ROYALS: The team loses game 9-3 to Detroit and gains an interim manager after Muser's firing. SEE PAGE 4B.
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SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
1B
WWW.KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2002
Ryan Malashock rmalaschock@kansan.com
Bohl can learn to build baseball from Nebraska
Kansas baseball is at a crossroads.
The season has not ended, yet Al Bohl, athletics director, must focus on the future. This should be the last of seven excruciating years under Bobby Randall, during which the Jayhawk baseball program has free-fallen into a permanent spot in the Big 12 Conference cellar.
The questions now are what direction does the program take? And beyond that, how committed is Kansas to winning in baseball?
Well, Bohl has adamantly reiterated that he is striving to make Kansas competitive in every sport. Baseball gives him the first chance to prove it, and he doesn't need to look far to ask for advice.
Fellow Big 12 member Nebraska stared down the barrel of the same hapless-baseball gun five years ago.
After the 1997 season, Nebraska's baseball program was in a sorry state, as Kansas' is now. The Nebraska athletics department lost almost $700,000 on baseball alone in 1997, and the thought of a winning baseball program to most in Lincoln was ludicrous. The program struggled to win only 31 games in 1996 and 1997 combined, fired coach John Sanders and looked for a new coach, a new program and, basically, a new identity.
The consensus rule of thought now, and at the time, was that winning in college baseball in the Midwest was impossible especially when a program needed to rebuild. College baseball success belonged in California, Texas, Louisiana and Florida critics would claim, not the Midwest.
Wichita State was, and continues to be with the 'Huskers, the one consistent exception to the rule (Kansas' 1993 College World Series run is a one-year exception).
But Nebraska athletics director Bill Byrne had a vision. It was a vision sparkled with packed crowds, potential major league talent and NCAA Tournament berths. Byrne knew where the vision had to be born and that was at the top, at the head coach position.
Byrne found his man, Dave Van Horn, at Northwestern State in Natchitoches, La. The move surprised fans in Lincoln, but not nationwide. Byrne searched for a crafty, savvy, no-nonsense coach who knew baseball and badly wanted to win.
And he got nothing less. Fans and players alike fell in love with him. He recruited competitively in-state and nationally.
And then, the 'Huskers started winning.
The next season, Nebraska finished at .500. The year after, the 'Huskers qualified for the NCAA Tournament. The year after that, they came one game away from the College World Series. And last year, the 'Huskers made it to Omaha.
Now, Nebraska has built a new ballpark and is averaging more almost 4,000 fans per game.
A quick turnaround for a then-dead program, don't you think?
The same thing can happen here, if Bohl is smart enough to go after it. We need a coach who will recruit for today's game. College baseball is like the American League. You just sit around and wait for the three-run home run these days. It's a power game. Randall is still recruiting to bunt, the steal and manufacture runs. That's not the game anymore.
The ball is in Bohl's court. He needs to scout for coaches from all over the country, including smaller-schools in the South, and form a search committee that truly knows baseball. Heck, he should even call Byrne and ask him how he did it. Because Byrne will tell him all about how success happened at Nebraska.
And success can happen here at Kansas, too.
Malashock is an Omaha, Neb., junior in journalism.
'Hawks extinguish Flame
It was certainly a homecoming to remember.
Freshman pitcher Tom Gorzelanny earned his first collegiate victory, and sophomore outfield Matt Tribble went 2-for-4 with two RBI as Kansas beat Illinois-Chicago 8-4 last night at Les Miller Field, overlooking the downtown Chicago skyline.
Gorzelanny and Tribble, both Chicago natives, played significant roles in the Jayhawk victory, with friends and family looking on.
"Tom and Matt did very well," coach
Bobby Randall said. "They had a pretty big fan club here."
Kansas improves to 18-23 on the season, winning two of its last three. Illinois-Chicago dropped to 27-10.
Tribble, returning to the lineup after
to the knee area missing eight games with a strained abdominal muscle, had two key RBI hits and made a sensational diving
Tom
Gorzelanny
Matt Tribble
catch in the third inning.
Gorzelanny, in five innings of work,
allowed just one run on six hits. He struck out two, one being Flame junior Curtis Granderson, who was leading the nation with a .521
batting average going into last night's game.
"We were trying to change speeds on
him," Randall said. "He hit some balls awfully hard. He's a great player, and I think we slowed him down a bit."
The Jayhawks led by as many as seven, but an eighth-inning rally by UIC cut the deficit to four. Senior pitcher Randy Strann was able to shut the Flame down in the ninth, and helped give Kansas just its sixth road win of the season.
"We played an excellent game defensively and offensively," Randall said.
Men's golfers 10th in Big 12 tourney
SEE BASEBALL ON PAGE 3B
SARA SHEPHERD/KANSAN
Yesterday's round of the Big 12 championship brought some relief for the struggling golf team. Junior Chris Marshall was the top finisher for Kansas, earning a three-round total of 217 and a tie for 13th place.
Monday's first two rounds at the Big 12 Championships in Hutchinson for the Kansas men's golf team brought the cloud, but the silver lining appeared in yesterday's final round.
After 36 holes on Monday, the Jayhawks were in 11th place as a team, and their top solo finisher was senior Travis Hurst who was in a tie for 23rd place. Yesterday, the team could not do much to improve its standing, but junior Chris Marshall stormed through the pack in the third round with a 68 to finish in a tie for 13th place. Kansas finished 10th overall, with a score of 895.
Texas came into yesterday's action in second place behind Oklahoma University. The Longhorns' were able to pull ahead of the Sooners in the third round, and pulled out their first ever Big 12 Championship with a score of 850, one stroke ahead of Oklahoma State's 851, and Oklahoma dropped to third with a total of 853.
Marshall was the top finisher for Kansas with a three-round total of 217, landing him in a tie for 13th place. Senior Travis Hurst slipped six spots from Monday's action with a final round score of 75, putting him in a tie for 29th place, and giving him an overall score of 223. Senior Casey Harbour ended up tied in 42nd place with a three-round total of 228. Sophomore Tyler Hall, competing in his first Big 12 Championship, finished with a score of 231, and was tied for 49th place. Redshirt freshman Andrew Price was tied for 56th place with a score of 236.
The tournament's individual winner was Anders Hultman of Oklahoma State, who made his third round charge to defeat Oklahoma's John Kidwell in a sudden death playoff, with both players finishing with 54-hole totals of 203. Jason Hartwick of Texas finished third after a final round 71, giving him a total of 208
The Jayhawks will learn their fate for the rest of the season during next week when the NCAA selection committee will announce whether or not the Jayhawks will compete at the South Central Regional held in Little Rock, Arkansas May 16 to 18.
— Ryan Greene
Rowers ready for current to change
Rv Brent Wasko
Despite high expectations, the Kansas rowing team has struggled this season — the first varsity eight-boat hasn't yet won a race. Coach Rob Catloth said he would change boat lineups in hopes of finding a rhythm at the All-Big 12 Invitational on Saturday in Austin, Texas.
Kansan sportswriter
High expectations have taken a toll on the Kansas rowing team.
This spring, a lot was expected of the Jayhawks, who had finished in the top 25 for three straight years, including its highest ranking of 20th in 2000. Kansas returned a majority of its team from last season, including 11 seniors and six rowers who had experience in the first varsity eight-boat.
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
But the team has been relying heavily on its sophomore class in an attempt to continue its success this season, and the results haven't been particularly positive.
The fayhawks' first varsity eight-boat hasn't won a race all season. When that boat doesn't win, it is nearly impossible for the team to defeat anyone.
At most regattas, the second varsity eight-boat, first varsity four-boat and second varsity four-boat have the opportunity to earn points needed for the team to claim victory. But none of those boats can accumulate nearly as many points as the first varsity eight-
boat.
Coach Rob Catloth is looking for ways to add speed to the first varsity eight-boat, but he said there were no easy answers.
"It's not like we're really slow, but we are just trying to find the best group of people to race together. With a young team, that takes a little work." Catloth said, referring to the heavy use of sophomores.
Catloth has tried changing the team's race strategy and has moved rowers around to different boats,
"We've tried to stay as positive as we can, and we've tried to build as much confidence in them as we can," Catloth said. "I think we have been pressing a little harder, trying to make it happen instead of letting it happen."
hoping to find the right combination that would propel his top boat to victory. But the first varsity eight-boat has continued to struggle.
The Jayhawks' first varsity eight-boot opened the season at home
SEE ROWING ON PAGE 8B
Morris has high scores in decathlon
By Matt Norton Kansan sportswriter
Morris was competing in his first decathlon since June 2000 at the NCAA championships.
When senior Andy Morris stepped into the starting blocks for the 100-meter dash last Wednesday at the Drake Relays, he had no idea what would be in store during the two-day decathlon.
Andy Morris
He redshirted last season and, after suffering an eight-centimeter tear from the tissue connecting his calf muscle to his Achilles tendon last fall and pulling a hamstring this winter, missed all of the indoor season and
most of the outdoor campaign so far.
Morris said he knew he wasn't yet ready to attack the second day because of a lack of preparation time.
"I worked out in the pool all winter," Morris said. "Apparently, I was in a lot better shape than I thought I was. After the first day, I had to change my perspective about the second day."
But after the first day of competition in Des Moines, Ia., Morris was in first place with 3,957 points, more than 100 points better than he had ever compiled in the first day's events.
Morris finished second to defending U.S. champion Kip Janvrin with a NCAA provisional mark of 7,143 points.
"I wanted to see if I could get through one in one piece and how many points I could get," Morris said. "After day one, I thought I'd go after it."
He hadn't started practicing the throwing events until early April, and has had only a few high jump and pole vault practices sprinkled throughout the season.
The second day, which consists of the 110-meter hurdles, pole vault, discus and javelin throws and the 1,500 meters, wears down even the best-conditioned athletes.
Jumps coach Brian Ferry said that the poor weather at Drake, combined with Morris' lack of conditioning, led to poorer-than-normal marks in the pole vault and high jump that prevented him from gaining an automatic qualifying mark.
"In the pole vault, the winds were swirling and my legs were tired," Morris said. "I don't know if have enough experience jumping to handle that wind."
Even though he was battling time at this point, Morris said he still believed he could achieve the main goal he set for himself when he came to Kansas: to become an All-American.
Morris said he thought 7,400 points would get him into the NCAA championships, and with an extra inch or two
SEE MORRIS ON PAGE 8B
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