6B SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, APRIL 14, 2009
SOFTBALL
Team hopes for season's first series sweep
Jayhawks will face the UMKC Kangaroos in a doubleheader after recent victory
The Jayhawks high-five their Oklahoma opponents after an April 11 victory. Kansas will face UMKC today and the team hopes to repeat last year's series sweep of the Kangaroos. The team also hopes to increase its cumulative average.
BYTOM POWERS
tpowers@kansan.com
The layhawks conclude a sixgame home stand with a doubleheader against the UMKC Kangaroos today, three days after an impressive victory against the No. 11 Oklahoma Sooners.
At 2:2 thus far into the home stand, Kansas hopes to earn its first series sweep of the season.
TODAY
Kansas vs. UMKC
Arrocha Ballpark
The Jayhawks have a prime opportunity to do so as the struggling Kangaroo (14-27, 4-11) are currently second to last in the Summit League Conference, ranked 25th in conference RPI. Earlier this season, UMKC lost 13 straight games, its longest losing streak since dropping 16 in a row in 2007. But coach Tracy Bunge refuses to let herself or her team look beyond the game at hand.
Game 1: 5 p.m.
Game 2: 7 p.m.
"We have a lot of respect for every opponent," Bunge said. "They're capable of beating anybody on any given day just like we are. We've just got to focus on one game at a time and try to build on that momentum we got Saturday."
Jerry Wang/KANSAN
On paper, it's easy to overlook UMKC despite its 8-2 record over the last 10 games, which included a two-game series sweep of Missouri State. Kansas lost to Missouri State 13-8 on March 24.
The Kangaroo pitching staff gamers a dismal 4.19 combined
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ERA, giving up 123 of the team's 218 surrendered runs in the first three innings.
Defensively, UMKC hasn't done much to help its pitchers, giving up nearly two errors per game, while Kangaroo catcher Amanda Evans has been able to throw out only 16 percent of potential base stealers. Although Bunge didn't have the updated stats before Monday's interview, she had taken notice.
"I'm going into the games tomorrow saying we have to put the ball in play and score early to take the pressure off of our pitching staff," Bunge said. "We need key people on the base paths with our speed."
batting average and a .337 on-base percentage, usually batting out of the three spot.
The bright spot for the Kangaroo's is their offense. Leading the Summit League in hits (285), the team has posted a .266 batting average so far this season. Freshman third baseman Betsy Hanley leads the team with a .336
Jayhawks go into today's doubleheader focused and well rested.
With the upset win on Saturday, Kansas (14-23, 4-6) sits at eighth in the Big 12 and hopes to duplicate last year's series sweep of UMKC. After two days off, the
"The team is coming out ready to play," Bunge said. "We need to continue to focus on being aggressive and not letting things get to us."
bolster their .233 cumulative team average and have a solid change to improve as Kangaroo opponents have batted .307 against them. The Kansas offense is led by Val Chapple (.308), Liz Kocon (.207, 21 RBI) and Dougie McCaulley (.313, 20 runs).
The Jayhawk batters hope to
Val George leads the pitching staff with a 2.71 ERA and 137 strikeouts in 129 innings of work. George also earned all five wins against ESPN/USA Softball Top 25 ranked opponents.
NFL
Edited by Brandy Entsminger
Kansas City signs Thomas another defensive vet
Kansas City added another veteran linebacker to its rebuild roster Monday when it signed free agent Zach Thomas.
In an effort to fix one of the weakest positions on a team that went 2-14 last year, the Chiefs have acquired Mike Vrabel in a deal that also brought quarterback Matt Cassel from New England, and signed Monty Beisel.
Thomas.5-foot11 and 242 pounds,has 182 starts during a 13-year career,mostly with the Miami Dolphins.
Under new coach Todd Haley and general manager Scott Pioli, the Chiefs plan to switch to a 3-4 defense. Having experienced
linebackers is critical to such a switch.
The Chiefs also waived wide receiver Will Franklin on Monday.
Franklin made one start last year and appeared in 13 games.
Associated Press
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NBA
Wade says he has something to prove
BY TIM REYNOLDS Associated Press
MIAMI — Dwyane Wade will be the NBA's scoring champion this season. He put up MVP-caliber numbers, ones that drew comparisons to Michael Jordan and Oscar Robertson. He was healthy. He was happy. And the Miami Heat are back in the playoffs.
So, Mr. Wade, your assessment of the regular season?
"I'm still angry," Wade said.
A winning record, a scoring title,
a career-high 55-point game on
Sunday to punctate the best on-
the-court regular season of his life,
and he's not content?
"No," Wade insists. "I still have something to prove."
For as much as Wade has enjoyed his basketball revival, it's clear he still hasn't recovered from the descent off the game's mountaintop.
Why use this
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Nearly three years have passed since Wade grabbed the last rebound in Dallas and took his spot with the Heat as NBA champions. He was a 24-year-old MVP of the final series.
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His rise was rapid.
His fall, maybe faster.
It started not long after that title win in Dallas. Championship ring night was ruined by a 42-point loss to Chicago. The shoulder dislocation, then getting swept in the 2007 playoffs by the Bulls. Surgeries on his shoulder and knee. Miami's freefall to the NBA cellar last season. The breakup of his locker room. The nasty divorce from his high school sweetheart.
No. 3 spent three years becoming a champion, and three years overcoming the string of problems that followed.
"When he's on the court, it's like he's on vacation from all the other stuff going on," said Heat forward Dorell Wright, one of Wade's closest friends in the Miami locker room. "He goes out and proves everybody wrong."
Along the way, so have the Heat.
Already 27 wins better than last season, Miami has put together one of the biggest one-season improvements in NBA history — and the best ever under a rookie head coach. And much in the same vein that coach Erik Spoelstra tries to defer much of the credit to players and the team's front office, Wade is quick to say that he didn't pull off this comeback season singlehandedly.
"The goal for the year was to come back and make the playoffs," Wade said. "That was accomplished when we got our 40th win and it's all good. But at the same time, what's sweet about it is there's nobody that's really satisfied because we can be a lot better. We know that. We feel it coming. I just hope we don't run out of time before it happens."
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