KU softball outlasts Louisville, 1-0, in NCAA regional opener

By Blake Toppmeyer     May 15, 2015

Justin L. Stewart
Kansas University left fielder Shannon McGinley stretches over the fence to catch a deep fly ball and protect KU's lead against Louisville on Friday at University Field during the 2015 NCAA Columbia Regional in Columbia, Mo. KU won 1-0.

If Kansas left fielder Shannon McGinley didn’t catch the fly ball, it would’ve traveled over the wall for a game-tying home run. She didn’t allow herself to think about that.

McGinley, standing up against the wall, caught a fly ball off the bat of Louisville’s Kayla Soles for the second out in the seventh inning to preserve KU’s 1-0 victory on Friday in the first round of an NCAA regional at University Field.

“It was high enough in the air for me to go back to the fence,” McGinley said. “I was pretty confident I could get it. It would’ve been out. I just had to lean back a little bit. … We practice so much and do so many reps, that none of that (concern about not catching it) goes through your mind. It’s just kind of automatic. It’s an automatic response.”

Kansas pitcher Alicia Pille was worried when the ball left Soles’ bat.

“I did think it was out a little bit, just a little, but then I saw her start camping under it,” Pille said, “and I was like, ‘She’s going to go for it.’ I didn’t know if she was going to catch it, because I couldn’t tell by the angle if it was going to go out or not. When she caught it, it was the best feeling. I’m pretty sure I jumped like a foot in the air.”

Justin L. Stewart
Kansas University pitcher Alicia Pille throws a pitch before the rain delay of KU's game against Louisville on University Field during the 2015 NCAA Columbia Regional in Columbia, Mo. Friday, May 15, 2015. KU won, 1-0.

Pille limited Louisville to one hit in a game that was twice delayed by weather, with the delays totaling more than two hours. Pille said the steamy weather, which featured humidity above 90 percent, made it easy to quickly warm up after the delays.

“Pille was phenomenal,” Kansas coach Megan Smith said.

Kansas (39-13) will face Missouri (40-14) at 3 p.m. today (weather pushed back a scheduled 10 a.m. start) in the second round of the four-team, double-elimination regional. Louisville (30-18) moved into the backdraw, where it will face Indiana State (26-30).

Missouri beat the Jayhawks, 6-3, in the second round of last year’s regional in Columbia.

KU scored the lone run of Friday’s game in the bottom of the third. Chaley Brickey led off the third with a single up the middle. She moved to second base on a groundout and scored on Daniella Chavez’s single that ricocheted off Louisville second baseman Brittany Sims’ leg and into shallow left field.

The Jayhawks twice squandered bases-loaded opportunities. Louisville pitcher Maryssa Becker used a 1-2-3 double play to end the second, and she retired three straight batters to wriggle out of a bases-loaded, no-out situation in the sixth. Included in Becker’s sixth-inning escape was shortstop Whitney Arion’s diving stab of Brickey’s line drive that seemed destined to score at least one run.

McGinley and Briana Evans each went 2 for 3, as KU tallied seven hits.

Pille (24-6) struck out four, walked one and hit one batter. Kristina Dillard’s third-inning infield single was Louisville’s only hit. Dillard blooped a ball over the head of first baseman Maddie Stein and beyond the reach of second baseman Taylor McElhaney.

The last time Pille pitched in Columbia, she suffered the loss in KU’s season-ending 2-1 regional defeat to Nebraska a year ago. She’s shouldered more of the pitching load this year, tossing a career-high 195 1/3 innings, following the transfer of Kelsey Kessler after last season.

Friday marked Pille’s seventh shutout of the season.

“We certainly wanted to put some more runs on the board, but I think Pille was dominant, so I had a lot of confidence in her,” Smith said.

Louisville 000 000 0 — 0 1 0

Kansas 001 000 x — 1 7 1

W — Alicia Pille (24-6). L — Becker (14-8).

KU highlights: Shannon McGinley 2-for-3; Briana Evans 2-for-3; Chaley Brickey 1-for-2, run, 2 walks; Daniella Chavez 1-for-3, RBI; Taylor McElhaney 1-for-3; Pille struck out 4, allowed 1 hit, 1 walk in 7 innings.

KU record: 39-13. Louisville record: 30-18.

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