KU Drops ISU, 2-1, in Big 12 First Round

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. ? All-conference pick Alex Johnson drilled a home run in the top of the fourth inning for Iowa State but Kansas answered in the bottom of the fourth and went on to claim a 2-1 win in eight innings at the Big 12 Softball Championship at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City Friday.

With the loss, the Cyclones finished their season at 24-40, while KU improved to 33-23-1 on the season, advancing to play Oklahoma in the tournament quarterfinals.

In the bottom of the eighth, ISU's Kelsey Kidwell made a running snag on a line drive to right field for the first out of the inning before Stevie Crisosto doubled to center for the Jayhawks. ISU pitcher Alyssa Ransom walked Elle Pottorf with two outs and moved Crisosto to third, before Kassie Humphreys drove in the winning run on a single through the left side.

Johnson knocked her sixth home run of the season over the centerfield fence to give the Cyclones a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth. It was ISU's first homer since hitting one out against Northern Iowa on March 28.

The Jayhawks answered in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI double to right field by Humphreys, scoring Amanda Jobe. KU threatened again in the bottom of the fifth, loading the bases with two outs before Crisosto dribbled one back to the pitcher for an easy out to get the Cyclones out of the inning.

The Cyclones struggled at the plate, getting just one hit on the day. Ransom closed out her ISU career with a 12-18 record on the season. She allowed eight hits and two earned runs. Humphreys got the win for KU, improving to 19-14 on the season, allowing just one hit, while striking out seven and walking just two.

"I thought Alyssa threw pretty well,” ISU head coach Stacy Gemeinhardt-Cesler said. “We just got one hit, the one hit that we had went out of the park. We had some people on early, in the first four innings. We just didn't score."

Kansas 2, Iowa State 1 (May 11, 2007 at Oklahoma City, OK)

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Iowa State.......... 000 100 00 - 1 1 1 (24-40)

Kansas.............. 000 100 01 - 2 8 0 (33-23-1)

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Pitchers: Iowa State - Ransom, Alyssa. Kansas - George, Valerie; Humphreys, Kassie(1).

Win-Humphreys, Kassie(19-14) Loss-Ransom, Alyssa(12-18) T-2:10 A-0

HR IS - Johnson, Alex (6).

Players Mentioned

Alex Johnson

Kelsey Kidwell

Alyssa Ransom

Alyssa Ransom

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics