THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2012
PLAYER STATISTICS
PAGE 3B
Baseball and softball teams lack consistency
MAX LUSH
mlush@kansan.com
Baseball
SINCE THE START OF SPRING BREAK:
RECORD 2-7 (0-3 BIG 12)
OUTSCORED BY 23 RUNS (58-35)
OFFENSE
BEST GAME:
KA'1ANA ELDREDGE, SOPHOMORE SECOND BASEMAN
MARCH 21 VS. SOUTHERN UTAH
Ka'iana
Eldredge had been in a season-long slump. He was hitting .185 going into the game (10-for-54). Against Southern Utah, Eldredge busted out of his slump in a big way, going 5-for-7 with two runs, four RBIs and a stolen base. He had the game-tying hit in the ninth inning to send the game into extra innings. Eldredge the won the game in the 11th inning with an RBI single to win the game 11-10.
PITCHING
BEST GAME:
THOMAS TAYLOR, RED-SHIRT JUNIOR FIRST BASEMAN
MARCH 18 VS. HOUSTON BAPTIST
Riding a three-game losing streak, the Jayhawks needed a win in the Irish Baseball Classic in San Antonio, Texas. Taylor, Kansas' most experienced starting pitcher, delivered a gem. He earned the win allowing just one run over 7.2 innings. Houston Baptist managed seven hits off of Taylor. He also struck out four batters while walking none.
Taylor
NEEDS IMPROVEMENT:
CLUTCH HITTING
The Jayhawks' problem isn't getting guys on base, they have a team .350 on-base percentage, but the problem is driving them in. In the last nine games, Jayhawk hitters have left 77 runners on base, averaging 8.55 runners left on base per game. In their victory against Southern Utah, the Jayhawks left 14 runners on base. They'll need to get more clutch hitting in order to be successful this season.
TRENDING UP: ROBERT KAHANA
FRESHMAN STARTER/RELIEVER
Kahana
Kahana is perhaps the Jayhawks' most versatile pitcher. He starts when needed or he can give the team innings out of the bullpen. Over the last nine games, he appeared five times while throwing 13 innings. His worst game of
that stretch came in the only
game he started. He threw 4.1 innings, but was tagged with four runs. Taking that game away, he threw 8.2 innings in four relief appearances allowing no earned runs and he struck out six batters and walked only three.
TRENDING UP:
JAKE MARASCO
RED-SHIRT JUNIOR FIRST BASEMAN
Marasco
After getting off to a slow start this season, Marasco appears to be finding his swing. In the last nine games, he went 13-for-32 (.406) with four RBIs, three runs and three walks. His average is up to .316 on the season. That makes him
at least 50 at-bats this season to have a batting average about .300.
NEEDS IMPROVEMENT:
CONSISTENT STARTING PITCHING
Kansas' starters seem to either have a really good game or a terrible game. In five of the last nine games, Jayhawk starters have given up at least five runs. This team has not show enough consistency on offense to be faced with early deficits. In the last nine games, starters have thrown 47 innings and allowed 34 earned runs over that span. That equals a 6.51 ERA in that stretch; they need to be better.
ALEC TILSON
atilson@kansan.com
Softball
SINCE THE START OF SPRING BREAK RECORD 3-5 (2-4) OUTSCORED BY 18 RUNS (31-13)
OFFENSE
BEST GAME:
MAGGIE HULL, JUNIOR OUTFIELDER, MARCH 24 VS. OKLAHOMA STATE
Hull
After hitting 398 in non-conference play, Hull struggled to find her groove when conference play started. In the four games prior to March 24, Hull went 1-for-12 without an extra-base hit. That slump ended when Hull homered to deep center against the Cowgirls, scoring the go-ahead runs and pushing the team towards its second consecutive conference victory at home.
PITCHING
ALICIA PILLE, FRESHMAN PITCHER, MARCH 23 VS. OKLAHOMA STATE
Pillle was lights out all afternoon for Kansas. She pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing just two hits, walking one and striking out 11. The Kansas offense did not provide any run support until the game went into extra innings. After Pillle struck out two in the top of the eighth, freshman infielder Chanin Naudin, Pillle's roommate, finally gave the pitcher what she needed: a walk-off homerun and her 10th victory.
Pille
Edited by Amanda Gage
NEEDS IMPROVEMENT:
SIX, SEVEN, AND EIGHT SPOTS
IN THE LINEUP
It's been a struggle for the latter third of the lineup, specifically the six, seven, and eight spots in the lineup. In the last eight games, those three spots have gone a combined 8-for-62 (.129) with just two runs and two RBIs. Granted, three of those games were against a dominant Missouri pitching staff, but the Jayhawks need contributions from every spot in the lineup to compete in this league.
TRENDING UP: MORGAN DRUHAN
JUNIOR PITCHER
Druhan
Despite a rough outing against Missouri State on Tuesday, Druhan has emerged as one of three arms in the Kansas rotation. Perhaps Durhan's best game came in the second matchup against Oklahoma State on March 24. She
solid innings and kept Kansas in position to win the game. She has had her struggles, but the South Alabama transfer brings an added competitive presence in the circle that the pitching staff did not have last season.
TRENDING UP:
ASHLEY NEWMAN, SOPHOMORE INFIELDER
Newman
Newman has been as consistent as any Jayhawk hitter at the plate. Her .380 batting average leads the team and her speed on the base paths — good for 18 steals on the year — gives Kansas a dynamic slapper at the top of the order. Coach
Megan Smith has said several times; when Newman gets on base, Kansas scores. In the brutal Big 12 schedule, she will need to continue to set the table if Kansas intends to score runs.
NEEDS IMPROVEMENT:
FIRST INNING JITTERS
Kansas pitchers have allowed at least one first-inning run in six of the eight games since Spring Break began. After shaky first innings, pitchers have tended to settle into games as no team has scored a run in the second inning of those games. For a team that relies heavily on pitching and defense, Kansas needs to see more consistency in the first innings of ball games. Digging a hole, especially when it comes before the offense has a chance to hit, tends to put undue pressure on hitters.
Edited by Katie James
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