“We battled back tonight and hit the ball hard most of the game,” said head coach Dan Powers. “We let things get away from us early with a few physical and mental mistakes that have been hurting us all season.”
A Lisa Maulden (Maple Valley, Wash.) homer highlighted the Redhawks’ first two innings, as SU was retired in order in the first and had a four-batter second inning.
Kansas City added a run in their first outing on an RBI single by Alexandra Friloux and took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second on an RBI single to second base by Kristi Lee. Lee advanced to second base on a wild pitch before the umpires called the action to a halt due to rain.
Following a seven hour and 55 minute rain delay, play resumed and the ‘Roos wasted no time as they added four more runs in the remainder of the inning to take the 6-1 lead through two.
Both teams scoreless in the third, leaving a runner on base apiece, UMKC extended their lead in the fourth, 8-1, on a 2RBI home run to right center by Katie Kelley. SU would slightly close the gap, 8-3, in the top of the fifth on a pair of back-to-back RBI singles by Paige Bouska (Keizer, Ore.) and Jenny Hurst (Laguna Niguel, Calif.).
Seattle U would continue to decrease their deficit with a pair of runs in their final outing, 8-5, but it would not be enough as a final groundout cut short further scoring chances.
Hurst led SU at the plate, going 2-for-3, and driving in two of SU’s five runs. Isabella Geronimo (San Mateo, Calif.) scored a team-high two runs, also recording a hit.
In the circle, Lindsay Davis (Palo Cedro, Calif.) was handed the loss, giving up all eight runs on seven hits while walking and striking out one. Alyssa Reuble (Lynnwood, Wash.) entered in relief, striking out one batter in the two inning outing.
Kelley picked up the win for Kansas City, allowing five runs on six hits while walking and striking out two in the complete game victory.
Friday’s action is set to begin at 9 a.m. as No. 1 New Mexico State takes on No. 4 Utah Valley, who defeated No. 5 Bakersfield in game one of the tournament earlier Thursday. Stay tuned to GoSeattleU.com as well as @WACsports and @su_athletics on Twitter for all the latest updates throughout the remainder of the tournament.