SPORTS
FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2006
WWW.KANSAN.COM
PAGE 10A
BASEBALL
Rachel Savmour/KANSAN
Senior center fielder Matt Batty, right, senior closer Don Czyz, center, and senior shortstop Ritchie Price, will serve as the Jayhawk captains this season. Kansas takes on Hawaii-Hilo on Feb. 1. The Jayhawk's first home game will be against San Diego on Feb. 18.
New season brings changes
BY AUISSA BAUER
abauer@kansan.com
KAANS STAFF WRITER
It feels different.
A line of Kansas baseball players patiently answered all of the questions addressed to them during media day Thursday afternoon with something different in their voices.
"We don't really have any tradition here as a baseball school," said senior outfielder Gus Milner. "Everybody expects us to finish in the lower half of the Big 12. I'm expecting us to go top five."
Last year's team became the first Kansas baseball team ever to record three consecutive 30-win seasons.
As a team, the goal has always been to finish the season in June at the NCAA tournament rather than the Big 12 Tournament in May. This season, Kansas expects more.
This season, Kansas is expecting different results.
Kansas will return its entire starting infield from a season ago. It will return seven position players in total.
Senior outfielder Matt Baty, senior closer Don Czyz and senior shortstop Ritchie Price were selected to lead the Jayhawks as team captains.
"They're the three freshmen that started with me four years ago, and they're also our three impact players," said Price. "They go about the game the right way. It's an honor to be associated with those guys."
The captains proved that they could provide leadership with their performances last season. Baty led Kansas with 75 hits and kept a
consistent. .306 batting average as a leadoff hitter. In 36 appearances, Czyz struck out 60 batters, while Price served as Kansas' ironman. He started all 64 games.
"My biggest goal for our coaching staff is to take this team to the final step," Price said. "We've turned the program around, we've had some success, and now if I could get this team to the NCAA tournament, it would be a great legacy for those three seniors to leave the program with."
Five more seniors will join them, including Milner. The early departure of A.J. Van Slyke to the professional level left Milner as the leading candidate to the Jayhawks' power hitter. Last season, Milner hit nine home runs and drove in 45 RBI.
"I want to be that guy for the team," said Milner. "We have enough talent to do this. We'll try to make a nice, little Cinderella story for KU."
The story will include competitive games against No. 1 Texas and No. 2 Clemson in Baseball America's top 25, an increased difficulty different from previous seasons.
A top five finish in the Big 12 will likely secure Kansas a spot in the NCAA tournament.
"I think we'll definitely make the regional," said senior pitcher Kodiak Quick. "I think we've got a really good team. Our defense has all returned, we've got a great outfield and middle. I think we've got the arms to get there. Now it's just a matter of living up to our potential, and I think we can do it."
That confidence is what makes this team different.
Kansan projects starting line-up
Edited by Gabriella Souza
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
KANSAS AT BAYLOR 3 P.M. SATURDAY AT FERRELL CENTER
Baylor Bears (14-3, 5-3 Big 12)
Baylor senior forward Sophia Young is second in the Big 12 Conference in scoring, averaging 20.8 points per game. Young is a National Player of the Year candidate and one of only three conference players averaging a double-double in scoring and rebounding.
Player to Watch:
Baylor cannot look ahead to next Monday's game in Baton Rouge, La., when it will play No. 4 Louisiana State. Kansas will be hungry for its first conference road win.
Key to Victory:
Season in Review;
The defending national champions have already lost as many games as they
lost all of last season. Missouri ended Baylor's 30-game winning streak earlier this year in Columbia, Mo. The Bears are currently fifth in the conference and have dropped two of their last four games.
Baylor defeated Kansas by 10 on senior night in Lawrence last season. The game marked Baylor's sixth victory in a row against Kansas.
Previous Meeting:
— Ryan Schneider
Kansas Jayhawks (13-4, 2-4 Big 12)
Freshman guard/forward Sophronia Sallard played significant minutes in Manhattan Wednesday. She allows the team to use a different look with four guards playing at one time. With that line up, senior forward Crystal Kemp has the opportunity to play in the paint.
Kansas will have to find a way to keep Baylor under 70 points, which has only been done five times this season.
Kev to victory:
"They're just athletic on the perimeter, and we've got to be able to match that," Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson said.
Player to watch:
Season in review:
The Jayhawks have struggled to find a winning combination of players
in Big 12 Conference play, with Kemp being the only player who has consistently played well. Look for Henrickson to use multiple substitutions early to determine who has the hot hand.
Kansas lost to Kansas State 69-63 in Manhattan Wednesday night. The Jayhawks struggled to play defense in the paint, allowing the Wildcats to mount a 16-4 run over a seven-minute stretch.
Previous game:
"It's hard to win in this league and we can't have lapses like that," Henrickson said.
Michael Phillips
Jared Gab/KANSAN
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