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MONDAY, MARCH 31, 2014
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
BASEBALL
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AMIF IUST/KANSAN
Protacio extends his on-base streak to 38
Junior outfielder Michael Suiter battles during his at bat in the first inning. Suiter was eventually walked
SHANE JACKSON sports@kansan.com
a leadoff man's job is simple. Get on base at all costs. Whether it's finding a gap for a hit, wearing a fastball at the shoulder or working the count to a walk, a leadoff batter in baseball understands what's at stake when he walks up to the plate and junior shortstop Justin Protacio takes that job to heart.
"I am still aggressive," Protacio said. "If the pitch is there I will swing, if not I will take a walk. I am just trying to do my job and get on base."
Dating back to last year, Protacio came into the Oklahoma series with a very phenomenal streak. For 35 straight games, Protacio has found a way to get on base. The series against Oklahoma proved to be no different for the 5-foot-6-inch left-handed batter.
"He is one of the better college players in the country," said coach Ritch Price. "You see that little guy who stands 5-foot-6-inches and wonder what he is doing playing at the
division one field, but he plays every day at a really high level."
In game one on Friday night, Protacio extended his on-base streak to 36 with a leadoff walk in the bottom of the first. On Saturday the streak increased to 37 with a single to the left before stealing second.
Then on Sunday, Protacio made it 38 in a row after four consecutive balls to draw a walk. He was later scored in the inning by a Michael Suiter single to take an early 1-0 lead in yesterday's matchup against the Sooners.
Protacio's ability to get on base doesn't just stop after he extends his streak in the first inning. In every one of his at bats Protacio's mindset is that he will get on base.
After blowing a 3-1 lead in the top of the ninth in Sunday's contest, the Jayhawks needed some magic in the home half to avoid the sweep.
Following a Tommy Mirabelli strikeout, Protocio took the plate with that leadoff mindset. He worked through a full count before taking first on a walk and was scored by a Dakota Smith walk-off double to beat the Sooners 4-3.
"Tommy struck out before me; I knew the pitcher wasn't throwing that hard, so I just kept fouling them off until he started throwing balls to get on base," Protocio said. "As long as I get on base the guys will score behind me."
Senior catcher Ka'iana Eldredge, who played against Protocacio in high school in Hawaii, enjoys having Protocacio on his team for a change.
"He is a really scrappy guy," Eldredge said. "I played against him in high school. He was the same way, the pesiest guy I have ever played against. He is always getting on base. That's what you want from your leadoff."
No one knows when the streak will ultimately end, if ever. For now the Jayhawks will take pride in having one of the best leadoff hitters in college baseball, and enjoy the phenomenal 38 game and counting ride.
— Edited by Amber Kasselman
Kansas secures victories at first outdoor meet
TRACK AND FIELD
BEN BURCH sports@kansan.com
The Kansas track and field teams kicked off the 2014 outdoor season on a high note last weekend at the 87th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays with a handful of event victories and even a school record. The meet took place from Wednesday to Saturday at the Mike A. Myers Stadium track in Austin, Texas.
Junior Lindsay Vollmer was among the Jayhawk athletes to see the winner's circle with an event title in the heptathlon. In her first heptathlon since she took the NCAA title in the event last June, Vollmer posted 5,640 points in the event, which not only was enough to give her the event
title, but it was the highest point total posted by a heptathlete in the NCAA so far this season.
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On the men's side, junior Michael Stigler was also able to claim an event title, winning the Texas Relays 400-meter hurdles race for the second-straight year. The two-time Big 12 champion in the event was able to finish the race in 50.08 seconds, which is the fastest time posted in the event so far this season.
The school record set over the weekend was done so by the women's 4x800 meter relay team. The quartet of senior Diamond Dixon, freshman Whitney Adams, sophomore Hannah Richardson and sophomore Rhavean
King passed the baton around the track in 8:50.50, besting the previous school record in the event that was set back in 1980 at the Drake Relays. Although the time was able to capture the school record, it was not good enough to win this year's Texas Relays as they finished in fourth place.
The track and field teams will split up this weekend to compete in a pair of meets. While the distance runners will head to Palo Alto, Calif., for the Stanford Invitational Friday, April 4, the rest of the team will head to Baton Rouge, L.A., Saturday, April 5 to compete in the Battle on the Bayou.
Edited by Katie Gilbaugh
BASKETBALL
He could have transferred when academic sanctions barred the Huskies from the NCAA tournament his junior season. But the guard wanted to pay back the school for the joy of a national title his freshman year, for his struggles as a sophomore.
NEW YORK — Shabazz Napier owed UConn.
UConn upsets Michigan St. 60-54,back to Final Four
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Napier sure did that Sunday, carrying UConn back to the Final Four in front of thousands of roaring Huskies fans at Madison Square Garden. He scored 17 of his 25 points in the second half in a 60-54 upset of fourth-seeded Michigan State.
The East Regional's most outstanding player hit three huge free throws with 30.6 seconds left, making clutch shot after clutch shot just as Kemba Walker did when
Napier was a freshman. The Huskies (30-8) rallied from a nine-point second-half deficit to become the first No. 7 seed to reach the Final Four since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
"His will to win — you could just see it," said Gary Harris, who led Michigan State with 22 points. "He wasn't going to let his team lose."
The Spartans' seniors become the first four-year players recruited by Tom Izzo to fail to make a Final Four.
"As the game got closer and closer to ending, it was on my mind a lot, every huddle," said big man Adreian Payne, who had 13 points and nine rebounds but was repeatedly pushed to the perimeter by UConn's defenders.
The undersized Huskies matched Michigan State's physical play box-out for box-out, holding the Spartans (29-9) to just six offensive rebounds and six points in the paint.
"We're physical, too," said second-year coach Kevin Ollie, who is now 4-0 in the NCAA tournament after replacing mentor Jim Calhoun. "Don't get it mixed up. We are predators out there."
UConn dared Michigan State to shoot 3-pointers, and the Spartans nearly made enough, going 11 for 29 from behind the arc. Trailing 51-49 with more than two minutes left, Michigan State had a chance to tie or take the lead. Payne threw the ball away, and Napier drilled a jumper on the other end.
The Huskies won their third national title in 2011,but they were ineligible for last year's tournament because of previous low scores on the NCAA's academic progress measure.
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