THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAS
MONDAY FEBRUARY 23, 2009
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2009
SPORTS
9B
SOFTBALL
Team wins two in tourney Pitching helps Hawks defeat Cal,but quiet bats lead to four losses
BY TOM POWERS
tpowers@kansan.com
After an 0-2 start to the Cathedral City Classic in Palm Springs Calif., on Thursday, Kansas rebounded with victories over Brigham Young and No. 10 California, finishing the weekend with two victories and four losses.
The victory against California was especially important to Kansas' long-term goals. Alle Clark was solid at the plate, going 2-3 with 2 RBI included.
ing the game-winning single in the eighth inning.
But as a defense, Kansas had only four errors in six games, giving them 17 total in 15 games. The layhawks pitching staff had a combined ERA of 2.9 throughout the Cathedral City Classic.
CATHEDRAL CITY CLASSIC
KANSAS 3,BRIGHAM YOUNG1
The Jayhawk bats remained stagnant, as the team went 22 for 142 on the weekend, adding up to a dreadful.150 average.
On the other side of the ball, Valerie George delivered a masterful pitching performance, striking out 12 and notching her fifth win of the season.
In various points during the season, Kansas has shown that they possess a potent offense, a strong defense and stellar pitching. But they need to find a way to play well in all three facets throughout the entire game.
In its only game-Friday, Kansas bounced back from two tough losses and recorded its first victory of the Cathedral City Classic in a 3-1 game against BYU. They Jayhawks won the game despite having not yet earned a single run in the tournament.
FRIDAY
Kansas — 3
BYU — 1
WP: George (4-4),
LP: Zinanti (3-5)
HR: Purcell (BYU: 6)
SUNDAY
Kansas — 3
No. 10 Cal — 2
WP: George (5-4),
LP: Drewrey (8-2)
HR: Arioto (CAL: 3)
SATURDAY
UCSB — 4
Kansas — 0
WP: Cobb (4-2),
LP: Blair (0-2)
Cal-Poly — 3
Kansas — 1
WP: Cahn (3-2),
LP: Clark (0-1)
HR: Cary (CP: 4), Hile (KU: 1)
The Kansas defense finally seemed to hit its stride, committing no errors as it helped George strand 10 BYU hitters. In a complete game outing, George recorded five strikeouts, three walks and only one earned run, giving up a home run in the third inning to catcher Jessica Purcell.
UC SANTA BARBARA 4,
KANSAS 0
The Jayhawks fell to 1-3 for the tournament on Saturday, getting shutout by UC Santa Barbara 4-0. Stevie Crisisto was half of Kansas' offense, going 2-2 with a walk. The Gauchos had four earned runs on 10 hits and played tight defense, committing no errors.
Clark, Kansas' designated hitter, had a home run stolen from her in the top of the seventh as UCSB center fielder Tiffany Wright scaled the wall for the second out of the inning. Sarah Vertelka started the game for Kansas, pitching two scoreless innings, but was replaced in the third by freshman Sarah Blair, who was tagged with the loss.
KANSAS 3, NO.10 CALIFORNIA 2 (8 INN.)
Clark had a monumental game against Cal, going 2-3 with two RBI and one run including a game winning RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning. After the game Clark commented on the first game-winning at bat of her college career.
"They put me in there swinging the bat well and I got a good pitch to hit." Clark said.
George improved her record to 5-4, posting a career-high 12 strikeouts in the win Sunday. Kansas' offense recorded three earned runs on four hits, the team's first earned runs in the tournament. With the win the Jayhawks attained their third win against opponents ranked in the top 10.
CAL-POLY 3. KANSAS 1
Kansas ended the Cathedral City Classic 2-4, losing its final game to Cal-Poly on Sunday afternoon. Shortstop Stevie Cristo extended her hitting streak to five games, going 1-3 in the losing effort. Brittany Hile had the only RBI for the Jayhawks with her first home run of the season in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Reflecting on the tournament,
George focused on the positive.
"I think we've seen some good things from everybody," George said. "We just need to find some consistency. We absolutely have the talent to compete for the Big 12 conference title."
Edited by Grant Treaster
The Jayhawks resume play next weekend, traveling to Denton, Texas, for the North Texas Invitational.
Liverpool's Lucas, left, is tackled by Manchester City's Vincent Kompany during their English Premier League soccer match at Anfield Stadium, Liverpool, England, on Sunday.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
MSU keeps lead in Big 10
Syracuse misses six shots in final minute, loses to Villanova
ASSOCIATED PRESS
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Kalin Lucas scored 17 points to help No. 6 Michigan State keep a one-game lead in the Big Ten with a 61-50 come-from-behind victory over Wisconsin on Sunday.
Wisconsin led by as many as 12 points in the second half, but the Spartans' comeback ended the Badgers' five-game winning streak.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Michigan State (21-5, 11-3) has a one-game lead over Purdue in the Big Ten with four games remaining. The Spartans are trying to win their first regular season title since 2001.
Goran Suton had 16 points and 10 rebounds for Michigan State.
Michigan State's Kalin Lucas, left, and Wisconsin's Joe Krabbenhoft chase the ball during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, in East Lansing, Mich. Lucas led Michigan State with 17 points in a 61-50 victory.
Trevon Hughes had 12 points for Wisconsin (17-10, 8-7), while Marcus Landry added 11.
NO.12 VILLANOVA 89,
NO.24 SYRACUSE 86
SYRACUSE,N.Y.- Dwayne Anderson scored a career-high 22 points to lead Villanova to a season-series sweep.
Syracuse missed six shots in the final minute, including three 3-point attempts in the final 8 seconds before the buzzer sounded as jonny Flynn's shot from the left corner bounced off the rim.
Corey Fisher scored 16 points and Dante Cunningham had 12 rebounds for the Wildcats (22-5, 10-4 Big East), who won for the eighth time in nine games.
Eric Devendorf scored 22 points for Syracuse (19-8,7-7), which dropped to 2-6 in its last eight.
NO.13 CLEMSON 81,
GEORGIA TECH 73
ATLANTA — Trevor Booker had 21 points and 12 rebounds to lead Clemson, which overcame a 15-point deficit.
The Tigers (22-4, 8-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) have won six of eight and improved to 9-0 this season when Booker has a double-double.
Lewis Clinch had a career-high 27 points for the Yellow Jackets (10-16, 1-12), who have lost 11 of 12 to remain in the ACC cellar.
K. C. Rivers, who had 19 points for Clemson, gave his team the lead for good with a 3-pointer in the opening minute of the second half. Freshman Andre Young finished with 12 points, going 4-for-4 on 3-pointers.
Clemson swept the season
series with Georgia Tech for the first time since 2005-06 and for the second time in 12 years.
NO.16 XAVIER 71,
GEORGE WASHINGTON 53
CINCINNATI - C.J. Anderson led five players in double figures with 14 points and Xavier moved back into first place in the Atlantic 10.
The Musketeers (22-5, 10-3) steadied themselves after having lost three of four and moved a half-game ahead of No. 25 Dayton for the conference lead.
Damian Hollis scored 15 points for the Colonials (8-16, 2-10), who fell behind 26-8 and trailed by as many as 25 points.
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