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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2015
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Kansas baseball to challenge four Pac-12 teams in Arizona
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FILE PHOTO/KANSAN
KYLAN WHITMER
@KRWhitmer
Kansas pitcher Drew Morovick throws a strike against Wichita State last season. Kansas will play in Arizona this weekend.
The Jayhawks head down to the heat of the southwest to try and catch fire this weekend in the Big 12/Pac-12 Challenge.
The lajhwacks will attempt to earn their first win of the season at 2 p.m. Thursday against Washington at Sloan Park in Mesa, Ariz., followed by a game against Uwha at 5:30 p.m. Friday.
The team will then head to the spring home stadium of the Kansas City Royals in Surprise, Ariz. The Jayhawks will square off against Washington State at 5:30 p.m. Saturday and then close out the weekend against Oregon State at noon Sunday.
WASHINGTON (4-0)
Junior right-hander Hayden Edwards will make his first start of his career on Thursday against the Huskies. He ended the 2014 season with a 2.08 ERA, pitching as a reliever in six games for the Jayhawks. Edwards also made an appearance earlier this season against LSU where he pitched in two innings, only allowing one hit.
Ims will be a special game for the Jayhawks' freshman third baseman Matt McLaughlin whose uncle, Lindsay Meggs, is the coach for the Huskies and cousin, Jack Meggs, plays outfield.
"I am looking forward to it," McLaughlin said, according to a press release from KU Athletics. "It is going to be a lot of fun playing against family."
The Jayhawks lead the all-time series against the Huskies 2-1.
JTAH (1-3)
Kansas looks to even out the all-time series (5-6) against Utah with Drew Morovick starting on the mound. The senior recorded four strikeouts in his start against LSU last weekend. Morovick will go头-to-head against Utah's Dalton Carroll, who has pitched 2.1 innings this season giving up four hits and three earned runs.
The Utes have played four games this season, all against Sacramento State. After winning the first game of the series they dropped three straight, putting them at 1-3 on the season.
WASHINGTON STATE (2-2)
Junior Ben Krauth will make his second start for Kansas in the Jayhawks' first-ever meeting with the Cougars. Krauth pitched 4.1 innings last weekend and sent three LSU batters back to the dugout with strikeouts. The Cougars will start Joe Pistorese, who has started one game this season. Against Missouri State, Pistorese pitched just over an inning and allowed three runs.
The Cougars have two wins on the season, dominating Texas-Arlington 8-2 and defeating Stephen F. Austin in a squeaker 4-3.
OREGON STATE (2-2)
Sophomore Sean Rackoski will finish up the weekend against the Beavers, who have been to six straight NCAA tournaments, including a College World Series appearance in 2013.
The Beavers started out the season with two wins against Big Ten teams; however, they have dropped their last two to New Mexico.
Senior Blair Beck has been huge at the plate so far this season. The first baseman is hitting a .375 batting average with three hits, including a home run, in eight at-bats. Beck also recorded 19 putouts in the field with no errors last weekend.
The Jayhawks lost the only meeting between the two teams and look to tie up the all-time series against the perennial power Sunday.
IMPACT PLAYERS TO WATCH FOR
Edited by Mackenzie Clark
Also watch for second baseman Colby Wright to make an impact in the batter's box after getting on base seven out of his 10 at-bats last weekend. The junior recorded three base hits and wore an absurd four pitches against LSU, earning him four walks.
KIRSTEN SELSTAD/KANSAN
Freshmen Alexis Czapinski and Summer Collins celebrate after scoring a point.
Kansas will also have to contend with freshman Gracia Mboko who took home the Summit League player of the week award earlier this month.
Kansas tennis heads to Colorado for a pair of ranked matches
The second match of the weekend
No. 75 Kansas will head to Colorado over the weekend for a pair of matches against ranked teams No. 65 Denver and No. 68 Colorado.
The Jayhawks will square off against former player sophomore Morgan Barnhill who in one year at Kansas, boasted a 10-3 record in doubles play and was 4-8 in singles.
The Jayhawks moved into the rankings themselves after picking up a tightly contested win against Houston last Saturday in their home opener.
Denver, Kansas' first opponent, sports a 2-3 record on the season after falling to No. 64 New Mexico at home last weekend by a score of 4-3. The Jayhawks fell to New Mexico by the same score in January.
will pit the Jayhawks against former Big 12 opponent Colorado. The Buffaloes hold a 6-1 record on the year with its lone loss coming against Wichita State 5-1. Kansas dropped its matchup with Wichita State 6-1 last week.
Colorado is coming off a 5-2 victory over New Mexico and will face Nevada on Saturday before squaring off with Kansas on Sunday.
The Buffaloes are led by senior Julyette Steur who has a perfect 7-0 record in singles play on the year and freshman Tina Bokhua who is 6-1.
The Jayhawks will also face Ashley Tiefel, a senior out of Leawood, Kan. Tiefel, a Blue Valley High School graduate, is currently 2-0.
Kansas hopes to get strong play from last weekend's heroes freshmen Summer Collins and Smith Hinton who picked up consecutive singles wins late in Saturday's match to drop Houston 4-3.
Play is set to begin at 5 p.m. (CT) on Saturday, Feb. 21 in Denver. Sunday's match against Colorado will start at 1 p.m. in Boulder.
— Jacob Clemen
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