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SPORTS
WWW.KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
12A
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, MAY 5. 2003
'Hawks unable to finish
Matt Baty is tagged out by second baseman Tim Moss in the fourth inning. The Jayhawks finished out their series against the Longhorns losing 5-3 in extra innings yesterday afternoon.
CourtneyKuhlen/Kansan
By Daniel Berk
dberk@kanan.scan
dkern sportswriter
The Kansas baseball team went through a wide range of emotions this past weekend, defeating national champion and fifth-ranked Texas 10-1 on Friday night, then dropped the remaining two games to lose the series.
Senior Kevin Wheeler took the mound for the Jayhawks in the first game of the series and pitched a complete game, allowing only seven hits and one run. He did it in front of the largest crowd in Kansas history, as 2,106 people were on hand. The senior from Omaha, Neb., also had a big day at the plate — he went 2-for-4 with three RBI.
"This team has been the best team in our conference for a while," Wheeler said. "So it feels real good to beat them like we did. This does a lot for my confidence as a ballplayer."
Kansas wasted no time getting on the scoreboard. The team erupted for 4 runs in the first inning. With one out and one on, junior first baseman Ryan Baty hit his 10th home run of the season and Kansas took a 2-0 lead. Wheeler followed Baty's shot with a double, then was brought home after junior right fielder Matt Tribble ripped a single. Tribble scored, which made it 4-0.
After Texas cut the lead to 4-1. Kansas had another offensive burst. The Jayhawks scored 5 in the fourth inning. The Jayhawks would tack on one more run in the eighth, making the final score 10-1.
"Any time you beat a club like Texas you have to be perfect in every aspect of the game." coach Ritch Price said. "This was one of our best played games of the year."
The second game of the series saw more solid pitching performance, this
time from junior Chris Smart. He pitched seven and two thirds innings, allowing six hits and 3 runs.
An even more impressive pitching performance came from Texas reliever Huston Street, who entered the game in the seventh inning and faced seven
Kansas batters, striking out six of them. Street was credited with the victory, improving his record to 4-0 on the season and lowering his earned run average to 1.39.
SEE HAWKS ON PAGE 8A
Sunflower makes deal with Royals
By Kevin Wiggs
kwiggs@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
The local cable company has reached a deal with the Royals Sports Television Network to show the remaining 75 games on Sunflower cable channel 6. The deal lasts five years and should cost customers less than 50 cents per month, said Patrick Knorr, Sunflower Broadband general manager. Customers will be notified of the raise at the end of May, and it will take effect in July.
Sunflower Broadband has brought the Kansas City Royals' recent winning ways to Lawrence.
SEE ROYALS ON PAGE 8A
Rowers take third place
By Jason Hwang
jhwang@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas rowing team concluded the regular spring season by hosting the Big 12 Invitational Saturday at Burcham Park on the Kansas River.
Of the three Big 12 schools with varsity programs, the Jayhawks finished third with 40 points, but the team captured the first place title in the 1st Novice 8 event. Kansas State took second with 43 points and Texas took the Big 12 trophy with 55 points.
The Longhorns finished first in five of the six races in the grand finals. This is the second consecutive year Texas has captured the Big 12 Invitational Cup.
"We've already had a dual with Texas and K-State, and we finished kind of similar in our races against
them today," Kansas coach Rob Catloth said. "We're rowing hard and getting ready for the South-Central Regionals."
Sophomore coxswain Crystal Reed, freshmen Alexis Boston, Jennifer Pearson, Gillian Van Ruyen, Jennifer Ebel, Kris Lazar, Kristen Hines and juniors Bri Bohm and Sarah Smith combined to capture first place in the 1st Novice 8 race in a time of 7:04.1.
"I think as a team we all did really well today and our crew did really well," Van Ruyen said. "It was nice to win and beat Texas in our race. They left with the Cup, but we still have a lot of heart here."
The Kansas 2nd Novice 8 boat finished second in the grand final at 7:20.9, more than 10 seconds behind Texas. The Jayhawks' 7:01.2 time in the 2nd Varsity 8 grand final placed them second, ahead of the Wildcats and behind the Longhorns' 6:47.7
finish. The 1st Varsity 8 boat took third in the grand final (7:06.5), while K-State's 6:55.2 time was good enough for second and Texas's 6:58.0 time gives them their fifth and final first place title in the Big 12 Invitational.
"I think the race today meant a lot to us (the 1st Varsity 8 crew) because in the last few weeks we've been kind of shutting down and having difficulties," senior Jen Van Ruyen said. "Today we showed that we can race a good race, that we can have a race plan and carry it out. So, even though we lost in our second race, I wasn't sad or disappointed in any way."
The Jayhawks move on to compete in the South-Central Regionals for berths in the NCAA championships on May 17 and 18 in Oak Ridge, Tenn.
Edited by Christy Dendurent
Runners score record times, more qualify at weekend meet
By Chris Wintering
cwintering@kansan.com
Kansan sportswinter
Despite finishing fifth out of seven teams at the Ward Haylett Invitational in Lincoln, Neb., the track and field team did have one bright spot.
The women's 4x400 relay team of junior Duchesse Williams, junior Stacy Keller, freshman Angela Pichardo and sophomore Kim Clark ran a Kansas-record time of 3 minutes. 39.09 seconds. The time was good for first place in the meet.
The members of the relay team also finished in the top five in their individual events.
Keller finished first in the 400- meter dash with a time of 55.33, and
Pichardo was third in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:13.16. Brooklyn Hann placed fourth in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.01 and took fifth in the triple jump with a jump of 40-9.
Hann qualified regionally in both events with her performance Saturday. This was the first time in the outdoor season that Hann competed in the triple jump. She was taking a break from the field jumps to concentrate on hurdles.
Clark placed fourth in the same event at 55.93.
"We just got to give her little bit of a break from (triple) jumping and then get her back into (triple) jumping so towards the end of the season she's right on top," said Kansas coach Stanley Redwine earlier in the season.
"I like doing all the jumps, but triple jump is my best event," she said.
For the men, junior Leo Bookman won the 200-meter dash with a time of 20.57, which is the fastest time in that event in the Big 12 Conference this season. Sophomore Dan Ferguson was the team's other event winner. He won the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:21.44.
Both Hann and Redwine said that she was ready to get back to competing in the event.
The team will compete Saturday in the ESU Twilight Qualifier at Emporia State University.
— Edited by Christy Dendurent
TRACK
Distance runners qualify for Midwest Regional
Three Kansas runners competed Friday at the Cardinal Invitational at Stanford, and all three qualified for the Midwest Regional of the NCAA Championship.
Senior Mark Menefee finished 14th in the 5,000-meter run (13 minutes, 53.86 seconds). His time ranks third all-time in Kansas history for that event.
Junior Leura Lavoie also put her name in the record book by running the second best time in school history in the 1,500-meter run (4:18.61 seconds). She finished seventh in the event.
Rounding out the qualifiers was sophomore Megan Manthe, who finished 18th in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:26.72 seconds.
- Chris Wintering
SPORTS COMMENTARY
Ryan Wood rwood@kansan.com
Relay for Life participants become silly in long night
Who knew fighting cancer could be so much fun?
On Friday night and into the wee hours of Saturday morning, hundreds of Kansas students raised thousands of dollars for the American Cancer Society in the KU Relay for Life.
The purpose was to form teams of about 10 people, with one team member walking around the Memorial Stadium track at all times during the night. A camp-out area was set up on the hill for people to hang out when it wasn't their turn, and other games and activities kept people busy.
Among the students were plenty of Kansas athletes, including swimmers, soccer players and a couple of men's basketball players.
I was fortunate to be embedded in the women's soccer team group, titled "Wood and the Beavers." Here's a diary of the weirdest night of my life.
11:23 p.m. — Arrive at Memorial Stadium, ready to pull an all-nighter with nine soccer chicks. We'll see if the girls are ready for Wood.
11:08 p.m. — After casing my third 40-ounce of malt liquor, junior defender Maggie Mason, the leader of the group calls. Apparently, I was supposed to be there five hours ago. Whoops.
12:56 a.m. — Final juggling count:
Soccer chick 153, Wood 4. 1 vow
revenge.
12:32 a.m. The ladies are playing with a soccer ball down by the track.I start a juggling contest with one of them and attempt to outlast her in keeping the ball off the ground.
1:10 a.m. — Three drunks come stumbling through the camping area on the way home from a bar, two trying to hold the third up. They're chanting "Cancer sucks!"
1:11 a.m. — The drunken guy, still using his two friends as crutches, runs face-first into a rope supporting a tent. Two of the three morons crumble to the ground, while the tent collapses with people inside of it. Classic.
1:46 a.m. — Pass out after two-and-a-half hips. The paramedic says I'll be fine.
1:15 a.m. — Drunks are asked to leave the premises.
1:40 a.m. — Meet up with freshman forward Caroline Smith and attempt to run a mile — four laps — with her.
1:49 a.m. — As I'm inhaling smelling salts, Smith jogs by, saying "nine miles down, four to go."
2:52 a.m. After an hour of recuperation, medics clear me to walk around the track again.
3:08 a.m. — Junior goalkeeper Sarah Gonzalez bets that I can't throw a Nerl football over the four-story MegaVision board. I throw out my arm and strain an oblique muscle trying. I fail.
4:43 a.m. — Kansas hoopster Christian Moody is smacked in the face with a pie. This relay sure is boring.
5:57 a.m. — The event is over. Wood and the Beavers successfully had someone walking on the track for 12 straight hours. I walk home, exhausted.
5:04 a.m. — Now in my "So sleepy, me silly" stage. I join seven women and do the Electric Slide on the track. My moves are second to none.
6:08 a.m. — Oooh! Saved by the Bell is on!
6:21 a.m. — Decision time. I could get some sleep now or stay up a couple more hours and to watch the rowing team at the Big 12 Invitational.
Good night.
.
Wood is a Lae's Summit, Mo., senior in journalism.
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