Softball On SI

Kansas Blanks Missouri in Midweek Border Showdown

Jayhawks freshman pitcher Kaelee Washington pitched her first-career shutout.
Maren Angus-Coombs|
Kansas shuts out Missouri 3-0 in the lone Border Showdown clash of the 2025 season.
Kansas shuts out Missouri 3-0 in the lone Border Showdown clash of the 2025 season. | Kansas Athletics

Behind a specactular performance in the circle from freshman Kaelee Washington, the Kansas Jayhawks rolled into Columbia, Mo., on Wednesday and shut out the Missouri Tigers 3-0 in the lone Border Showdown matchup of the season.

The win marked KU's first win over Mizzou since 2022 and was the only contest between the two rivals this season.

"I  think we really set the tone in that first inning. Our mindset was right, our energy was fantastic. I was incredibly proud of the whole team—our defense was phenomenal," said Kansas head coach Jennifer McFalls. "The timing of the double plays was crucial, and K Wash stepped up in a big way. For a freshman to throw all seven innings on a big stage and work through tough situations, that's huge for her confidence moving forward."

Washington pitched a complete-game and held Mizzou to four hits. She walked five and struck out three.

Missouri sent Cierra Harrison to the mound for the start and it was disastrous. Presley Limbaugh and Aynslee Linduff lead the game off with back-to-back singles and then Hailey Cripe blasted a three-run home run to right field.

Before the Tigers could blink, the Jayhawks were up 3-0 before a single out was recorded.

The Tigers threatened multiple times but the Jayhawks held strong and the score didn't budge.

Missouri turned to sophomore pitcher Melissa McCann in the third inning and she held Kansas to one hit and struck out six. She also didn't allow a run.

Kansas out-hit Mizzou 5-4 and played clean defense while the Tigers committed one error.

Up next for KU is a three-game series against No. 13 Texas Tech, with the first game set for Friday at 5 p.m. CT. Mizzou returns to conference play against No. 19 Ole Miss starting Saturday at 2 p.m. CT.

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Maren Angus-Coombs
MAREN ANGUS-COOMBS

Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. She has been covering college softball since 2016 for various outlets including Softball America, ESPNW and Hurrdat Sports. She is currently the managing editor of Softball On SI and also serves as an analyst for Nebraska softball games on Nebraska Public Media and B1G+.

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