Sports KANSAS 3 THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MEMORIES REMAIN AFTER GRADUATION
Traditions make Jayhawks' experiences unique. MORNING BREW 12B
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2009
TEAM TIED FOR FIFTH AFTER THIRD ROUND
Kansas tied Kansas State despite a rough day on the links. MEN'S GOLF 12B
WWW.KANSAN.COM
SOFTBALL
Kansas sweeps WSU in Wichita
BY BEN WARD bward@kansan.com
Fresh off scoring 15 runs during the weekend against Baylor, Kansas softball staved on the offensive.
The Jayhawks racked up 12 runs in the doubleheader Tuesday against Wichita State, including five home runs. Kansas (20-28, 5-9) swept the Shockers with 9-2 and 3-0 victories at Wilkins Stadium in Wichita.
"It felt so good because we brought out our momentum from Baylor," sophomore Allie Clark said. "We just felt really good and kept swinging like we had all weekend."
The Jayhawks blasted the Shockers in the opener, and eight starters combined for 13 hits against the Wichita State pitching staff.
"It's great when you get production, not just from one person, but from the entire lineup," coach Tracy Bunge said. "It was a real solid team effort."
Senior catcher Elle Potterf put Kansas up 1-0 with an RBI single in the first inning and extended the lead to 3-0 with a two-RBI double in the third. Next up was Clark, who smashed her ninth home run of the year. Sophomore Liz Kocon also had a big day at the plate, homering twice and knocking in four runs.
"It felt really good to hit like that as a team," Kocon said. "And for me to break out of my slump too, it was big."
Meanwhile, senior Valerie George and junior Sarah Vertelka handled the Shockers from the circle. George worked the first three innings and allowed only two hits. Vertelka relieved her in the fourth and pitched the final four frames, allowing two runs.
That pitching would be important, because the second game wasn't nearly as lopsided.
"They were both very good today," Bunge said. "They pitched to their strengths and had good movement."
Clark started the scoring in the second inning by putting the Jayhawks up 1-0 with a home run. The blast was Clark's fifth home run in the past seven games. Three batters later, senior left fielder Stevie Crisosto blasted a long ball of her own, making it 3-0. The rout appeared to be on.
But Kansas couldn't pull away. Wichita State pitcher Kasha Kolb settled down, holding the Jayhawks hitless the rest of the game. Kolb rebounded from a poor outing in game one to allow only three hits while striking out nine.
DOUBLE DOMINATION
Luckily for Kansas, its pitching staff was more than up for the task.
Vertelka began the game in the circle, allowing only one hit through four scoreless innings. Then George emerged from the bullpen and blanked Wichita State for the final three frames while striking out six and picking up the save. The two combined to one-hit the Shockers, allowing only three base-runners in the contest.
"We definitely had a lot of fun out there," George said. "It felt really good to beat them like that, so we should have a lot of confidence for Thursday."
The jayhawks return home to battle Texas A&M (29-18, 6-8).
Thursday's doubleheader marks the final two home games of the season.
"It's A&M, they're always a good team," Kocon said. "Hopefully we can just keep this momentum going, have fun and finish the season with a bang."
Edited by Chris Hickerson
Matt Bristow/XANSAN
Senior catcher Buck Afenir celebrates after a home run against Chicago State on Tuesday. The Jayhawks defeated the Cougars 11-5 in game one and 9-1 in game two of the doubleheader at Holland Ballpark
Bollman pitches perfectly
Junior helps Kansas top Chicago State in second-straight doubleheader sweep
BY JOSH BOWE
jbowe@kansan.com
If patience is a virtue, Brett Bollman must be a pretty righteous guy right now.
The patience paid off last night as Bollman, a junior right-hander, finally picked up his fifth victory of the season. Kansas shut out Chicago State
Bollman's last victory came on April 8 against Iowa, though he had been pitching well. In his previous two parts he gave up
game of a doubleheader sweep on Tuesday.
3
This season is Bollman's first as a starter, and he has never fretted.
weaker competition, and he leads all KU starters with a 1.70 ERA. Coach Ritch Price said he was fortunate to put someone on the mound as reliable as Bollman in the middle of the week. Those nonconference games can make or break an NCAA tournament resume.
a combined two earned runs.
"It's been a great surprise for us. As we put him in that midweek role he's just relished. It's been outstanding."
"It's been a great surprise for us." Price said. "As we put him
"Last year I remember giving up a few leads for the guys when I was in the setup position," Bollman said. "So I know it's not an automatic thing. Things are going to happen. Bullpen's been throwing lights out all year — you really can't blame them."
Bollman usually starts midweek games against typically
PAGE 1B
RITCH PRICE Kansas coach
in that midweek role he just relished. It's been outstanding."
It would have been almost impossible for Bollman to not pick up his fifth victory with the way he pitched the second game
of the doubleheader. He pitched six innings, giving up four runs and no walks. He also struck out a career-high eight hitters.
"My slider was working real good," Bollman said. "I was able to get my fastball inside on their hands early and then be able to throw my slider with two strikes, get them out."
In game one, Kansas entered the seventh inning tied at five
Matt Bristow/KANSAN
SEE DASEBALL ON PAGE 3B
Junior pitcher Brett Bollman throws a pitch against Chicago State Tuesday afternoon. Bollman did not allow any runs in six innings and struck out eight. It was Bollman's fifth victory, which is the most for any pitcher on the team.
COMMENTARY
Early picks in NFL draft prove to be perplexing
It seems that everyone's an expert. But despite the illusion of omniscience, I'm not sure enough of these gurus actually watched Big 12 football last year. In fact, I'm not sure they watched any.
How else can you explain Michael Crabtree being selected after Darius Heyward-Bey? You could simply grant that the Raiders' brain trust is in fact brain dead and move on, but there's more to it than that. Because of a foot injury, Crabtree was unable to workout at the combine, and he allegedly performed poorly in individual workouts. He was selected 10th, which means eight teams who aren't run by Al Davis passed on him as well. And though every team in the top 10 certainly had other needs, it's awfully hard to justify not picking the best college wideout since Larry Fitzgerald, who also ran underwhelming pre-draft 40-yard-dash times.
Rivera's situation is more puzzling. At 6-foot-3 and 254 pounds, his size is close to ideal. His 4.63 40-yard dash time and 38.5-inch vertical both indicate superior athleticism and, as with Holt, production wasn't lacking. Despite that, Rivera wasn't drafted, while such nobod... err, I mean, noteworthy talents as Weber State's J.D. Folsom were.
Move along nine more spots and you'll find Missouri playmaker Jeremy Maclin. It's said that you can tell how good a player is by how opposing fans react to him. By that standard, Maclin must be pretty damn good, because no one put more fear in the hearts of Kansas fans when he touched the football.
One of Maclin's Mizzou teammates, Chase Coffman, had to wait until the third round to hear his name called. Frankly, it's hard to see why. Coffman possesses the combination of size, athleticism, and hands that offensive coordina tors covet. Production was never a problem either — he hauled in 90 passes last season, 10 of which scored touchdowns. I'd say to expect big things from Coffman, but he was drafted by the Bengals.
In reality, neither were drafted, though both have since inked free agent deals. Holt's production was lauded, as was his character, but teams couldn't get over his lack of size. Being a good football player just ain't worth what it used to be.
Of course, disappointment in the draft is a relative measure. For Crabtree and Maclin, going 10th and 19th was bad. The same goes for Coffman's third-round selection. For Kansas linebackers James Holt and Mike Rivera, going 10th and 19th sounds like a dream scenario.
How does one make sense of all this? On one hand, impressive workout numbers can rocket a player up draft boards, but they can also be dismissed as fool's gold. Production, likewise, is treated inconsistently. Some players are credited with having "game speed," while others are just called slow.
Coming out of this draft I am sure of one only thing: Josh Freeman, and his annual Sunflower Showdown MVP performance, will be dearly missed.
Edited by Chris Hickerson