photo by: Carson Field/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas right fielder Ava Wallace celebrates after putting the Jayhawks’ sticker on the Big 12 tournament bracket after defeating UCF on Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City.

Kansas coach Jennifer McFalls had said in advance of KU’s Big 12 tournament clash with UCF that there probably weren’t two teams in the league more evenly matched than her fifth-seeded Jayhawks and the fourth-seeded Knights.

That proved quite accurate on Thursday in Oklahoma City as KU emerged victorious in a 6-5 nailbiter.

The Jayhawks rallied from down 4-0 to earn just their third win against the Knights in 10 tries since UCF joined the Big 12. Senior second baseman Campbell Bagshaw drove in Anna Soles for the go-ahead run in the seventh inning, and junior pitcher Chloe Barber pitched two key innings of scoreless relief in which she stranded three Knights in scoring position.

KU essentially cemented its place in the NCAA Tournament, having beaten a team that ranked No. 22 in RPI, and in the meantime will advance to Friday’s semifinal to take on either No. 1 seed Texas Tech or No. 8 seed Baylor at 3 p.m.

Presley Limbaugh had a pair of hits for the Jayhawks, and Ava Wallace hit a key two-run home run to help kick-start KU’s offense in the fourth inning. UCF ace Isabella Vega limited the Jayhawks to those two earned runs in her 4 2/3 innings, but the Knights’ relievers stumbled late, allowing the Jayhawks to tie and then take the lead.

KU made Vega work through a series of lengthy at-bats in the first inning, but didn’t get anything out of it. The Knights, for their part, didn’t take long at all to get on the board with a one-out two-run home run by Beth Damon.

The top of the second inning brought little more than a warning-track flyout by Wallace.

UCF started another rally with a single by Ashleigh Griffin. Zoe Calvez hit a ground ball to Bagshaw, but Bagshaw wasn’t able to tag Calvez and didn’t throw to second to attempt to nab the lead runner. So Griffin got to second, then advanced to third on a single by Samantha Rey, and Rey reached second base herself on the throw home.

KU looked like it might be able to escape the inning after Aubrey Evans popped one up for the second out, but a rare throwing error by shortstop Hailey Cripe on a ground ball hit by Kendall Yarnell allowed two unearned runs to come home and double the Knights’ lead.

With one out in the third, Vega hit Stafford with a pitch, and Limbaugh singled for a second time. Stafford went to third and Limbaugh reached second on a throw and an error to put Soles in a big spot. Soles flied out in foul territory, and Stafford was able to tag up for KU’s first run and make it 4-1.

Cripe drew a walk to set up Ella Boyer with runners at the corners, but she flied out to right-center field.

Later, in the fourth inning, an increasingly erratic Vega hit Bagshaw with a ball in the dirt. UCF made a sharp defensive play to get Bagshaw out on a bunt by Aynslee Linduff, but then Wallace got just a little bit more on the ball than in her first at-bat and homered to right field to cut it to 4-3.

KU got into trouble when pitcher Lila Partridge bobbled and dropped a popped-up bunt with a runner already on first base. Evans then pulled off a sacrifice bunt of her own to move her teammates to second and third with one out.

Yarnell walked to load the bases, bringing up Damon. This time, the UCF catcher got ahead in the count but grounded into an inning-ending double play.

Tori Payne took over for UCF in the circle and promptly walked two Jayhawks, prompting an immediate switch to Lena Elkins. This time it was Cripe’s turn to deliver a bunt, which she executed successfully. Boyer hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game.

The tie did not last long. Izzy Mertes hit a leadoff double, then advanced to third on a flyout. Coco Jaimes bounced a ball in the infield to Bagshaw, who did not make a throw to either first or home, resulting in a second runner on base. Griffin made it 5-4 with a sacrifice fly of her own.

KU responded with a two-out single by Kadence Stafford that scored pinch runner Madi Hays and tied the game once more.

Barber entered in relief for KU and only needed one pitch to get her first out, but then allowed two baserunners in short order. However, Damon flied out and Mertes struck out.

Soles managed a leadoff single in the seventh. Cripe lined out, but Boyer singled. Bagshaw then delivered, sending the ball up the middle, where Rey handled it poorly, allowing Soles to come home for the go-ahead run.

Vega reentered the circle and struck out KU pinch hitter Emma Tatum. Wallace worked a full-count walk, and Bailey Amezcua drew a full count of her own but flied out to center field.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Jayhawks misplayed a popup in the shallow outfield, allowing Sierra Humphreys to reach second base with a leadoff double. But Jaimes grounded out without advancing the runner and Griffin popped out, leaving lefty pinch hitter Destiny Washington as the Knights’ last chance; Barber struck her out looking.

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