Softball bragging rights remain with Missouri stars

Kansas will have to wait another year to reaffirm its softball bragging rights.

For the third straight year, Missouri came out on top in the annual MO-KAN Softball Series Monday at the Shawnee Mission School District Softball Complex. The Missouri stars won the first game 4-1 and clinched the series by rallying in the bottom of the seventh inning to take the second game 4-3.

With its recent winning streak, the Show-Me State now leads 9-8 all-time in the series.

The Kansas stars appeared ready to send the series to a deciding third game when they scored three runs in the top of the first inning. Cat Lane of St. Thomas Aquinas and Allison Daggett of Paola led off the game with singles, followed by a walk to Halle England of Olathe Northwest. Cassidy Greer of Gardner Edgerton drove in two runs with a double and another run scored on a wild pitch.

But Kansas struggled to get baserunners after that against Missouri pitcher Olivia Kinsey of Park Hill South. Missouri got a two-run homer from Liberty North’s Destiny Ojigoh in the bottom of the first, tied the game with an RBI-single by Tori Farr of Platte County in the fifth and won it on another run-scoring single by Farr in the seventh.

Kansas was held in check in the first game by Belton’s Madison Hunsaker, who was named the Missouri team’s most valuable player after giving up six hits with no walks and four strikeouts over seven innings. Kansas also hurt itself in the field with seven errors.

Kansas’ lone run against Hunsaker came in the sixth. Lane led off the inning with an infield single and scored on a single by England, one of four players from the Class 6A state champion Ravens on the team.

Daggett was selected the Kansas team’s most valuable player.

This story was originally published June 6, 2017 at 11:52 AM with the headline "Softball bragging rights remain with Missouri stars."