When Kansas softball played Houston on the road, they won their first road series of the year.

Sunday. Six of the seven innings saw the Kansas defense hold the Cougars scoreless due to dominant performances.

Once again, senior pitcher Kasey Hamilton was the defensive unit’s engine, giving up just four hits and one run while striking out five batters.

Paris Lehman, a sophomore pitcher for Houston, quickly retired the top half of the first inning. Lehman faced four hitters in all, striking out three and walking one.

In response, the Cougars were forced to go three up, three down on groundouts by the Jayhawk defense.

With a shot down the middle, sophomore infielder Campbell Bagshaw advanced to first base safely to start the Jayhawks’ offensive rally in the top of the second. The Jayhawks had two hits and no runs at the end of the inning, despite their strong start.

The Cougars appeared on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second. After Hamilton allowed two singles and a walk, the Jayhawks were confronted with a loaded baton. Mandy Esman, a sophomore infielder for Houston, grounded out to second base, but Shelby Smith, a graduate student utility, scored.

Kansas was behind 1-0 going into the second half. Aynslee Linduff, a sophomore infielder for the Jayhawks, led up the eighth with a double to continue their recent hitting surge. Senior catcher Lyric Moore singled to shortstop, following Linduff’s example.

Hailey Cripe, a sophomore infielder, drove in Linduff with an RBI single to help the Jayhawks score their first run of the game. Following identical thefts of home and second base by Moore and Cripe, the Jayhawks added another run.

After the first three hitters grounded out, the Jayhawks shut down the Cougars once more on defense, retiring the side.

The Cougars decided to make a change at the mound at the start of the fourth inning, inserting Smith in place of Lehman. The Cougars didn’t let up a run or hit in the fourth inning, demonstrating the effectiveness of the pitching switch.

The two teams engaged in a defensive standoff throughout the fifth and sixth innings. In the fifth and sixth innings, the Cougars limited the Jayhawks to zero hits and runs. Nevertheless, the Jayhawks managed to match up well defensively, giving junior utility Turiya Coleman only one hit.

With two minutes remaining in the seventh, the Jayhawks have a slim 2-1 lead against the Cougars. Savanna DesRochers, a senior utility player, led off the inning with a hit to right field. Sadly, this would be the Jayhawks’ final offensive opportunity of the afternoon.

With the advantage going into the bottom of the seventh, the Jayhawks had to continue to play excellent defense if they were going to win the series. Mikalah Nitta, a rookie outfielder, was the first batter of the seventh inning, and Hamilton appeared tired on the mound.

After Nitta made a fielder’s choice to return to the dugout, the defense gave Hamilton some backup during the following at-bat. The freshman infielder Kayley Prudhomme singled, putting runners on first and second for the Cougars. Hamilton worked herself into a full count once more before walking the batter in the end.

With a series sweep in jeopardy, the Jayhawks found themselves facing loaded bases in the bottom of the seventh inning. Hamilton found herself in a full count for the second time in this inning. With the game on the line, junior infielder Lair Beautae grounded to third base, setting up the Jayhawk defense to turn a double play and win 2-1.

The next test for Kansas softball will be at UMKC on March 26. The first pitch is set to go at 5:00 p.m. CT.