MONDAY, MAY 8.2006
SPORTS
SOFTBALL
3B
Randall Sanders/KANSAN
Senior designated hitter Heather Stanley connects on her RBI single in the fourth inning against Iowa State at Arrocha Ballpark on Sunday. Stanley had two hits, scored two runs and drove one in the Jayhawks' 3-0 victory against the Cyclones on Senior Day.
Settlemier, other seniors shine during their final home game
BY MARK DENT
mdent@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
Could you blame Serena Settlemier for being a little bit jittery?
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN SOFTBALL
After all, she was pitching in front of her Kelso, Wash., family members and hundreds of fans in her final home softball game.
On Settlemier's second pitch of the game, the senior pitcher stepped on the hill, wound back with her familiar delivery, and let loose. Only instead of throwing the ball to home plate, she lost her grasp and flung the ball directly into the dirt beneath her.
"Yeah, that was embarrassing. Settlemier said. "It just
seems to happen sometimes."
"I felt in my groove out there," the right hander said. "I just kept them off balance."
Outside of Settlemier's humorous first-inning miscue on the mound, she was as sharp as ever, pitching a perfect game for more than four innings before finally allowing three hits in a complete game shutout.
Settlemier's performance on Sunday was a coronation of not only one of Kansas' all time greats, but also a player adored by her teammates. Before the game, Settlemier received praise in a senior day speech from junior Nicole Washburn.
"If you ever talk to Serena about any of her accomplishments, she always gives credit
But Settlemier wasn't the only senior to have an effect on the Jayhawks victory on Sunday. Shortstop Destiny Frankenstein and designated player Heather Stanley had two hits each. Outfielders Ashley Goodrich and Nettie Fierroes also had a hit. The seniors combined for six of Kansas' eight hits and also were responsible for scoring all of the Jayhawks' three runs as Stanley crossed the plate twice and Fierroes once.
to her teammates. Instead of seeing her career end injury as what it was, she saw it as a game and won," Washburn said, about Settlemier recovering from surgery to play softball again.
"Maybe I knew it was my last time on the field, and I wanted to have a good memory," Stan-
lev said.
Before the game started seniors Settlemier, Frankenstein, Fierros, Goodrich, Stanley and second baseman Jessica Moppin walked in with their families and received flowers, pictures and short thank-you speeches from their teammates.
The honored seniors will go down as being one of the top senior classes in team history. Together, they have combined for 134 home runs, 120 victories and four All Big 12 Team selections.
"I'm really proud of them, not just for today, but for their careers," Kansas coach Tracy Bunge said. "This was just a day for the seniors."
- Edited by Janiece Gatson
SOFTBALL
Kansas needs sweep for Big 12 sixth seed
BY RYAN SCHNEIDER
rschneider@kansan.com
KANSAN SENIOR SPORTSWITHER
Kansas needed a sweep of Iowa State to secure the sixth seed in the upcoming Big 12 Tournament. The Jayhawks were halfway toward their goal after a 5-0 victory against the Cyclones Saturday.
Kansas scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, including a three-run home run from senior second baseman Jessica Moppin.
Sophomore right fielder Betsy Wilson reached base on a walk to lead off the fifth inning and pinch runner Ashley Goodrich advanced to second after junior pitcher Kassie Humphreys' sacrifice single. Freshman Val Chapple reached first on an error by Iowa State third baseman Kristy Olsen, advancing Goodrich to third. Goodrich would score off a single by freshman center fielder Stevie Crisosoto. Kansas scored another run to go up 2-0 after senior shortstop Destiny Frankenstein's single scored Chipple.
Moppin then hit the home run. The blast went over the left field wall, soared over the fence and ended up on the football practice field up the hill from Arrocha Ballpark.
"It was one of the hardest balls I've seen her hit in a long time," Kansas coach Tracy Bunge said. "She obviously was looking for that and got what she was looking for. She got about everything of that thing you could get."
Moppin was part of the top of the Jayhawks' order that each recorded a hit in the game. Among Kansas' first five batters, only the usually powerful senior pitcher Serena Settlemier did not record a hit.
Humphreys, (14-16), pitched another strong performance, allowing one hit, striking out nine and walking five in the complete seven-inning effort.
There were 547 fans and 30 dogs in attendance, as part of Saturday's "Bark in the Park" promotion that allowed fans to bring their dogs to the game.
Edited by Janiece Gatson
Softball
CONTINUED FROM 1B
"She's not blowing the ball by anybody, but she's spinning the ball enough," Bunge said. "She's got good movement on the screwball, been throwing the curveball very well recently and she's been mixing in some pretty good rise balls to get people to chase on that."
Settlemier also got help from the defense to help preserve her fifth shutout of the season.
Senior left fielder Nettie Fierrros led off one of the oddest double plays seen this season with the Cyclones poised to take the momentum.
In the fifth inning Fierrros ran into foul territory to make a diving catch to record the out against Bigbee. She then threw the ball to senior second
baseman Jessica Moppin who tagged pinch-runner Whitney Perkins for the third out of the inning. The double play ended the Cyclones threat and helped the Jayhawks keep the momentum in the game's final two innings.
"That's the best catch I've ever seen Nettie Fierros make in the outfield," Bunge said. "That was a big play at the time, a big momentum changer, when Iowa State could have got something rolling a little bit right there."
With the series sweep against Iowa State, Kansas earned a six seed in the upcoming Big 12 Tournament. The Jayhawks will play the third seeded Baylor Bears at 11 a.m. Thursday in Oklahoma City.
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Edited by Janiece Gatson
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