KU Jayhawks claim shutout victory over Michigan at NCAA softball tournament
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- Kansas defeated Michigan 1-0 in the Norman regional with an extra-innings win.
- Lila Partridge pitched eight innings, allowing six hits, one walk and three strikeouts.
- Ava Wallace delivered a walk‑off single in the bottom of the eighth to win the game.
Kansas’ softball team celebrated its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 11 years by defeating Michigan 1-0 on Friday.
In the Jayhawks’ opening game at the Norman regional in Oklahoma, KU sophomore Ava Wallace ripped a walk-off single in the bottom of the eighth inning at Love’s Field.
KU (36-19) will next meet host OU (49-8) at 2 p.m. Saturday. It’s the second game of the double-elimination event for both teams. The Sooners won their opening game of the regional, beating Binghamton 11-0 in five inning (run-rule) on Friday.
Pitcher Lila Partridge earned the complete-game victory for KU. She allowed six hits with three strikeouts and one walk. Partridge’s eight innings pitched were the most in a single outing in her freshman season.
The start was Partridge’s sixth complete game and second complete game shutout of the season. The win was also Kansas’ seventh shutout of the year.
“That was a great defensive and pitching game for both sides,” eighth-year KU coach Jennifer McFalls said after the Jayhawks’ first victory in an NCAA softball tournament since a 2-0 decision over Indiana State in 2015.
McFalls applauded her team’s “grit and commitment to finishing the game out.”
Hailey Cripe led the bottom of the eighth inning off with a walk. Ella Boyer then hit a double off the left-center-field wall to put the winning run on third with no outs.
Two batters later, with one out, Wallace hit a line drive to left-center field that one-hopped the wall, allowing the winning run to score and giving the Jayhawks a 1-0 extra-innings victory.
Michigan (34-21) will face Binghamton in an elimination game Saturday.
This story was originally published May 15, 2026 at 9:30 PM.
