Kansas softball lost to the University of Central Florida in a close game on April 17, as UCF hit a walk-off three-run home run in extra innings to secure a 6-3 victory at the UCF Softball Complex.
The game was the first in the series between Kansas and UCF. The Jayhawks had taken an early lead but were unable to hold it through eight innings. The loss brings Kansas’ record to 29-14, while UCF improves to 34-11-1.
UCF scored first in the bottom of the opening inning with a double from Beth Damon. Kansas responded in the second inning when Anna Soles and Hailey Cripe both singled, followed by Ava Wallace driving Soles home with another single. In the third inning, Kansas loaded the bases and added two more runs with Soles’ sacrifice fly and Cripe’s RBI single, making it 3-1.
UCF narrowed the gap in the fourth when Zoe Calvez drove in a run. Despite threats from UCF later in the fifth inning, Kansas pitcher Lila Partridge and her defense kept them from scoring further until Samantha Rey tied it up for UCF with an RBI single in the sixth.
After neither team scored in regulation’s final frame, Chloe Barber took over pitching duties for Kansas. She escaped trouble in seventh but gave up three runs on Kendall Yarnell’s walk-off homerun after two runners reached base for UCF during extra innings.
Ella Boyer recorded her ninth double of this season during Friday’s game, tying her for third-most on her team. Hailey Cripe achieved her fifteenth multi-hit game this year and now has forty-eight hits total so far this season. Anna Soles extended her hitting streak to eight out of nine games played recently; Presley Limbaugh increased her on-base streak to seven games; Lila Partridge matched her season high by pitching six innings.
The teams will play again Saturday at 4 p.m., with live streaming available on ESPN+.
