Kansas University's softball players were peeved.

"I was furious," Kansas junior Val Chapple said. "I was very upset."

Shortstop Stevie Crisosto felt the same way.

"I was sitting at home with my roommate (pitcher Val George)," Crisosto said, "and we were pretty upset when we heard it."

Echoed catcher Elle Pottorf, "I was angry."

Big 12 Conference softball coaches certainly caught the attention of the Jayhawks a few weeks ago when they placed KU ninth in their preseason poll. Ninth is next-to-last because only 10 conference schools sponsor varsity softball.

Kansas finished seventh in the league race last season, and lost only two regulars, yet was downgraded. Coach Tracy Bunge thinks she knows why.

"I'm pretty sure the reason was the loss of Kassie Humphreys," Bunge said. "We lose someone of that quality, and we have an untested, unproven pitching staff."

Humphreys, who ranks in the top 10 in just about every KU career pitching category, concluded her eligibility last spring, leaving Bunge with junior George, sophomore Sarah Vertelka and freshman Allie Clark to work in the circle.

George had a solid year as the Jayhawks' No. 2 pitcher, logging a 9-4 record with a 2.11 earned-run average. And Vertelka wasn't bad with a 5-5 record and a 2.89 ERA.

Clark, who also plays the outfield, is a 6-foot-1 right-hander who hurled a three-hit shutout in early June to lead Hesperia, Calif., High to a 3-0 victory over El Segundo for the California Southern Section Division V state title. She struck out 12 and also went 2-for-3 with an RBI.

Neither George, Vertelka nor Clark possesses Humphreys' velocity or stamina, but each, Bunge noted, is adept at situational pitching. It's possible, in fact, all three could be used in the same game.

"Rarely will one of our pitchers go seven innings," Bunge said. "We'll pitch by committee."

Elsewhere, the infield is set, with Amanda Jobe at first, Sara Ramirez at second, Crisosto at short and Chapple at third, but the outfield will be composed of committee women Betsy Wilson, Dougie McCaulley, Ally Stanton, Liz Kocon and Clark.

Behind the plate will be a smaller committee of Pottorf and Brittany Hile, Bunge's prize recruit. Hile, a Blue Valley West product, brings two impressive dimensions.

"She has a tremendous arm," Bunge said, "and she'll do some damage in the middle of the lineup."

Overall, the Jayhawks need to hit better than their .233 team batting average last spring. They led the Big 12 in striking out and had the league's next-to-lowest on-base percentage.

"Our lineup was four or fivedeep last year," Bunge said. "After that, we dropped off. This year I think we'll go seven or eight deep."

If the hitting improves and the circle strategy pans out, the Jayhawks could become the Big 12's surprise team.

"Ninth place," Chapple said. "That's a great thing to put a chip on our shoulder."

Added Crisosto: "I don't think you can have more (incentive) to prove people wrong."

The Jayhawks will begin a stretch of four straight weekends on the road today at a three-day tournament in Orlando. They'll also participate in tourneys in Las Vegas, Houston and Carbondale, Ill.