TUESDAY, APRIL 12. 2005
SPORTS
3B
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
You got served
Stephanie Farley/KANSAN
Anna Jackson, Alpharetta, Ga., freshman, practices with the rest of the KU tennis team yesterday afternoon at the Robinson Center tennis courts. The team fell 5-2 to Missouri last Saturday. The Jayhawks will face Kansas State at 2 p.m. on tomorrow in Lawrence.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1B
Beat
The main objectives in choosing an appropriate song are simple to Kansas relief pitcher Don Czyz. He said the song had to represent and pump up a player before he stepped to the plate or ran out to the mound.
The junior, who is introduced with the song "Dareh Meyod" by O.A.R., said the song fired him up before he tried to close out a game.
He said choosing the song took some time, but once he began listening to O.A.R. last year, he thought it had a catchy beat and could represent him.
Picking a song isn't as easy for the rest of the team. Freshman infielder John Allman said anytime players drove somewhere and heard a
promising song, they would play it a few extra times to see if it could work for an introduction.
One player that had trouble choosing was junior infielder Jared Schweitzer. He couldn't come up with a song on his own, and admitted that he stole the Metallica song "Human" from a Triple A player.
Senior catcher Sean Richardson said he busted out of a slump earlier this year because he switched songs.
Kansas players said their introduction songs were for fun, but a some said they thought the tunes could impact their game performances.
"I'll put on Yanni if it helps me get hits out there." he said.
with the Pennywise song "Bro Hymn," but earlier in the year his song was "Jailhouse" by Sublime. He said he made the switch because he wasn't getting important hits and needed something to change his mindset.
Richardson said he got three hits and a couple RBI in the first game after switching songs. But if something terrible happens with his swing, he said he wouldn't change the song again.
"I just wasn't feeling it," he said. "I figured I was doing well last year, but not this year, and I decided it was the song that was holding me back."
Richardson is introduced
"Some of these guys make jokes about me, but I think your song can be a big factor," he said. "It just gets you ready to hit."
Edited by Ross Fitch
BASEBALL
ST. LOUIS — Just like last season, the St. Louis Cardinals have stumbled out of the gate.
Losing start doesn't worry Cardinals yet
Knowing they led the major leagues with 105 victories last year and won the team's first NL pennant in 17 seasons keeps them calm about their mediocre 2-3 start and in particular the last two games, a pair of double-digit severe beatdowns at the hands of the Philadelphia Phillies.
"We're definitely dragging a little bit and we we're not playing the best baseball we can play," pitcher Chris Carpenter said. "But I wouldn't put any question into what kind of ability we have and what kind of team we have.
"Go back and look at last year and see how we started. Give us a few months and we'll go from there."
The Cardinals dropped three of four at home against the Brewers to start the 2004 season, got swept at Houston at home later that month and were 12-11 at the end of April. But from June on, they closed with a 78-34 rush and outscored the opposition by nearly 200 runs over the long haul.
"You're always concerned," manager Tony La Russa said. "It's not how we came out here to play. But whatever it is, I'm sure we'll fix it."
The Associated Press
Victor
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1B
"I was looking for three all the way." Bender said. "But once I realized that she wasn't running, I stood around and let her get home."
Lock scored while Bender was tagged out in a rundown.
Title LX took advantage of fielding errors by the Gentlemen to score runs, especially early in the game. In just six innings, 'the team amassed 41 at-bats.
"You can tell by the way they stand where they won't be able to hit it." she said.
The Gentlemen also had to contend with Title IX pitcher Michaela Ayers. Ayers struck out three batters and put a two-strike count on seven others.
Title IX built on its three-run first with another run in the second and third innings. The final four innings of the game were scoreless and went at a fast pace.
"I haven't pitched since fifth grade," Ayers, Omaha, Neb., freshman, said. "I guess I still have skills."
Ayers also noticed a trend among the Kentucky Gentlemen batters.
Toward the end of the game,
Michaela Ayers
Omaha, Neb., freshman
a light rain fell. It was not enough to distract the players, so play continued.
The Kentucky Gentlemen never mounted a charge and never had more than four batters in an inning.
Title IX grouped its rallies together, almost sending its entire lineup to the plate in the first inning.
With one game remaining,
Title IX advanced to the top of
its pool standings at 2-0. The
Kentucky Gentlemen are tied
for second at 1-1.
Following the game, the players didn't have that on their minds, however.
They hurried back to the dugout for some postgame snacks. Good play deserves good food.
— Edited by Megan Claus
League suspends player for steroids
NEW YORK — Colorado Rockies outfielder Jorge Piedra was suspended for 10 days yesterday for violating baseball's new policy on performance-enhancing drugs, becoming the second player to be publicly identified under the major leagues' tougher rules.
The suspension began with the Rockies game at Arizona last night, the commissioner's office said.
Piedra was recalled from Triple-A Colorado Springs of the Pacific Coast League on Wednesday and sent back down the next day.
“It’s unfortunate,” said commissioner Bud Selig, who was in Boston for the Red Sox-Yankees game. “I’m afraid this probably won't be the last one.”
Tampa Bay outfielder Alex Sanchez was also suspended for 10 days yesterday. He said he tested positive from a supplement he bought over the counter before Jan. 15, when it was made a controlled substance.
Selig wouldn't say whether he believed Sanchez. "I want to be kind," Selig said. "He did not fight his suspension, and I'll rest my case on that."
Under the new policy that took effect last month, steroids and other performance-enhancing substances are the only drugs to draw a 10-day suspension. Baseball officials and the players' union agreed they would not disclose the exact substance for which a player tests positive.
The Rockies issued a statement yesterday calling the situation "unfortunate."
"As an organization we have, and will continue to support Major League Baseball and its drug testing policies," team president Keli McGregor said.
The Associated Press
COME HEAR Yehiel Leiter CHIEF OF STAFF FOR ISRAELI FINANCE MINISTER, BENJAMIN NETANYAHU
Hansen Hall, Dole Institute of Politics 7:30 PM (Doors open at 7:00 PM)
University of Kansas
Tuesday, April 12th
Caravan for Democracy is co-sponsored by KU Hillel, KUIA, AEPi, SDT, International Studies Department
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