THURSDAY,APRIL10,2003
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 11A
Price says team needs middle lineup
By Daniel Berk
dberk@kanan.scan
kansan sportswriter
After a 7-4 loss that Kansas baseball coach Ritch Price referred to as "rock bottom," the Jayhawks will try to rebound today at Western Illinois.
The doubleheader at Western Illinois is the Leathernecks' home opener. Because of rain and snow, Western Illinois has had many cancellations and postponements.
Price said these games would be a challenge for his ball club because the Leathernecks were on a rebuilding mission like the Jayhawks. Kansas faced Western Illinois earlier this season and defeated them 10-6 in its home opener.
"When we played them earlier this season it was their first game of
the season," Price said. "They are a lot better now. Someone informed me yesterday that we will be the first team to be ranked at some point during the season to play a game at Western Illinois since 1985. It is going to be a big game for them and we have to come ready to play."
The two starters on the mound for Kansas will be senior left-hander Pat Holmes and sophomore right-hander Kenny Falconer. Price will save his normal rotation of senior Kevin Wheeler and juniors Chris Smart and Ryan Knippschild for their upcoming conference games this weekend at Texas Tech.
So far this season. Holmes is 2-1 with an earned run average of 6.11. He has started seven games this season. Falconer is 1-0 with an earned run average of 7.47 in 12 appearances but has started once.
Heading into a weekend in
"When those four guys are good,we are good as a team. They make or break us with their
play.
Ritch Price
Kansas baseball coach
which the team will play five games in four days, including three conference games in Lubbock, Texas. Price pointed out that the Jayhawks would need a lot of production from the middle of their lineup.
The middle of the batting order for Kansas is composed of junior first baseman Ryan Baty, who bats third. He is followed in the batting order by Wheeler, senior left fielder Casey Spanish and junior right fielder Matt Tribble. Price called those four play
ers the backbone of the team.
"When those four guys are good, we are good as a team," Price said. "They make or break us with their play."
Kansas is also concerned with the status of junior relief pitcher Brandon Johnson. Johnson has been the No. 1 man out of the bullpen and has a record of 5-2 with a earned run average of 1.75. The junior from Lawrence has been struggling with an elbow injury, but still managed to pitched three and one-third innings last week against Nebraska to get the victory.
"He has been battling a lot of injuries this season," Price said. "We do not want to use him as much as we have been. With the rest of our pitching staff struggling a little bit, he is a huge key to our success this weekend."
Edited by Todd Rapp
North Carolina tired of waiting for Roy
North Carolina ready for Williams' word other coaches wait
The Associated Press
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The North Carolina players sit around and talk about their coaching wish list. The names include Roy Williams, Larry Brown, Tubby Smith and George Karl.
They also wonder what's taking so long.
"We're real anxious to get this thing going," forward David Noel said yesterday, eight days after Matt Doherty's forced resignation. "It's been hard going through workouts knowing you
don't have a coach. You've just got to push yourself."
Williams said he talked with former UNC coach Dean Smith on Tuesday night. But a day later, there was no word from the Kansas coach or Smith on what was discussed.
Smith refused to comment, sending word through his secretary that he wasn't in a position to talk about the coaching search and referring all such questions to athletic director Dick Baddour.
Baddour was on campus yesterday, but refused to meet with the media.
So it was unclear whether Baddour would offer the job to
Williams, who lost the NCAA title game to Syracuse on Monday night, or head in another direction.
Williams, a former player and assistant under Smith at North Carolina, turned down the prestigious job three years ago when Bill Guthridge retired and Baddow settled for Doherty.
Doherty resigned April 1 with three years left on his contract after a group of players met with Baddour and said they would transfer if Doherty remained.
Baddour said more than a week ago that he would consult with Smith and Guthridge about a new coach, but he and chancellor James Moeser would make the final call.
"Coach Guthridge and coach
Smith know that," Baddour said.
"My philosophy on looking for a new coach is you don't look for a new coach until you don't have a coach." he added. "I know a lot of ADs say in the bottom drawer they've got three people. I believe if you have coaches in place you work with them as hard as you can for them to be successful."
For Noel, the wait gets more difficult with each passing day.
"We need a coach, and if you're going to accept the job accept the job." Noel said of Williams. "If he doesn't take it, we'll just keep moving on. It's just a waiting game now.
"I know it's a tough decision because he has his own legacy at Kansas. It would be tough to leave that, but this is North Carolina."
Nebraska threatens Kansas with variety
By Steve Schmidt schmidt@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
After sloppy field conditions canceled the Kansas softball team's doubleheader against Creighton yesterday, the Jayhawks will square with another squad at 5 p.m. today from the Cornhusker state: No. 7 Nebraska.
The Cornhuskers (28-9, 5-4), despite their Top 10 national ranking, are No. 6 in the Big 12 Conference. It's important to note that all four of Nebraska's conference victories came against ranked Big 12 foes — Oklahoma, Texas and two against Texas A&M. Nebraska is also riding a four-game winning streak in which it has outscored its opponents 17-3. Kansas coach Tracy Bunge said all nine batters on Nebraska's lineup were dangerous.
"They're a very well-coached team that has a lot of senior leadership," she said.
Bunge said she was a good friend of Nebraska coach Rhonda Revelle. In a recent telephone conversation, Revelle told Bunge that she didn't think that her Cornhusker squad had yet to play a "total game."
That's a scary thought when you look at the recent Nebraska statistics.
Nebraska appears to have few weaknesses with either hitting or pitching.
The Cornhuskers lead the Big 12 with overall batting average of.290,with five players hitting .305 or better; three of those players have averages of.316 or more.
The 'Huskers have the ability to
"We've had to go through a period of a little adversity."
Tracy Bunge Kansas softball coach
score runs in bunches at any time — for the Jayhawks to get the victory, they need to smother the Cornhuskers in the first two innings. On the year, Nebraska has outscored opponents 54-9 in the first and second innings.
And then there's pitching. Bunge said the Cornhuskers had one of the greatest one-two punches in the conference in junior Peaches James (15-7 on the year) and freshman Summer Tobias (12-2). Kansas (22-12, 2-6) is currently No. 8 in the Big 12 and recently dropped out of the top 25 rankings after losing four of its last six games.
Bunge said that as her team found itself in the heart of the conference schedule, it was starting to realize how long the season was after flying out the gate early on.
"For the first five to six weeks, life was easy for us. We were getting the ball to bounce our way," Bunge said. "But we've kind of hit a bump in the road. We feel like we've had some games we should have won and we didn't get it done. We've had to go through a period of a little adversity."
Kansas will return home this weekend for a two-game series against Texas A&M. The first game is at 2 p.m. Saturday; the second contest is at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Edited by Todd Rapp