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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28, 2012
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SOFTBALI
Kansas rallies late against Missouri State
ALEC TILSON
atilson@kansan.com
The Kansas softball team won the first game of a doubleheader against Missouri State on Tuesday, but could not hold onto an early lead in the second game to secure the sweep.
Despite the lahaywhs' (23-7, 2-4) victory during the first game, coach Megan Smith said she questioned the team's demeanor in the early part of game one.
"We started extremely flat," Smith said. "We're a team that plays hard and we pride ourselves on being
locked in and ready to go. We really didn't see that in the beginning of the game today"
Missouri State took advantage, putting up a run in the first inning on Kansas' pitcher freshman Alicia Pille.
Still, Pille (11-4) kept the Jayhawks in the game until the offense came through.
Kansas put only three runners on base throughout the first five innings, but the top of the lineup was due in the sixth.
Sophomore infielder Ashley Newman, whose .380 batting average leads the team, led the inning with a bunt single. Two more singles loaded the bases with no outs for senior cleanup hitter Liz Kocon.
ASHLEIGH LEE/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
"It's really important for the lead-off hitter to set a tone and be a spark plug basically," Newman said. "I know I can depend on the people behind me to hit me in."
Kocon did just that with a two-run double to right field, giving Kansas a 2-0 lead and its first runs of the day. Senior shortstop Mariah Montgomery knocked in two more runs to continue the rally, and the Jayhawks had all the runs they would need.
The softball team walked away with a victory in its first game against Missouri State yesterday. The team lacked the intensity to hang on to a lead in the second game.
In game two, despite jumping ahead with a three-run first inning, Kansas allowed Missouri State to chip away at the lead and ultimately win the game.
Missouri State answered Kansas with a first-inning run of its own, making the score 3-1. Missouri State then put up zeros until a three-run fourth inning gave them a 4-3 lead and knocked KU's pitcher junior Morgan Druhan (7-2) out of the game.
Kansas tied the score with a run in the fifth, but Missouri State had the answer again, scoring the deciding run in the bottom half of the fifth.
"The second game, we started off really strong, locked in," Smith said. "The pitching just wasn't as sharp throughout the day, and it kind of got us in a little rut."
Montgomery said the team knew it was playing a tough team but lacked the intensity needed to win both games.
"We learned some lessons today about being locked in and being selfless", Montgomery said. "About looking at the front of the jersey and not the back and how we have to play for Kansas."
The midweek matchup was a make-up series after rain postponed it last week.
BIG 12 BASKETBALL
Edited by Corinne Westeman
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kansas State University athletic director John Currie, right, speaks to the media as university president Kirk Schulz looks on yesterday in Manhattan. Currie denied that a rift with Frank Martin was the primary reason the popular basketball coach left for South Carolina.
Martin, K-State deny that bad blood caused departure
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MANATTAN — Kansas State athletic director John Currie admitted to having some differences with coach Frank Martin over the years. The two men didn't always see eye to eye.
One thing they agreed on Tuesday: There was no rift in their relationship.
"John has been great," Martin said during a conference call shortly after being introduced as the new coach at South Carolina. "It's unfortunate that I make a difficult decision and everyone's got to figure out a way to blame someone for the decision. That's not fair to anybody."
Currie said he wished Martin well as he tries to turn around the Gamecocks.
"We've always had interest in Frank Martin being part of the long-term fabric at K-State. That started from the time we got here," Currie said during a morning news
conference at Bramlage Coliseum, which was attended by university president Kirk Schulz.
Currie said he tried to restructure Martin's contract several times over the course of the season, and that Martin said he wanted to focus on his team. Currie even made a last-minute pitch on Monday when Martin called to inform him that he would accept the offer from South Carolina.
"They wanted me at K-State," Martin said. "That was never in question."
Currie said he would begin the search immediately for a new coach. He would not say whether he has a list of potential candidates and declined to offer a timetable for the hiring, though the relatively late start in the process puts him at a disadvantage.
This will be the first time Currie has hired a coach of a major sport since taking over in 2009.
"Transition is part of life," he said. "I completely understand
how much many of our fans appreciate coach Martin. I, too, share that appreciation."
Currie has been widely criticized for Martin's decision to leave an up-and-coming basketball school for one with scant success in a league known primarily for its football.
Much of that stems from the public perception that a rift had developed between the athletic director and the high-profile coach, and the relationship became fractured to the point that it could no longer be repaired during the third round of the NCAA tournament.
That's when senior forward Jamar Samuels was suspended for the Wildcats' game against top-seeded Syracuse for receiving impermissible benefits. Martin stood in his player's corner before and after the game, while Currie said he did everything possible to get Samuels cleared to play.