THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, APRIL 2, 2012
BASEBALL
PAGE 3B
Kansas wins its first conference series against Texas Tech
Pitching and hitting finally work together in harmony against Red Raiders
MAX LUSH
mlush@kansan.com
For weeks Kansas baseball players and coaches have said how close they were to putting everything together and becoming a successful baseball team.
After snapping a five-game losing streak and earning its first Big 12 win Saturday against Texas Tech 5-2, Kansas put it all together again Sunday afternoon, beating Tech 9-3.
Kansas won its first conference series since beating Missouri two games to 1 in Columbia, Mo., April of last year.
The Jayhawks (12-15, 2-4) came out swinging, scoring five runs in the first two innings, three in the first and two in the second. Perhaps, the most important thing to the ball club, four of those five runs came with two outs. They would add another two-out RBI in the fourth inning.
"We needed to win a series," coach Ritch Price said. "After we got off the snide yesterday and picked up the victory, we needed
to find a way at home to win a series. I'm hoping it's something we can build off of and go forward from here."
All season long, if the pitchers pitched exceptionally the offense was nowhere to be found. If the offense started putting runs on the board, the pitching would surrender.
der more. The Jayhawks hardly
ever seemed to have both their defense and offense working together until this weekend.
Entering this weekend, the lvahawks had
scored four or more runs nine times in March. They lost six of those games. In games where pitching gave up less than four runs, the Jayhawks are 2-2.
Kansas scored all of its nine runs in the first four innings, and junior starting pitcher Thomas Taylor (3-3, 4.12 ERA) gave the team six straight scoreless innings before being tagged for two runs in the seventh.
"We wanted to bury them pretty early," Taylor said. "I think it would have been a little bit of a game if they gave a couple runs a little earlier than they did."
Taylor threw 6.2 innings while allowing two runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out six in the afternoon.
Taylor struggled in the first
RITCH PRICE
Coach
two innings, falling behind hitters, but would find his way out of the inning. He said he was too lethargic with his delivery, and began speeding
it up in the third inning.
The adjustment worked. Taylor began retiring hitters earlier in counts. He recorded five of his six strikeouts after the second inning.
Senior designated hitter Chris Manship led the Jayhawks. He went 3-for-5 on the day with three RBIs and two runs. He also crushed a double into left-center field in the first inning to drive in
the game's first run.
"When you're getting hits with two strikes and two outs and scoring runs, it kind of sends a message to the other team as well," Manship said. "It kind of puts them down a little bit and brings out morale up."
Red-shirt junior second baseman Jordan Dreiling scored two runs. Senior catcher James Stanfield got on base three times and scored three runs. Senior third baseman Zac Elgie hit a two-run, two-out double off of the left field wall in the bottom of the first.
Price said he hopes that he's seeing his young team turn a corner this season. He said it all starts with starting pitching, but the clutch hits need to keep falling.
"Maybe this team got over the hump this weekend finally;" Price said.
— Edited by Nadia Imafidon
Sophomore pitcher Frank Duncan quickly throws the ball to first base to get his opponent out Friday night's game against the Red Raiders.
ASHLEIGH LEE/ KANSAN
SOFTBALL
Impressive hitting falls short
ALEC TILSON alectilson@kansan.com
The first two games of the series were rough. Kansas fell victim to a perfect game on Friday night and recorded two hits on Saturday in consecutive 8-0 defeats against No. 7 Oklahoma.
Sophomore infielder Ashley Newman slides over homeplate for the homerun. Kansas won 12-0 in 5 innings.
But, Kansas (23-10, 2-7) returned Sunday with nine hits and two runs on the Sooners' (30-4, 6-1) All-American and Team USA pitcher junior Keilani Ricketts (17-4). Ricketts also threw Friday's perfect game.
TRAVIS YOUNG/KANSAN
The Jayhawks threw the initial punch on Sunday, taking their first lead of the series in the top of the second inning.
"Today was big for us," coach Megan Smith said of Sunday's performance. "Offensively we can produce against top pitching in the conference, we just have to focus on ourselves."
Oklahoma and its high-powered lineup didn't take long to get back in the game. It answered in the bottom half of the inning with six runs and never looked back.
Freshman catcher Lexi Bryant doubled after a leadoff single by senior outfielder Liz Kocon. Then, after two Kansas outs, freshman infielder Chanin Naudin doubled to left center, knocking in two runs and giving Kansas a 2-0 lead.
Naudin said Sunday's game showed some of the adjustments Kansas hitters were able to make after seeing Ricketts once before.
"The coaches challenged us," Naudin said. "They told us not to worry about the scoreboard and
just stay locked in. They wanted us to be loud and energetic and I though we were all energized today."
Oklahoma's pitching staff, led
by Kirsten and junior Michelle Gascoigne (12-0), leads the conference with a 0.72 team ERA. In 214 innings pitched, Oklahoma a pitching has allowed just 22
"They told us not to worry about the scoreboard and just stay locked in."
pitcher Morgan Druhan and the Kansas pitching staff knew they would be facing one of the best lineups in the country, a lineup that now leads the Big 12 with 54
Kansas' nine hits on Sunday are the most Ricketts has allowed this season.
earned runs and struck out 331.
Going into the weekend, junior
CHANIN NAUDIN Freshman infielder
home runs.
Druhan, a transfer from South Alabama, pitched a combined fourinnings and allowed four earned runs on the weekend. After her first chance to
face Oklahoma, Druhan said she embraces the opportunity to face top competition.
best," Druhan said. "We didn't win but at the same time we made a lot of adjustments and gained a lot of confidence."
"For me it's exactly where you want to be, going up against the
Smith said that regardless of being swept, Kansas still came away a better team.
Of course, the road doesn't get any easier in the Big 12 as Kansas will face No. 17 Baylor in Waco, Texas in its next series this weekend.
"I thought they showed a lot of mental toughness and resiliency," Smith said. "We improved each game; that's a big positive going into next week."
Edited by Max Lush
DENVER — Skylar Diggins scored 19 points, Brittany Mallory hit two big 3-pointers in overtime and Notre Dame beat Connecticut 83-75 on Sunday night to reach the national championship game for the second straight year.
The Huskies went up 70-67 on Bria Hartley's 3-pointer to open the first overtate at the women's Final four since 2006, but Mallory hit back-to-back 3s and Notre Dame closed with a 16-5 run.
The game was tied at 67 after regulation following an 8-2 run by UConn, which was led by Stefanie Dolson's 20 points.
The Fighting Irish (35-3) also beat the Huskies (33-5) in the semifinals last year, before losing to Texas A&M in the title game in Indianapolis.
The Irish will face either Stanford or Baylor for the title.
Associated Press
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Notre Dame survives in overtime against UCONN
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