Softball Felsberg Invitational

  After a strong opening at the Felsberg Invitational, the Kansas City Roos could not maintain their momentum. 

  The Roos started strong by dominating Georgia State six to one. Junior pitcher Camryn Stickle led the way on the mound, pitching a complete game. They also held their own at the plate, with sophomore right fielder Kiki McCrea going 2-3 and picking up two RBIs. 

  Kansas City then faced off against Florida International University, The Roos scored two early in the first inning, but at the bottom of the sixth, the pitching fell apart and was unable to cool off FIU’s hot bats losing nine to two. 

  Then, the tenth-ranked Clemson dominated against the Roos, losing eight to one. Lexy Smith hit a single to get Kansas City on the board early. The stifling Clemson pitching was too much to overcome, not allowing a hit after the first inning.

  The Roos then lost a back-and-forth rematch against FIU five to four. Stickle got her second start of the young season, while she struck out seven and only walked one. FIU’s pose at the plate and pitching errors by the Roos were just enough for win the second bout. 

  In the final game, Kansas City looked to finish strong against Georgia State. Sophomore pitcher Jenna Milan got the nod to start and pitched a complete game and allowing five runs on seven hits and only striking out one. Georgia State won five to nothing. The Roos were unable to get anything going offensively, leaving nine runners on base. 

  The Felsberg tournament did not go as planned for Roos, but it did serve as a starting point for this season. They failed in multiple aspects of the game. Kansas City left a total of 33 runners on base for the entire tournament. A lack of runs is attributed to a lack of consistency in the batting lineup. In this tournament, the leadoff hitter and clean-up hitters were the only batters consistent at the plate. 

  The second glaring problem for the Roos was inconsistency from their pitchers. Camryn Stickle was able to hold her own at the mound. Besides her, the rest of the pitchers weren’t able to perform at a high enough level. The Roos are capable to correct these problems as the season progresses. 

  Kansas City will travel to Indiana to participate in the Evansville Tournament. Their first match is against the Evansville Aces on Feb. 18 at 12:30 p.m.

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