PAGE 8
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14.2012
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
BASEBALL
Players perform well early in spring season
MAX LUSH
mlush@kansan.com
Benjamin
Taylor
PITCHING
Biggest surprise: Wes Benjamin, freshman from St. Charles, III.
Best game: Thomas Taylor, junior from Overland Park
Kahana
Benjamin, a 6-foot-2-inch left-handed starter, has started four games for the Jayhawks and boasts a 1-1 record with a 2.36 ERA. He has thrown 26.2 innings, allowing seven runs while striking out 16. Take away a rough outing against Louisiana-Lafayette, where he threw just 4.1 innings and allowed five runs, and he has been the star of the pitching staff. In his other three starts, he averaged 7.1 innings with a 0.80 ERA. Benjamin appears very composed and comfortable on the mound for a freshman and fields his position exceedingly well.
In his first start of the season, Taylor took on Belmont in Nashville, Tenn. Belmont is a solid team that made the NCAA tournament last season, and the Jayhawks wanted to get off to a good start this season.
Already sitting at 2-0 for the weekend, Taylor delivered for the Jayhawcs. He threw 8.1 innings of scoreless baseball, allowing only three hits and two walks while striking out five. He needed only 89 pitches in the process. It was a truly dominant performance from Taylor, and the Jayhawcs would go on to win 2-0 and move to 3-0 on the season. Kansas needs Taylor to be the leader of the pitching staff; he is the only upperclassman in the starting rotation.
Most consistent: Robert Kahana, freshman from Ewa Beach, Hawaii
Kahana is Kansas' "swing man" this season. He'll start games on weekdays or when needed, but he will mostly come out of the bullpen on weekends and eat up innings. He has thrived in the role, possessing a 1-0 record and a 1.76 ERA. In 15.1 innings of work, he has allowed three runs on eight hits and six walks while striking out three. Coach Ritch Price said Kahana would be a leader of the pitching staff by the end of his career.
McKav
FIELDING/HITTING
Biggest surprise: Connor McKay, freshman from Parker, Colo.
Suiter
McKay, a freshman outfielder, provides some power for the Jayhawks. He leads the team and ranks 34th in the country in home runs, with four on the season. He leads the team in total bases with 26 and ranks second on the team in RBI with 10. He certainly has things to improve on. He ranks second on the team with 15 strikeouts and hits only .250 on the season.
Best game: Michael Suiter, freshman from Kailua, Hawaii
On March 7 against North Dakota, Suiter scored three runs and also drove in three in a 12-9 loss. Most impressive about the freshman's outing was that he reached base three times by walking. It's good to see a freshman with patience and composure at the plate. He also hit a three-run homer to pull the Jayhawks within one run after trailing by as many as five runs early.
Kuntz
Kuntz, the Jayhawks' leadoff man, has consistently set the table for the Jayhawks this season. Of the Jayhawks with more than 40 at bats, he leads the team with a .321 batting average. He ranks 54th in the nation for walks, with 13 in 66 plate appearances. He has reached base 10 times more than the next Jayhawk and he fields his position well. When he reaches base, he can run too. He is five for five this season on stolen-base attempts. He has been a dependable leadoff man and a rock at shortstop for Kansas this season.
Most consistent: Kevin Kuntz, junior from Overland Park
BASKETBALL FROM PAGE 10
Athletics Director Sheahon Zenger sits at one of the tables with his family. He yawns.
6:21 P.M.
6:31 P.M.
Chaos. Chairs go flying. Tania Jackson takes off around the room. Players jump in erups. Nothing planned about this celebration.
Henrickson stands and begins clapping. She's smiling.
Goodrich, who has suffered two ACL injuries herself, stands next to Davis, her injured teammate. She grins at the TV in shock. She finally gets pulled into the celebration when Asia Boyd picks her up.
6:34 PM
The whole team gathers among the mess of chairs. They huddle and break with simple words: family.
6:40 P.M.
Henrickson is pulled away by a phone interview with 1320 AM. Players rush over to congratulate her, but then realize she's on the phone. They all stand around one of the tables in excitement. Henrickson paces. She can't wait to talk to her team.
6:41 P.M.
Senior forward Aishah Sutherland rolls on the ground laughing as Verdi and Franklin tickle her.
6:42 P.M.
Goodrich is shuffled into the next room, where reporters hound her. She's got a grin on her face the whole time.
6:52 P.M.
Henrickson walks into the Jayhawk Room, or as Henrickson calls it, the "cigar room." She doesn't smoke cigars but tells a group of reporters, "I'd give you a cigar if I had one."
6:58 P.M.
The players finally clear out of the room. Some of them walk out with Franklin. She's got her arms wrapped around their shoulders.
Others yell as they sprint down the hallway.
Henrickson is one of the last to leave. She walks down the second-story concourses inside Allen Fieldhouse, texting. It's been eight years, but here it is: Henrickson and Kansas are in the NCAA Tournament.
- Edited by Ian Cummings