Kansas City has thrilled viewers in the first three games of the Summit League Softball Championship.
Entering as the third seed, the Roos were set to face the North Dakota State Bison in the first round.
Last season, the Bison eliminated the Roos in the first round.
Kansas City’s bats were hot on Wednesday night, with the team recording seven hits in the 5-2 victory.
Sophomore infielder Elleana Navarro was the star bat. She recorded two hits and two runs batted in, both career highs for her.
Navarro’s first RBI would end up being the game-winning run.
Thursday turned out to be a double-header for the Roos, as the team’s first match didn’t go its way.
The second-seeded Omaha Mavericks were the opponents in the first game of the day. The Roos went 1-2 against the Mavericks in the regular season.
In a three-hour pitching duel, the Roos fell to Omaha by a score of 1-0.
Senior pitcher Camryn Stickel was phenomenal on Wednesday as well, but she was outright extraordinary against Omaha.
In 13 ⅓ innings pitched – 160 total pitches – Stickel allowed five hits, struck out seven batters, and her only run allowed was a home run to end the game.
In the Summit League Softball Championship, the first round is single elimination, then transitions to double elimination after.
South Dakota became the Roos’ opponent in the Loser’s Bracket. The Coyotes had lost the early game on Thursday 7-0 against the first-seeded South Dakota State Jackrabbits.
Sophomore pitcher Katie Noble took the mound in game two. While she gave up an average of one hit per inning, she was efficient. She averaged only 13.3 pitches per inning.
Noble was also effective in the batter’s box, going 2-3 with a triple and two runners batted in.
The Roos would go on to win the game 7-3. The team will face the loser of the South Dakota State-Omaha game on Friday.
Should Kansas City win tomorrow’s game, it will advance to the championship game for the first time since 2011.
Fans can tune in to Friday’s semifinal match at 3:30 p.m. central time on the Summit League Network.
