PAGE 10A
THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2015
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
The Kansasasa baseball team faces a big matchup against Baylor this weekend. Last weekend, the Jayhawks jumped above the Bears to eighth in the Big 12.
Kansas baseball to battle Baylor in a critical weekend series
EVAN RIGGS
@EvanRiggs15
This weekend, the Jayhawks (19-25, 6-9) will host the Baylor Bears (17-27, 6-12) in a critical Big 12 series. After winning two of three matchups with the West Virginia Mountaineers last weekend, the Jayhawks have jumped the Bears and the Kansas State Wildcats in the conference standings, and are now eighth in the Big 12.
"We've got an opportunity to win some series before the Big 12 Tournament in Tulsa," coach Ritch Price said. "Once we get there, anything can happen."
The Bears have struggled to a 5-11 record in the month of April. The Jayhawks, on the other hand, have played
well in April en route to a 9-7 record.
Statistically, the Bears have one of the league's worst pitching staffs and offenses. Their two primary starters, Daniel Castano and Drew Tolson, have records of 2-5 and 3-6 respectively.
The Bears have just six home runs this season, which is ninth in the Big 12. The Jayhawks will not have to worry about their power, but the Bears possess a lot of speed on the base path that could cause problems.
This season, the Bears have stolen 57 bases, which is third in the Big 12. They have attempted 85 stolen bases, so they are capable of being thrown out, and the Jayhawks will need sophomore catcher Michael Tinsley to do just that.
Logan Brown is the Bears quickest player around the base path. He has attempted 24 stolen bases and has been successful 17 times, which is good for second in the Big 12.
On the contrary, the Jayhawks have one of the best offenses in the Big 12, and that bodies well for them going against Baylor's sub-par pitching staff. The Jayhawks have the fourth-highest batting average in the Big 12 at .280, and the seventh-ranked home run hitter in the Big 12 outfielder Dakota Smith, who has six home runs.
Tinsley has been the Jayhawks most consistent offensive weapon this season. He is batting .333 with three home runs and 34 RBIs.
Sophomore relief pitcher Stephen Villines has been fantastic for Kansas this season with a 3.89 era with 11 saves.
Big 12 at 5.74, but some of the pitchers are performing at a high level. Junior transfer Ben Krauth, who won Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the week earlier this week, is 6-3 with a 3.73 era this season. His six wins are tied for fifth best in the Big 12.
Pitchers Drew Morovick (4-3) and Sean Rackoski (2-2 have also been good options for the Jayhawks this season.
The Jayhawks pitching staff still has the worst ERA in the
The Jayhawks will look to continue to move up in the Big 12 standings at 6 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.
— Edited by Laura Kubicki
Weekday baseball games foreshadow weekend outcomes
KYLAN WHITMER
@KRWhitmer
The Jayhawks' 2015 baseball season has been an unpredictable one, to say the least. With a young pitching rotation that is still developing, combined with a talented, veteran batting lineup, it's impossible to tell which Kansas team will show up on a given night.
In April, the Jayhawks were swept by Oklahoma, which has an NCAA RPI of 85, and then proceeded to win the series against Oklahoma State, which has an RPI of 14, the following weekend.
Although the team has been unpredictable, there has been a trend since the beginning of Big 12 league play that revolves around the Jayhawks performance in weekday matchups.
Unlike college basketball and a majority of football teams, college baseball teams play non-conference opponents on Tuesdays and Wednesdays between playing conference foes on the weekends.
"We've been doing a pretty good job here on Tuesday and Wednesday nights the last few weeks," coach Ritch Price said. Since Big 12 play started on March 27, the Jayhawks matchups during the week
prior to their league games have been a quality predictor of how the team will perform on the weekend.
The Jayhawks' first conference series was against Texas Tech. The team managed to win their first Big 12 game of the year, but dropped the last two games and ultimately the series. The Tuesday before, Missouri State beat the Jayhawks on the road 15-9 and unknowingly started a trend.
On April 7-8, the Jayhawks swept New Mexico, a team who is currently projected to be a three-seed in the postseason field. That weekend, the Jayhawks were set to face then No. 9 Oklahoma State. After winning their weekday games, the Jayhawks pulled the upset and won the series against the favored Cowboys.
Just days after their series win against the Cowboys, the Jayhawks hosted Missouri State for a second game. The Jayhawks lost 3-0 in a heartbreaker where all three of the Bears' runs came from a single hit. Not only did the weekday game carry over its losing attribute to the weekend series against Texas, it also brought with it the heartbreak. In the first game of the series, the Jayhawks fought hard in
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