayhawks to take a 15-12 victory in extra innings.

The rubber match Sunday saw both offenses stall and combine for 11 hits as KU lost 4-2.

The Jayhawks were plagued on the weekend by leaving runners in scoring position, as they left seven on base in each of the three games.

“We have to rebound,” head coach Jennifer McFalls said in a press release Sunday. “They’re a really good hitting team and they just out-hit us today, that’s the bottom line. We left seven runners on base and just didn’t get timely hits when we needed to. We have to be consistent with that if we’re going to win these close games.”

Kasey Hamilton pitched at various times in all three games and had an up-and-down weekend. She carried a 5-3 lead into the seventh inning on Friday but allowed a home run and then Tech loaded the bases. Lizzy Ludwig came into the circle but was unable to escape the jam, as the Red Raiders got a sacrifice fly and then walked off on a single by Demi Elder.

Tech rallied again in the seventh the following day against Olivia Bruno to force extra innings, but Addison Purvis got a pinch-hit RBI single and Angela Price hit the first home run of her career before Hamilton got the save. Catcher Lyric Moore was the offensive standout of the day, though, as she went 4-for-5 with a double, a home run and five RBIs.

“I was feeling pretty good, honestly,” Moore said in a press release. “We had a pregame conference and said that we just have to dig in deeper and get grittier, that was the only thing on my mind. I just wanted to come through for my teammates every time I came up to the plate and drive the ball for extra bases. That’s what we talked about pregame, because we knew that Texas Tech was going to score their runs, so we had to match that.”

Hamilton started again Sunday. With KU leading 2-1 in the second inning, she allowed a go-ahead home run to Elder. The Jayhawks got a leadoff double from Presley Limbaugh in the fifth and a one-out double by Campbell Bagshaw in the sixth but ended up losing 4-2.

KU is still positioned well at fourth place in the Big 12 Conference (26-14-1 overall, 11-7 in Big 12 play), but will have a tough task ahead as it faces Texas at home over the weekend. In the meantime, the Jayhawks will travel to Missouri State for a midweek game Wednesday at 4 p.m.