Spring Break
The Roos began their Summit League season with a pair of losses, 2-3 and 2-12 to the Oakland University (OU) Golden Grizzlies. UMKC played OU in a double header Friday at Cleveland Park. In the first game, the Roos took an early lead and picked up some early momentum.
"Hope springs eternal." Those three words come together as perhaps the most celebrated phrase in any baseball or softball fan's vocabulary. Simply put, it is a statement that with each new season there will be new reasons to watch and new reasons to support one's home team.
Shortly before the UMKC women's basketball team bowed out of the Summit League tournament in Tulsa, Okla. on Monday afternoon, the Kangaroo softball team took the field in Lawrence, Kan., against the Indiana State University (ISU) Sycamores. Unfortunately, the grapefruit squad's efforts ended in much the same way as the UMKC softball team.
The score may not have indicated, but the UMKC women's hoops team played like champions Monday afternoon at the UMAC in Tulsa, Okla. The Kangaroos battled against the third seeded IUPUI Jaguars, and looked to prolong their Cinderella run through the Summit League Conference Tournament, but fell short 54-42.
Before leaving for the Summit League Conference Tournament in Tulsa, Okla. last weekend, four Kangaroos picked up some post-season hardware. Players receive Summit League honors based on a poll of coaches, sports information directors and members of the media.
Freshman shortstop Julie Hartung may be a rookie to the Kangaroos, but she is no newcomer to softball. "I started way back in T-ball, but I started playing competitive softball when I was 9," Hartung said. "We weren't very good but we had a lot of fun." Softball is still fun for Hartung years later.
Led by a strong finish by UMKC sophomore Alex Hogben, the Kangaroo men's golf team landed in the middle of the field at the conclusion of last week's Louisiana Classics golf tournament. Even more impressive was the Roos finished just five strokes short of third place in the 14-team field.
Hogben is Golfer of the Week The Summit League selected UMKC sophomore Alex Hogben as its Golfer of the Week after a top-15 finish at the Louisiana Classics tournament early in the week. It was the second such league honor Hogben has received in his Kangaroo career.
