Kansas Jayhawks / Marshall Thundering Herd – Softball (Lipton Invitational)
The following is a piece provided by Jason Roberts of PRISM Press Group, our affiliate in the state of Florida, who covered this past Sunday’s matchup between the Kansas Jayhawks and Marshall Thundering Herd on Day Three of the 2010 Lipton Invitational Softball Tournament at the University of Florida.
A tightly-contested matchup this past Sunday at Pressley Stadium in Gainsville, Florida between the Kansas Jayhawks and Marshall Thundering Herd turned in favor of KU starting in the fourth inning, with the Jayhawks compiling a total of six runs in the fourth and the fifth innings and winning 7–3 in the early game of Day Three of the 2010 Lipton Invitational.
Kansas jumped out early in the second when Alex Jones knocked a hit toward second base and allowed shortstop Mariah Montgomery to score from third, but gave the Jayhawks the lead just long enough for Marshall to return the favor in the bottom of the second with two runs of its own. The Thundering Herd then managed to extend their lead by an additional run in the bottom of the third, with shortstop Alianna Telles brought home on a double to left center by Caitlyn Jackson. Kansas responded quickly in the fourth, however, with Montgomery and third baseman Marissa Ingle both reaching home plate on the hitting of Ingle and Jones, a pattern repeated in the top of the sixth, with Ingle striking a home run to left field and driving in three of four runs for the inning. That left Ingle going a perfect 3–3 from the plate for the game, while the Jayhawks collected a season-high 14 hits.
Senior pitcher Sarah Vertelka ended up as KU’s closer, relieving Jones (a freshman) on the mound starting in the third inning, and holding Marshall to just three hits and one run over the final five innings of play. Vertelka moves to 2–2 on the year. Meanwhile, freshman third baseman Jazmine Valle ended up the top hitter on the day for Marshall, going two-for-three from the plate with one RBI, with Katie Murphree earning her first loss of the year as a thrower after coming in to relieve Jackson in the fourth.
