PAGE 6
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11, 2012
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
16-INNING MARATHON
Kansas leaves too many runners on base, goes scoreless during seven extra innings against Wichita State Shockers
CHRIS NEALKANSAN
Kansas' Chris Manship tags Wichita State's Don Lambert out at second base after he was caught trying to steal third base during the third inning of Tuesday night's game in Lawrence. The game was the second-longest in Kansas history.
I MAX LUSH
mlush@kansan.com
The Jayhawks' offense keeps writing the same story this season. Too many Kansas players are left on base for the team to be successful.
It was the same tale Tuesday night at Hoglund Ballpark, when Kansas left a season-high 16 batters on base in a 16-inning 6-4 defeat to the Wichita State Shockers. Kansas fell to 12-20 on the season and have lost five straight games.
Junior shortstop Kevin Kuntz said it's important that the team stays focused on its game plan during clutch at-bats. Too often hitters try to do too much instead of doing the little things, he said. Kansas has stranded 259 batters in 32 games this season — about eight runners a game.
"it's tough," Kuntz said. "You don't know why it happens, you just don't know. I honestly think we'll turn it around. I think we'll start driving guys in, and we'll start clicking."
Sophomore outfielder Tucker Tharp led the Kansas offense; he went 4-for-8 with a double, a run and an RBI on the night. But, Tharp also left two runners on base.
"They pitched really well," Tharp said. "We just couldn't come up with a clutch hit late in the game, and it just didn't go our way today."
The Jayhawks ripped off seven hits in the first five innings against the Shockers' starting pitcher Kris Gardner (3-1, 3.52). Gardner left the game in the fifth inning, with no outs, after the Tharp tied the game on Kuntz's single. After that, Kansas' offense sputtered.
Coach Ritch Price said Gardner
does not throw as hard as pitchers do in the Big 12. Gardner prefers his changeup to his fastball. Price said he liked how his hitters adjusted to Gardner.
The rest of Wichita State's pitchers preferred throwing fastballs and hard sliders. Kansas had to readjust midgame. Despite only three hits in the game's last 10 innings, Price said he thought the hitters did a good job with their mid-game adjustments.
"We hit some balls hard back to the box that their pitcher speared," Price said. "I thought we did a nice job, not chasing the ball out of the zone for the most part and trying to get good pitches to hit."
The Jayhawks had opportunities to win the game late. Tharp was left on second base in the ninth inning. Freshman outfielder Dakota Smith
was stranded in scoring position in the 10th and again in the 13th inning. From the ninth inning on, Kansas left six batters on base.
Price said Kansas hasn't been able to find a hot batter in its lineup. Only three players have more than 15 RBIs this season. Outside of Kuntz and Tharp, the rest of the lineup only contributed four hits in the game.
"We don't have a guy on our club hitting .300." Price said. "I think it goes back to having some people in the middle of that lineup that are run-producers. Hitting is contagious."
Kansas had the opportunity to win a momentum-building game. Instead, the victory was left on the field.
GOLF
Edited by Corrine Westeman
Kansas 4
Wichita State
Kansas teams show perseverance in tough tournaments
tgraff@kansan.com
TREVOR GRAFF
Kansas men's and women's golf teams finished their respective tournaments Tuesday. The men's team took 6th in the Cowboy Classic, while the women' team placed 15th at the Knights and Pirates Invitational.
The men's team shot the second-lowest score of round three, 275, to rally to a sixth-place finish at the Talking Stick Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. Junior Chris Gilbert paced the Hawkies with
scores of 66, 70 and 66, which put him in a tie for fifth with a total score of 202.
"Chris played rock solid this week, other than just a couple loose shots," coach Kit Grove said. "He's not making a kit of putts, but he's not giving shots away on the green like he was in the early part of the year. That's a very positive sign."
Freshman Dylan McClure is continuing his solid play this spring, after tying for 14th with a total score of 207. McClure made a long putt early in the round Tuesday that got him under par. He held
on to that momentum by finishing under par for the first time in NCAA play.
McClure continued his rough starts, bogeying four of his first five holes, much like his start in the Louisiana Classics last month.
"I'll give the young man credit," Grove said of McClure. "He's a grinder. He's getting better at making the most of the situation."
Junior Alex Gutesha and freshman David Auer finished tied for 62nd with a score of 216. Senior Doug Quinones rounded out the lineup, tied for 74th with a score
of 217.
The men's team only has a few days to recooperate before it plays in the Western Intercollegiate in Santa Cruz, Calif. April 14-15.
For the women's team, Thanuttra Boonrakssasat led the Jayhawks at the Knights and Pirates Invitational in Melbourne, Fla. The players were desperate to find consistency off the tee, and they also struggled with longer iron shots, which is something the Jayhawks have done well so far this season.
"That's the first time that everybody struggled with their swings,"
coach Erin O'Neil said. "We spent a lot of time preparing for this event, focusing on the short game and the mental game, and they both were really good. It was good to see that improve, but the long game just wasn't there."
The Jayhawks played on the Suntree Country Club course, which isn't conducive to errant shots.
"We hit a few random shots that would put us out-of-bounds or in the water," O'Neil said. "Those shots added up, and today we didn't putt well. It's a combination
of those things."
Senior Katy Nugent and junior Audrey Yowell tied for 69th with scores of 240. Freshman Michelle Woods finished 83rd with a score of 247, and Meghan Potee completed the lineup with a 249, placing her 84th. Gabby DiMarco competed as an individual finishing tied for 74th with a score of 242.
The women's next tournament is the Big 12 Championship, which will be held at Lawrence Country Club in Lawrence on April 27-29.
Edited by Corinne Westeman
SOFTBALL
Jayhawks to host tough opponents in next 13 home games
ALEC TILSON
atilson@kansan.com
After taking to the road for 33 of its first 36 games of the season, the Kansas softball team is back at Arrocha Ballpark for a 13-game home stretch.
Despite its first victory against a ranked opponent this season on Saturday, the team doesn't feel it's time to relax.
Kansas (24-12, 3-9) hosts in-state rival Wichita State (7-29, 0-12) in a doubleheader today. This midweek matchup comes days before No. 5 Texas comes to Lawrence, so the Jayhawks hope they will focus on beating the Shockers before directing their attention to Texas.
"Just don't overlook," senior outfielder Liz Kocon said. "We have to be able to beat the teams we can beat and fight in the games we're not supposed to win."
Wichita State has won just once in 22 games since March 3 and is currently on a nine-game losing streak. The Shockers have not had a win in the Missouri Valley Conference under first-year coach Kristi Brednenner.
Kocon feels that Wichita State is one of those teams they need to beat.
Still, Kansas coach Megan Smith anticipates a scrappy performance
from Wichita State, the only other Division I softball team in the state of Kansas.
"They're going to come out swinging," Smith said, "We're looking for their best game of the year because that's what they do. When they play us, they play extremely well."
"We have to be able to... fight in the games we're not supposed to win."
LIZ KOCON senior outfielder
Smith said the team considers midweek matchups more important than weekend games because "taking care of business during midweek puts us in good position to make our goal of Regionals."
The Kansas offense, currently hitting .280 as team, will play at home with a different lineup than it had two weeks ago.
Freshman infielders Chanin Naudain and Maddie Stein both cracked the upper half of the line-up - Stein in the third spot and Naudain in the fifth - because of their ability to produce in pressure
"It's almost kind of expected," Kocon said. "We don't really treat freshman like freshman. We tell everyone to step up anytime."
Even though both newcomers are still getting their first taste of collegiate softball, Kocon is not surprised that the two freshmen worked their way up the lineup.
No Kansas hitter has been as consistent as junior outfielder Maggie Hull. Hull leads the team with 6 homeruns and ranks seventh in the conference with 72 total bases.
Hull said the biggest key for her and the offense is to focus on situational hitting and not necessarily on simply getting hits. If they don't do that, Hull said, the team risks losing a midweek game like it did against Missouri State on March 27.
"We rolled off the bus expecting to beat them," Hull said of Missouri State. "Sometimes it's easy to just go through the motions and we forget they can beat us. We can't let that happen."
Today's first game begins at 5 p.m., and the second game is scheduled for 7 p.m.
situations. Smith says she expects both to stay in these spots.
- Edited by Caroline Kraft
KANSAN FILE PHOTO during a fall
Senior outfielder Liz Kocon high-fives her coach while rounding third base after slamming a two-run home run during a fall game against Baker.
F