What could be better than throwing a softball no-hitter?

How about hitting a home run, too?

Kassie Humphreys delivered both as Kansas University blanked New Mexico, 4-0, in the championship game of the Jayhawk Invitational on Sunday afternoon at Arrocha Ballpark.

The home run - a solo shot over the left-field fence leading off the fifth inning - was Humphreys' second of the season.

"I usually hit one a year, and I'm done," said Humphreys, a 5-foot-11 senior from Glendale, Ariz.

Actually, Humphreys now has as many career home runs - four - as she has no-hitters. She tossed three no-nos last season. On Sunday, she was untouchable.

"I can't recall a ball that was hit hard off her," KU coach Tracy Bunge said.

On the flip side, Humphreys often couldn't find home plate with radar. She walked seven and hit a batter.

"It wasn't a pretty no-hitter," Bunge said with a smile, "but it was a no-hitter. She was good and bad. When she was bad, she was wild, but when she was good, she was really good."

Humphreys, who had tossed a two-hit shutout against the Lobos on Saturday, simply might have been too hyped because of the championship implications, and needed to be calmed down.

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KU softball vs. New Mexico

For instance, in the third inning, Humphreys had issued her third walk and went 3-0 on the Lobos' Amy Ray when pitching coach Jen Sewell visited the mound.

"Coach Sewell told me it was a mechanical thing, but it was more than that," Humphreys said. "Sometimes, I just need to breathe for a while."

Minutes after Sewell's long visit, Humphreys threw three straight strikes to Ray to end the inning. Humphreys finished with eight K's, whiffing Jennifer Deitrich, a Santa Fe Trail High product, to secure the no-hitter and boost her record to 10-2.

Kansas won four of its five tournament games, and Humphreys was involved in all the victories. She won three and saved the other. Overall, she hurled 181â3 innings, gave up four hits, no runs and fanned 26.

Those numbers weren't necessarily surprising because Humphreys is established as one of the Big 12's best pitchers, but she certainly hasn't been one of the league's best hitters. Last year, for example, in 85 at-bats, she mustered only a .129 average.

On Sunday, Humphreys went 2-for-3, doubling in an insurance run in the sixth and posing a problem for Bunge about how to find a spot for her in the batting order when she isn't pitching.

"Our best offense is when she's in the lineup," Bunge said. "She's gotten better and better as a hitter. She's worked hard, and it's starting to pay off."

Shortstop Stevie Crisosto had three singles Sunday and batted a team-high .385 for the tournament. First baseman Amanda Jobe hit .357 in the five games.

Kansas (15-7-1) will entertain UMKC in a Tuesday twinbill before heading to a tournament in Sacramento, Calif., next weekend.