AN
09
Sports THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TWO ROYALS RALLIES CAN'T OVERCOME TRIBE
Kansas City scored six runs in final two innings but lost 8-7. MLB | 6B
HAWKS SHUT OUT TULSA, FALL SHORT IN NIGHTCAP
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2009
WWW.KANSAN.COM
lavhawks manage series split against Hurricanes on Tuesday. SOFTBALL 4B
PAGE 1B
KANSAS 11, BAKER 2
Shortstop leads offensive surge
Junior Narodowski goes 2-for-2 with two home runs and sophomore Thompson gets four RBIs
BY TIM DWYER
tdwyer@kansan.com
Apparently, David Narodowski can hit for power.
It hadn't shown through the Jay Hawks' first 39 games, as he had amassed only 10 extra-base hits during the course of the season. In game No. 40, an 11-2 Kansas victory against Baker, Narodowski, junior shortstop, showed off some of that previously unseen strength, going 2-for-2 with two long home runs, his first as a Jayhawk.
"Finally," Narodowski said. "I got it done. I got the first one out of the way and then the pitcher left one high in the second at-bat and I got the second one. It feels good. Finally."
Narodowski, who transferred from Vernon College in Wichita Falls, Texas, started the season hitting from the cleanup spot for Kansas, a slot normally reserved for a power hitter. He didn't demonstrate that trait until well after he was removed from the heart of the lineup
Coach Ritch Price said performance during fall games was the reason he decided to put Narodowski in the cleanup spot.
"He hit like five in the fall. He was physical with the bat in the fall and he had a lot of doubles." Price said, "so as shocking as you guys probably thought that was, he was physical enough to hit there."
Narodowski's first home run, on a 3-1 fastball that he took deep to right-center field, jump-started the Kansas first. The Jayhawks went on to score four runs in the frame, claiming an early lead they would never relinquish.
"It just gives your pitchers a little breathing room," Price said. "Once you get ahead early it makes it easier for the next guy to hit."
Narodowski's second home run led off the second inning for Kansas, and this one was a no-doubt, hammered high into the trees beyond the left-field wall. The Jayhawks once again followed his lead in producing a multi-run inning.
Sophomore third baseman Tony Thompson also drove in runs in the first two innings, finishing with four RBIs.
"He's on fire." Narodowski said. "If guys are on base, he'll bring them in. He'll hit the home run when we need it. It gets everybody livened up in the dugout."
In addition to the offensive barrage, the Jayhawks' pitching was true to the form they had demonstrated all year, allowing only two Wildcat runs on seven hits. Junior
SEE BASEBALL ON PAGE 5B
Ryan Waggoner/KANSAN
Junior infielder David Narodowski connects on a home run during the second inning of Tuesday evening's game against Baker at Hoglund Ballpark. Narodowski hit a home run in each of his first two at-bats and the Jayhawks won 11-2.
COMMENTARY
Hawks will have to wait for answer from Henrys
And so the saga of the Brothers Henry continues. With Monday's news
that both Xavier and C.J. Henry plan to visit Kentucky this weekend, the status of both as presumed Jayhawks proved itself premature.
Sure, there was conjecture offered from outside sources, speculating on when — not if the brothers would commit to Kansas. For weeks now, the blogosphere has proliferated rumors that both would soon be on their way to Lawrence. In fairness, it seemed like a safe assumption.
After John Calipari bolted out of Memphis for Kentucky, it seemed logical that Xavier would opt for Kansas — the bride's maid in the first go around. Given the family connections and the extent to which coach Self had devoted himself to doggedly pursuing Xavier, the Jayhawks deserved their status as favorite.
But that status is gone now; or at least it ought to be. Where there was once a general assumption that the Henrys would find their way to Kansas, there is now an air of uncertainty. If Xavier really, truly wanted to commit to Kansas, wouldn't he have done so already?
It's not as if he's unfamiliar with the campus, program or staff. The staff has given him the full Kansas pitch, and clearly, it hasn't sold him.
The worry now is that the John Calipari pitch — the same one that sold Xavier on commiting to Memphis in the first place — could once again do the trick. Calipari can now sell the prospect of resuscitating a basketball legacy in Lexington and that only stengthens his pitch, which is already one of the most successful in the recruiting world.
If the prospect of losing out on the Xavier Henry sweepstakes twice weren't bad enough, Kansas fans now have to come to terms with the possibility that none of the other speculated-upon blue-chippers — John Wall, Daniel
SEE BEECHER ON PAGE 5B
FOOTBALL
Mangino talks injuries, suspensions, next season
BY STEPHEN MONTEMAYOR
smontemayor@kansan.com
Having wrapped up spring practices last week, coach Mark Mangino summarized the offseason as productive but stopped short of embracing talk of his team's status as Big 12 North favorites.
"Look what speculation did to Wall Street," Mangino said during Tuesday's Big 12 coaches teleconference. "We don't pay any attention to it. We know that we have to earn our way. We understand that as a team and appreciate the fact the people look at us in that way but we've got a lot of work to do."
CHECKING UP ON LUEKEN
Mangino addressed the status of sophomore offensive lineman Ben Lueken, who was injured during an
April 5 incident at the Jayhawker Towers. Lueken was struck or fell from the hood of an SUV and spent several days at the University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City.
Ben is feelin well. I saw him yesterday and he looks great and he's recovering just well," Mangino said Tuesday.
"Ben is feeling good and doing
Lueken
An investigation into the incident was
4.
initially undertaken by the KU Public Safety Office, but Capt. Schuyler Bailey confirmed that it was forwarded to the office of Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson where it is still under review.
WHAT MANGINO
ISN'T SAYING
Mangino told reporters he could not yet comment on the status
of suspended junior running back Jocques Crawford, whose suspension was announced after the April 11 spring game, but would issue a statement when he felt it was appropriate.
Mangino was also asked about the status of sophomore
wide receiver Dezmon Briscoe.
Briscoe
who has been suspended all spring for a violation of team policy.
"I have no comment on any issues I'm dealing with in house," Mangino said.
RECOVERING FROM ATTRITION
"Our linebacking area is an area
As for on the field, several stories that were hot topics this spring will resonate through the summer and into the fall. Replenishing three linebacker positions as well as three graduated starters on the offensive line join a preseason conversation that already includes the final season of quarterback Todd Reeing, wide receiver Kerry Meier, running back Jake Sharp and safety Darrell Stuckey.
SEE FOOTBALL ON PAGE 5B
Weston White/KANSAN
Coach Mark Mangino and the Jayhawks have lost six players since last season. Mangino remained optimistic about the future of the team, based on the past two seasons.