Section B · Page 8
The University Daily Kansan
Wednesday, March 29, 2000
Jayhawk infielder good, but not quite that good
By Shawn Hutchinson
sports@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
Kansan sportswriter
Of the 40 pages that make up the 2000 Kansas softball media guide, page 13 might be the most attention grabbing.
That page is home to the player profile of Shannon Stanwix, Kansas' senior first baseman. Initially, theprofile looks as normal as the other 16 player profiles in the guide. But a quick glance at Stanwix's career statistics proves otherwise.
proves other wise.
According to her stats, Stanwix has hit 82 home runs in her career, driven in 252 runs, and has one walk in 533 at bats.
Stanwix smiles when asked about her record-breaking offensive onslaught that is in plain view for everyone to see. How has she managed to produce such outlandish numbers?
She takes one look at her stats on page 13,
smiles again and makes one key observation.
"All those stats are wrong." she said. "So don't pay any attention to those."
and so begins the story of Stanwix, the left-handed swinging, four-year letter winner for the 17-16 Jayhawks.
Paying a closer look to her stats in the media guide, it's easy to see that a slight editing error has caused the numbers to be wrong. In reality, Stanwix's numbers aren't quite as monstrous. But the senior does hold the Kansas career record with 18 home runs, and came into the season ranking fifth all-time in runs batted in with 62.
Kansas coach Tracy Bunge will attest that those particular numbers don't lie
"She's always been someone over her career
who has gotten big hits for us and has been a steady rock for us in the infiel." Bunge said. "The moment she came to KU she was our starting first baseman."
seating in its busier season. Stanwix came to Kansas in 1996 from Lawrence High School, where she was a two-time first team All-Sunflower League selection and a two-time All-Metro selection. That was enough to grab the attention of a handful of schools looking to add Stanwix to their rosters.
But Stanwix turned down the other schools and chose to stay in Lawrence. She responded by earning All-Big 12 Conference second-team honors her freshman season.
honors her best friend,
"I've always loved KU," she said. "I know I didn't want to go anywhere else. I bleed Crimson and Blue, you know?"
It's also well known that Stanwix has tried to stop the bleeding this season. Her senior year has been filled with disappointments. She has been struggling with her hitting, and her average has dipped from .282 last season to .224 this season. Stanwix said that she had been working hard to rid herself of the slump.
"If I could put my finger on the one thing that has caused me to go wrong this year, I would, but I can't," she said. "Mentally, I haven't been there."
Bunge acknowledged that her first baseman had seen ups and downs this season, but she said that regardless, Stanwix had impacted the softball team.
Bunge laughs when remembering how much Stanwix has changed from her freshman season to this season. Bunge said that Stanwix probably didn't say two words her entire freshman season, whereas this season, she has developed into a prototypical senior leader.
Senior Shannon Stanwix is the Jayhawks' career home run leader and fifth all-time in RBI. Photo courtesy of Kansas sports information.
"I have been really amazed with Shannon this year because her maturity is really showing through," Bunge said. "She's never been one to toot her own horn. She has battled and
stayed with it much more than I expected her to.
"I keep waiting for her to get on fire, because I know it's going to come."
Catchers picking up slack at bat
Continued from page 1B
make them special.
Tabb is a crackup, Bunge says.
"The one thing about Heather (Sims) is that she is a fiery kid," Bunge says. "She plays with a lot of emotion and wears her heart on the sleeve. She works with the pitchers well, and she does an excellent job understanding the game."
Tabb is a crackup, Bunge says. "You just laugh when you get around her," she says.
Bring up the subject of winning, though, and Tabb is all business.
"tree like I can do a lot better," she says. "I want to help the team out offensively."
offensively.
It seems everyone does. And to make sure everyone knows they play an important role, Bunge sticks a puzzle piece to each of their lockers with a phrase on it. They take the pieces to practice with them for that week, and if everyone does her part, the team fits the puzzle together after that weekend's game.
"It's a motivational, fire-up sort of thing." Campbell says.
This week Campbell's piece says "consistency." Go figure.
"You have no idea how nice it'll be to sleep in my own bed," Sims saws.
For these Jayhawks, getting to play at home isn't just about hitting better, or seeing families and friends in the stands or winning every game.
Softball pitching according to Clopton... Kansas All-Big 12 Conference pitcher Sara Clopton gives us a peek at what makes college softball so tough on hitters. The pitches. Here are some of her pitches, and some she's just heard about.
Fastball
Dropball
Senior Sara Clopton
Riser. or Curveball
Screwball
Knuckleball
---
Changeup
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