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Volume 128 Issue 90
Monday, March 9, 2015
kansan.com
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COMMENTARY Kansas enters postseason with lots of questions
Head he pos Bill Self's Kansas Jayhawks have a lot of questions that need answering. Will junior forward Perry Ellis be able to fight through a left knee strain and be Kansas' most effective player again? Will the Jayhawks be without No. 2 recruit in the nation, freshman forward Cliff Alexander? And who will step up for an increased role in the tournament?
In Kansas' comeback win against West Virginia last week, Ellis headed to the locker room early with a left knee strain, taking a toll on Kansas' shooting for the rest of the game. Before that, Ellis had recorded three consecutive triple-doubles, including a season-high 28 points against Texas.
Since Kansas's shooting has decreased, Ellis has become the focal point of the Jayhawks' offense, leading the way all season with 14.2 points per game on 47.1 percent shooting from the field. He was recently named to the All-Big 12 first team and is in consideration for Big 12 Player of the Year.
Ellis' health will be in question as Kansas heads into March. Junior forward Jamari Traylor and sophomore forward Landen Lucas have done well in Ellis' place. Nevertheless, come tournament time, Kansas will need Ellis' offensive fire power if it plans to make a deep run in the tournament.
Cliff Alexander has not played in Kansas' past three games due to an "NCAA issue." The Jayhawks are still uncertain what his participation will be for the remainder of the season.
Alexander leads Kansas with 37 blocks on the season and averages 7.1 points per game. The freshman big man has struggled at times this season, as Self has worked with his minutes all year. But there have been times where Alexander has had flashes of brilliance. He has had two four-block games and two double-doubles.
Big bodies are important in March, and Kansas is starting to run a little short on its frontcourt. If Alexander cannot play, junior transfer Hunter Mickelson will continue to get minutes down the stretch. Mickelson has recorded 13 points and five blocks in Alexander's absence.
Lucas had a breakout game at Oklahoma on Saturday, recording 13 points and adding 12 rebounds. Lucas is one of Kansas' biggest bodies, and with an increased workload, has played effective minutes recently. As Lucas' minutes have increased this season, so has his production. If Alexander is still sidelined, Lucas should be in position for a productive March.
The Jayhawks will have to use the right players in place of Ellis and Alexander. After an 11th-straight Big 12 regular season title, Self will look to lead Kansas to more post-season success than they've enjoyed in recent years.
Edited by Mitch Raznick
Softball takes Stetson Tournament title
DEREK SKILLETT
@derek_skillett
The No. 25 Jayhawks won their first weekend tournament of the season, taking down La Salle, Chattanooga and Stetson over the weekend. Although they did endure their second loss of the season, a 4-0 shutout to the Chattanooga Mocs on Saturday, the Jayhawks gained some momentum going into next weekend's home opener at Rock Chalk Park.
JAYHAWKS TOP MOCS; WIN STETSON TOURNAMENT
A day after being handed their second loss of the season, the Jayhawks faced off with the Mocs one more time. The result was
an entirely different story. The Jayhawks blew out Chattanooga 11-3 in five innings.
After only three hits against Chattanooga pitcher Cori Jennings on Saturday, the Jayhawks recorded eight Sunday. Freshman infielder Daniella Chavez started the team's scoring in the first inning, hitting a grand slam for the Jayhawks.
"Yesterday she was fooled big time by that pitcher in every single at-bat. Today was huge — that's the ballgame. If she doesn't do that, who knows what happens." Kansas coach Megan Smith said in a University press release. "She sent a message that we were going to hit (Jennings) and we continued to do so. I'm really proud of
how Daniella bounced back and had a better mindset at the plate today."
Senior pitcher Alicia Pille, the tournament's MVP, had another good game, striking out six batters while allowing seven hits. Pille only allowed three runs in the game.
Junior outfieldier Briana Evans, the reigning Big 12 Player of the Week, led the Jayhawks with two hits. Senior utility Maddie Stein added two hits and two RBIs.
"I'm really proud of the way our team came out," Smith said in a press release. "We were excited to play Chattanooga again and we wanted (Jennings) to pitch again because we wanted to see how our players would make adjustments after listening to more game
planning and seeing some video. I'm really pleased with them coming out today and being intentional about doing a better job."
The Jayhawks started the weekend off with a bang, blowing out both La Salle and Chattanooga on Friday. The Jayhawks' second loss of the season came Saturday in the second of three matchups with Chattanooga before rebounding to defeat Stetson by a score of 10-1 later that day.
Despite the loss, the Jayhawks are 21-2 and the first Big 12 team to reach 20 wins. Taking down quality teams like Stetson and Chattanooga will only help the Jayhawks when it
WEEKEND RECAP
comes time for conference play and eventually NCAA Tournament play.
"I really like the fact that we played Chattanooga three times — we played an NCAA Tournament team in a three-game set this weekend and it kind of helps us understand how conference is going to be," Smith said in a press release.
UP NEXT
The Jayhawks will open their home schedule Friday in the Jayhawk Invitational at the new Arrocha Ballpark at the Rock Chalk Park complex. Kansas will play against Northern Colorado, Idaho State and Nebraska-Omaha.
Early win not enough as Kansas loses series to Utah
KYLAN WHITMER
Edited by Kayla Schartz
@KRWhitmer
The Kansas baseball team could not capitalize on its win Friday as it dropped the final two games, losing the series against Utah.
The Utes got on the board early after shortstop Cody Scaggari knocked a solo home run over the left field fence to give his team a 1-0 lead.
Pitching continues to be problematic for the Jayhawks as they gave up 35 hits and 18 runs to the Utes throughout the three-game series.
"We needed to pitch better to have an opportunity to win the series," coach Ritch Price said. "Due to some injuries this week with Drew Morovick not being able to pitch, it changed our rotation for the weekend and we gave a couple guys their first starts of their careers."
Friday's SportsCenter appearance wasn't enough for Afenir as he showcased his skill in the outfield once again with another diving grab.
Blake Weiman is a freshman who falls into that category. While senior Morovick was out with a sore elbow, the freshman pitcher started the final game of the series pitching four innings, giving up six hits and three earned runs.
"It's going to take us four to six weeks before all of these freshmen can make the jump from being really good high school players to being solid Division 1 pitchers," Price said.
The rubber match was all Utah as the Jayhawks could not consistently hit or pitch on Sunday.
The Jayhawks started the series well on Friday, winning their home-opener 7-5. Friday saw a lot of offense as the Jayhawks racked up 15 hits and Utah earning 12 of its own. Sophomore center fielder Joven Afenir was featured on ESPN's SportsCenter Top 10 for his diving catch in the top of the seventh inning.
After taking advantage of a pair of wild pitches from Weiman, two more Utes found their way to home
Saturday was not as kind to the Jayhawks as they would drop game two 5-1. Stellar pitching was the story of the day as Utah's Dalton Carroll threw a complete game, allowing six hits and no earned runs.
plate. The Utes held a threerun lead while the Jayhawk offense couldn't get anything going throughout the first three innings.
In the top of the fourth. Afenir proved he could bat and play stellar defense, giving the Jayhawks their first run of the game with a solo shot over right field. Joe Moroney would also reach home before the inning's end, closing the deficit to 3-2.
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Utah responded with a hitting spree in the next two innings, including four straight singles and a pair of steals in the sixth to give the Utes a 6-2 lead.
The Jayhawks continued to struggle on offense while the Utes added two more runs to give them a six-run lead going into the final inning.
UP NEXT
Sophomore Marcus Wheeler gave the Jayhawks a glimmer of hope in the bottom of the ninth by hitting a two-run bomb over left-center as a pinch hitter. It would not be enough, however, as Utah took care of business and defeated the Jayhawks 8-4 to win the rubber match and the series.
The Jayhawks will try and bounce back from their current two-game skid against Central Michigan (10-5) at Hoglund Ballpark on Tuesday at 3 p.m.
Edited by Mitch Raznick
FRANK WEIRICH/KANSAN
Pitcher Ben Krauth throws to first in the Jayhawks' home opener. Kansas defeated Utah 7-5 on Friday. The three game series ended Sunday.
Joe Moroney, a redshirt junior from Pleaston, Calif., makes it safe to third base in the game against Utah on Sunday. The Jayhawks lost the game 5-1 against Utah.
ALI DOVER/KANSAN
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