6B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MLB
THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2009
Arizona shuts out Rockies
BY ANDREW BAGNATO
Associated Press
PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks gave Dan Haren one run in his first three starts.
They doubled that production Wednesday, and that was all the hard-luck pitcher needed in a 2-0 victory over the Colorado Rockies.
Haren (1-3) pitched seven sharp innings for his first win this season, and Ryan Roberts' pinch-hit single broke a scoreless tie in the seventh.
"You don't want to go through the whole month of April and
Haren and Colorado's Jorge De La Rosa matched shutout innings until the seventh, when Chris Young singled off De La Rosa, went to second on Chris Snyder's single and scored on Roberts' single.
not win a game," said Haren, whose ERA dropped to 1.38. "I was digging myself quite a hole, being 0-3. But I've been proud of the way I've been keeping the team in the game, and that's really my job is to go out there and give the team a chance every time."
It was the second major league RBI for the 28-year-old Roberts, playing in his 26th career game.
"It's fortunate that you get called on when you get called on, and the key is just to be ready," said Roberts, who had five atbats in the first 14 games.
His first came on Aug. 3,2006 when he played for Toronto and homered off Cory Lidle of the New York Yankees.
Roberts' hit made a winner of Haren, who allowed six hits and two walks, striking out nine.
Arizona went up 2-0 when reliever Jason Grilli issued a bases-loaded walk to Conor Jackson on a 3-2 pitch with two outs.
The start looked a lot like Haren's first three, except for the result.
Jerry Wang/KANSAN
Senior picter Valerie George throws a pitch in the first inning against Oklahoma on Saturday afternoon. George pitched all seven innings and allowed only two runs. The Jayhawks defeated the Sooners. 4-2 at Arrocha Ballpark.
SOFTBALL
Hawks ready for final run
BY BEN WARD
bward@kansan.com
Kansas will try to bounce back from Tuesday's split against Tulsa tonight when it plays host to Drake for a single game at 7 at Arrocha Ballpark.
Junior infielder Elena Leon leads Drake on offense, toting a .339 batting average to go with 11 home runs. The Bulldogs are also second in the MVC with 50 steals, which should keep senior catcher Elle Potterfot busy behind the plate.
Though the contest is a non-conference affair, it still provides the Jayhawks with an opportunity to bolster their postseason resume.
"The way you prepare for the postseason is to end your season well," coach Tracy Burge said. "Every game is important in setting the tone going into the Big 12 tournament, and we have a busy couple of weeks to hopefully pick up some momentum."
Drake's pitching staff is led by sophomore Jenna DeLong. DeLong enters today's contest with a 1.98 ERA and is second in the MVC with 182 strikeouts.
At third place in the Missouri Valley Conference, the Bulldogs (26-18, 11-6) will pose a challenge for Kansas (17-26, 4-8). Drake heads into Lawrence boasting a potent attack which also takes advantage of its speed on the base paths.
"It's not so much what the opponents do but what we do," Bunge said. "They're a tough team to score
runs against, so we're going to have to make adjustments quicker. We're going to have to do what we do and play smarter in all facets of the game."
Kansas vs. Drake
7 p.m.
Arrocha Ballpark
tonight
Senior outfielder Dougie McCaulley leads the Jayhawks with 43 hits and 26 runs scored, and sophomore utility player Allie Clark is first in RBI (24) and home runs (6).
Admission is free with a valid KUID
Kansas' pitching staff is headed up by senior Valerie George and junior Sarah Vertelka. George leads the team with a 2.60 ERA
and 140 strikeouts. Vertelka isn't far behind her with a 3.20 ERA. Freshman Sarah Blair has also seen some action of late, winning her last two outines.
Despite the Bulldogs conference record, coach Burge said she remained confident in her bunch to get the job done.
"This year we've got five seniors," Bunge said, "so this team really wants to send them out on a good note."
Edited by Andrew Wiebe
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Associated Press
Spread QBs'draft prospects limited
BY EDDIE PELLS
They spend their college careers rewriting record books, competing for Heismans, leading their teams into the middle of national-title conversations.
It's all great until draft day rolls around. Many don't get picked, or if they do, it's much farther down the list than they'd hoped. Some get turned into receivers. The lucky few whose stock remains high often get their two- or three-year try before they, too, find themselves labeled as disappointments or busts.
These are the quarterbacks
of the shotgun, the spread, the dreaded "system" offenses that are taking over college football.
They are the Andre Wares of 10 years ago, the Alex Smiths of more recent vintage, the Graham Harrells and Chase Daniels of today.
Harrell (Texas Tech) and Daniel (Missouri) recently concluded college careers in which they threw for thousands of yards, set dozens of records, became household names. They have been rewarded by largely being left off the list of this weekend's top 100 - or 200 - draft prospects.
For them, getting drafted is not a matter of 'when', but 'if'. And if they do get their chance with
an NFL team, it won't come with many expectations.
"I'd go as far as saying that playing in that kind of offense is a gift and a curse," said Shaun King, the former spread quarterback at Tulane who actually had some success transitioning to the pros with Tampa Bay.
"The gift is, you're forced to make quick decisions, recognize a defense and understand where the football should go," he said.
"The detriment is, in the shotgun, you're automatically on balance. There's no drop. It's easier to have your feet where they're supposed to be. Then, you have to do all that while coming from under center. It takes some significant athleticism to make the change."