THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2009
SPORTS
5A
ARIZONA ST.
(12-2)
PITCHING
Simply put, the Sun Devils are No. 4 in the country because they
have, arguably,
the best pitching staff in the
nation. Arizona State has an
incredible 10 pitchers with a
sub-1.00 ERA.
Junior Mike
Leake is coming
off a season that saw him earn Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year and has kept it up this season. He's 3-1 with a 0.64 ERA.
OFFENSE
The Sun Devils are led on offense by juniors Carlos Ramirez,
who is hitting .327 with seven home runs and 20 RBIs, and Kajinipis, who is hitting .481 with five home runs, 18 RBIs and seven stolen bases
Ramirez
Oh, and Leake has a great bat, too,
too. He batting .625.
How Narodowski came to Kansas
Even with all that talent, the Sun Devils have had a couple surplaining losses. After starting with right straight wins, Arizona Statenas lost to a pair of middling Big 12 teams. Kansas State split a two-game series earlier this week, winning the first 6-2 before falling 11-1. Missouri lost twice before taking their final match 5-2.
The shortstop has made splash in the infield and at bat
BY JOSH BOWE jbowe@kansan.com
— Tim Dwyer
Oh, the places you'll go. Back in high school, David Narodowski probably didn't think a Dr. Seuss book would describe his baseball career.
And for the Jayhawks, it'd be hard to imagine how the season would be going without Narodowski. After a rough start that saw Narodowski's batting average below 200, he's now raised it to .341 in the last week. Price always knew Narodowski was a solid hitter after watching him play during the last fall semester.
"He pulled his average close to .300 and a week ago against Northwestern he was close to .200." Price said Tuesday after the Missouri Valley game. "But he hit .400 in the fall."
Narodowski, junior shortstop, traveled great lengths before finding a home at Kansas. He grew up learning and playing the game in Vancouver, British Columbia, all the way up in the great white north of Canada.
Junior infilfered David Narodowski warms up before Wednesday night's 8-0 victory over Wichita State. His batting is picking up after he started the season cold.
Today at Arizona State, 6:30 p.m.
Looking to continue his impressive high school career — he played on the Canadian junior national team — Narodowski didn't have too many offers before the last day to sign with a college. Luckily a small junior college in Wichita Falls, Texas, came through.
Tomorrow at Arizona State, 6:30 p.m.
"It was lucky, it was on the last day one of the Vernon College coaches offered me a scholarship," Narowdowski said. "So I had to
SPRING BREAK
SCHEDULE
Jerry Wang/KANSAN
March 15 at Arizona State, 6:30 p.m.
March 17 at San Diego State, 8:30 p.m.
March 18 at San Diego State, 8:30 p.m.
March 20
vs. Texas, 3:00 p.m.
March 21
vs. Texas, 1:00 p.m.
March 22
vs. Texas, 1:00 p.m.
take it."
For his only season at Vernon, Narowdowski hit .450 with eight home runs and 42 RBIs. But for all his impressive stats, he again received few offers, including one from Kansas coach Ritch Price.
"My sophomore season, towards the end, I still didn't really have anywhere to go," he said. "I'm glad coach Price kept talking to me. He was talking to me for about a month towards the end of the season."
Price lured Narodowski to Kansas with the opportunity of playing against the rest of the Big 12
Conference because Price was short on scholarships. Narowdowski's other offers were to smaller schools such as St. Edwards, a private school in Austin, Texas.
"He turned down substantial scholarship offers because he wanted to play at a major university in a major conference," Price said. "He's here on just a little bit of scholarship money because that's all we had."
on even more over spring break. Kansas faces off against two stellar programs during a west coast trip. First up is national powerhouse No. 4 Arizona State starting this afternoon at 6:30 p.m.
Narodowski's bat will be counted
"It's a great opportunity for us. We're going to go play one of the finest teams in the country," Price said. "One of the most storied teams in the country."
Edited by Chris Hickerson
KANSAS (9-3)
PITCHING
Lee Ridenhour continues to impress. Wednesday against
Ridenhour
he only allowed five base runners, something that troubled him in his first two outings. It's hard to tell how great the pitching will be against the No.
4 team in the country, but right now you can't ask for much more.
OFFENSE
Stuck in slumps for a majority
key stats
of the season,
second base-
man Roby
Price and David
Narodowski
have produced
big numbers.
Price hit his
second home
run Wednesdav.
Price
Runs per game for Kansas in the last six games
9. 7
15
and Narowdowski has reached base in seven of his last eight plate appearances. Narowdowski's batting average has risen to .341, and the Jayhawk offense is clicking on all cylinders.
12 Prestond Land strikeouts
MOMENTUM
David Narodowski runs
0
14 David Narodowski hits
Earned runs in Paul Smyth's last three appearances
Kansas has won six in a row. The team was especially psyched in the locker room after their defeat of rival Wichita State. This West Coast trip might bring the Jayhawks back to earth, but right now they are storming into Arizona at full speed.
SVIMMING & DIVING
— Josh Bowe
Two swimmers qualify for NCAA Championship at Texas A&M
BY HALLIE MANN hmann@kansan.com
After 17 meets, it all comes down to his: the NCAA Championships. The goal for the swimmers who quilted: beat their incoming seed tins. The payoff for six months of swimming and training: a shot to break another record.
lansashastwo swimmers, senior Maia Mayrovich and sophomore Iulia Kuzr, who will make their NOA Championship debuts in College Station, Texas, next week. Marovich qualified in the 50-yard, 100-yard and 200-yard freestyle and Kuzhil qualified in the 100-yad backstroke.
Mayrovich helped set the school records in the 200- and 400-yard freestyle relays, and the 200- and 400-yard medley relays at the Big 12 Conference Championship meet. Mayrovich also had seven season-best times at the meet.
"I told myself I have to make it no matter what," Mayrovich said. "I've been training and planning to
"I've had a really good season and I can't complain about the way things have turned out," Mayrovich said. "I made all of my goals and times that the coaches and I laid out for me for the season."
Mayrovich said she had come close the last two years and she finally made it to the NCAA Championships this season.
make it to this meet all season."
Kuzhil, who has only been in the country and at Kansas for six months, broke the school record in the 100- and 200-yard backstroke at the Big 12 Championships.
"All of [the season] went by so fast," Kuzhil said. "This has been so exciting and I'm glad that I was able to come to school here and be a part of this team and this atmosphere."
ZONE DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Before Kansas divers sophomore Erin Mertz, junior Meghan Proehl and senior Hannah McMacken can even think about the NCAA
Championships, they will be tested again this week at the Zone Diving Championships, a regional competition needed to qualify for the NCAA Championship tournaments. The three divers qualified for the zone meet at the first meet of the season.
Proehl made it to the finals in the 1-meter and 3-meter competitions at the Big 12 meet. Proehl said that the Big 12 meet was the most important meet of the season for her but she is looking forward to another competition.
"Conference is great because I'm competing for the whole team," Proehl said. "Zone is like icing on the cake for me. If I do well, great. If not, it's okay."
McMacken said that this has been her best season by far and that this meet should be solid competition for the team. Although this could be her last meet ever, McMacken said that she couldn't be happier with the way things have gone this season.
“it's kind of weird to think that this could be it,” McMaken said.
The divers will head back to Columbia, Mo., to compete in the Zone D Diving Championships today through Sunday. If they qualify, they will go to the NCAA Championships next weekend.
— Edited by Sam Speer
200-yard Freestyle Friday, March 20
100-yard Freestyle Saturday, March 21
50-yard Freestyle Thursday, March 19
schedule
Maria Mayrovich:
luliia Kuzhil:
100-yard Backstroke Friday, March 20
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