Rainouts have been rare for Kansas University’s softball team this spring. In fact, the Jayhawks have had only one game postponed by wet grounds.
However, rain is forecast for today’s 1 p.m. home finale doubleheader against Nebraska.
“The bottom line is if it’s not raining at game time we can play,” KU coach Tracy Bunge said. “We won’t play in the rain.”
On paper, Kansas might be better off not playing the Cornhuskers, who have won 17 straight and a staggering 35 of their last 36 outings.
“I don’t want to think about that,” Bunge said. “Our kids want the challenge of playing Nebraska. Nebraska wants to play. Oklahoma wants us to play. The last thing we want is to lose these games to rain.”
Nebraska leads the Big 12 Conference with a 14-1 record. Oklahoma is second at 14-2 and Kansas third at 9-6. OU’s regular season is over, but on Sunday NU will play host to last-place Iowa State and Kansas will travel to Missouri.
Kansas has to win two of its three weekend games to earn the No. 3 seed in the Big 12 Tournament starting next Wednesday in Oklahoma City. However, if all three games were rained out, they wouldn’t be made up and KU would earn the No. 3 seed.
Two of the Jayhawks’ regulars are ailing. Catcher-outfielder Leah Tabb, who owns the school single-season home run record with 12, is nursing a sore shoulder suffered during last Sunday’s game against Oklahoma.
“She hasn’t swung the bat all week,” Bunge said.
Also, center fielder Shelly Musser, who played in both OU games last weekend after missing two weeks with a back injury, is ailing again.
“She took two steps backwards after playing last weekend,” Bunge said. “She’s probably not going to play this weekend.”
Bunge will use freshman Kara Pierce (20-9, 176 ERA) on the mound in one of today’s games with either Kirsten Milhoan (8-11, 2.99) or Katie Campbell (2-3, 3.38) ticketed to open the other. Pierce is the likely starter at Missouri on Sunday.
Outfielder Erin Garvey, the Jayhawks’ leading hitter with a .325 average, is the lone senior on the squad and she’ll be honored before the first pitch.
Unbeaten and No. 1-ranked Nebraska and once-beaten Kansas will collide in volleyball at 7 tonight at the Horejsi Center.
Kansas, 10-1, has never defeated Nebraska, 9-0, in volleyball. The Jayhawks’ record against the Cornhuskers is 0-64.
KU’s lone defeat came last weekend at Texas A&M. The Jayhawks will travel to Iowa State on Saturday.
