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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25, 2012
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SOFTBALL
Jayhawks to host feisty UMKC
TRAVIS YOUNG/KANSAN
Sophomore infielder Ashley Newman dives for the ball during the game against Iowa State Friday afternoon. Kansas won the game 8-2.
ALEC TILSON
atilson@kansan.com
The Kansas softball team will use the momentum of its 25-run, 36-hit performance last weekend going into today's doubleheader against the University of Missouri - Kansas City at Arrocha Ballpark
The Jayhawks (28-16, 5-13) split its series with the Kangaroos (19-25, 7-11) last season. Junior outfielder Maggie Hull said she remembers that day, adding "it simply could not happen this time around."
"We're kind of like their World Series; they come in and they want to win so bad," Hull said. "But at the same time, we have to realize those games are equally as important for us. We can't overlook them at all."
Hull's impressive offense continued last weekend with an eight for 11 three-game stretch that extended her current hit-streak to 12 games. Hull now leads the league in batting average .424), hits (61) and is second with 13 doubles.
However, coach Megan Smith said she's not surprised with Hull's remarkable batting average.
"Why not?" Smith said, jokingly. "You could tell me she'd hit 1.000 and I'd believe it."
UMKC, which competes in the Summit League, will try to limit Kansas' offense with two solid pitchers.
Junior Deanna Friese (9-13) leads UMKC with a 3.03 ERA. This year, she's struck out 183 batters in 164 innings and has thrown 17 complete games. Freshman Cinda Ramos (9-11) carries a 3.30 ERA and has pitched 131.1 innings. The two pitchers have worked all but eight innings this season for UMKC, and Smith said she expects a good performance from both.
"They have a really good pitcher who gives us fits every single year," Smith said of Friese. "UMKC is always tough. We always get great games from them. We anticipate seeing both good pitchers in the circle for them."
For Kansas' first baseman, freshman Maddie Stein, the formula for carrying the weekend's momentum into Wednesday is a simple one.
"Good pitching, hitting performances and defensive performances," Stein said of her strategy against UMKC. "Just the routine stuff and playing like we know."
Stein didn't hit a home run all season before facing Iowa State on Sunday. Then, she hit three in
two days. Her .408 batting average is second on the team and she's working on an eight-game hitting streak.
Freshman pitcher Alicia Pille (15-9) will also face UMKC for the first time. She threw a onehit, 58-pitch game against Iowa State and said she expects to be ready physically for Wednesday. She may not be familiar with the Kangaroos, but she said she wasn't worried.
"You're a little more sore because you don't get as much of a break." Pille said of competing in midweek games. "But it really doesn't matter who it is because we're going to be great."
The doubleheader begins at 3 p.m. and the second game is scheduled for 5 p.m.
— Edited by Gabrielle Schock
MLB
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Tommy Hunter throws against the Toronto Blue Jays in the first inning Tuesday. The Orioles won 2-1.
Orioles benefit from Jays' errors
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BALTIMORE — Tommy Hunter allowed three hits over six innings. Matt Wieters homered off the glove of left fielder Eric Thames, and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Toronto Blue Jays 2-1 on Tuesday night.
Hunter (2-1) allowed one run, walked three and struck out three. The only runner to get past first base against the right-hander was Thames, who hit a long home run in the third inning.
Pedro Strop, the fourth Orioles reliever, pitched the ninth for his first career save. Baltimore's usual closer, Jim Johnson, spent Monday night in a hospital with flulike symptoms and was unavailable, manager Buck Showalter said before the game.
Henderson Alvarez (0-2) took the loss despite allowing only two runs and five hits over seven innings.
With the score tied at 1 in the fourth inning, Wieters hit an opposite-field drive to left that Thames tracked on the run. As
he leaped to make the catch, his upper body hit the wall and the ball bounced off his glove and into the seats.
The Orioles didn't get a runner past first base the rest of the way, but it didn't matter because the Blue Jays were unable to score more than one run for the first time this season.
Toronto was coming off a four-game sweep of Kansas City and looking to improve on its 6-1 road record. Instead, the Blue Jays lost to Baltimore for the third time in four games over a 12-day span after going 12-6 against the Orioles in 2011.
Leadoff batters in an inning were 1 for 19 against Alvarez until Endy Chavez opened the game with a single. The Orioles subsequently loaded the bases with no outs but scored only one run, on a double-play grounder by Adam Jones.
Thames led off the third with his first home run, a shot to right field that landed on Eutaw Street in front of the B&O Warehouse.