Kansas Softball 2015 Midseason Report

With conference play starting up this weekend, I thought I'd check in on the softball team and see how they're doing both individually and as a group.  The stats provided throughout are courtesy of either Big12Sports.com or KUAthletics.com, and are current as of games played through March 24.

As a team, Kansas is batting .347 overall, which is second in the league.  Here is a look at some of the overall team statistics and where they rank compared with other Big 12 teams.  Remember, only 7 Big 12 teams participate in softball.

As you can see, the team stats provided for softball aren't as detailed as the stats provided for baseball.  Overall, the Jayhawks seem to be, at least statistically, a well balanced team.  About the only thing they don't do is steal bases, but when they do, they convert at an 82.75% clip.

A couple of things that stuck out to me while perusing the team stats were the following:

- Oklahoma leads the league offensively in home runs with 60.  The next closest is Texas Tech with 34.

- The Baylor and Oklahoma pitching staffs seem to be light-years ahead of the rest of the conference.  Baylor leads the league with a 2.06 team ERA while OU is second with a 2.17 team ERA.  The third place team is Texas, with a 2.74 team ERA.

Individually, KU does have several position players in the Top 5 in several statistical categories.

SS Chaley Brickey sits at third in the league in hits with 41.  Brickey is also second RBI (38) and fourth in total bases (67).

OF Briana Evans is fourth in the league in hits with 40 (trailing Brickey by one).  Evans is also third in the league in runs scored (34).

DH Briana Chavez is third in the league in RBI (36).

IF Maddie Stein leads the conference in doubles with 10, and just this past week became KU's career leader in RBI with 141.

SP Alicia Pille leads the league in strikeouts (131) and wins (18) and is second in the league in IP with 122.1.

As of March 24, Big 12 teams in the Top 25 (per USA Today/NFCA Coaches) are #6 Oklahoma, #13 Baylor, and #22 Kansas.  Texas is in the receiving votes category.

KU opens Big 12 play Friday by hosting the Texas Longhorns for a three-game series at Arrocha Park.  The Jayhawks are 29-2 on the year, and are about to find out if their non-conference scheduling was as soft as Bill Snyder's.  The game on Friday evening vs. Texas can be seen on the Jayhawk Television Network/ESPN3 (subject to blackout).  You can also catch all KU softball games (home and away) on the Jayhawk Radio Network.