SPORTS
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Thursday, April 1, 1993
11
For both teams,it's been a shocker
Struggling Wichita State visits 'Hawks
Kansan sportswriter
As Kansas and Wichita State enter their baseball game at 7 tonight at Hogdulm-Maupin Stadium, each finds itself in an unfamiliar role.
By Brady Prauser
The Jayhawks, 18-5 and 4-1 in the Big Eight Conference, are off to their best start in history. After winning four of five games last week against Oklahoma State, Kansas is ranked No. 18 in *Baseball America*'s Top 25 poll, the Jayhawks' first-ever national ranking.
Katherine Manweiler / KANSAN
Perennial national power Wichita State, however, is taking a nose dive early this season, according to coach Gene Stephenson.
"We may be the poorest offensive team in the 16 years I've been here," Stephenson said. We're a very poor baseball team in all respects, I think we have talent, but we haven't played well in any phase of the game."
Wichita State, 17-7 and 0-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference, is ranked No. 16 in the *Ballpark Ameri-
cans*. It has lost three of its last seven games.
Stephenson said there was no immediate remedy to the Shockers' early-season woes.
"I don't anticipate us being any better tomorrow night than in the past two weeks," he said.
Senior left-hander Tom Stewart, 4,
with a 3.94 earned run average, will be
the startling pitcher for the Jayhawks.
Stewart leads Kansas in victories.
Sophomore right-hander Shane Bryan, 5-0 with a 2.67 ERA, will pitch for the Shockers. Bryan also leads his team in victories.
Bingham said Kansas' performance against Oklahoma State, which fell from No. 10 to No. 24 in the poll, was indicative of the growth of the Jayhawks' program.
"Anytime you're involved with a national-caliber or nationally ranked team, it's important that you win those games," Bingham said. "Obviously, that is the same type of thing with Wichita State."
However, Bingham said that his team's preparation and approach for Wichita State remained the same as with any other opponent. He said it was easy to lose sight of other games if the team placed too much emphasis on one opponent, such as Wichita State.
"We have to have the ability to prepare equally." Bingham said. "We can't ride the emotional roller-coaster."
Stewart agreed.
It was another punk. Wichita State qualified for the NCAA baseball tournament 11 times in the past 13 years. It played in the College World Series four times in the past five years, including 1989 when the Shockers won the title by beating Texas 5-3.
Stewart agreed. "It's just another game," he said.
Sources; Kansas Sports Information
The Jahawks lost all four meetings with Wichita State last season.
Kansas, whose doubleheader with Iowa State yesterday was canceled
because of rain, has won 10 of its last 13 games. But despite its record, Bingham said the fast start was not surprising given the caller of the team.
"These are very fine ball players," he said. "They're going to hold their own at any point. I thought a year ago we had the same ball club, but we had some adversity. The difference is that this year we're overcoming that."
Last season, Kansas started off 14-4,
but was hampered by mid-season.
injuries that led to a 25-28 record and a seventh-place conference finish.
This season, it is second in the conference behind Oklahoma, which has a 5-0 conference record after three victories against Iowa State and two victories against Missouri.
NOTES:
Senior right-handed pitcher Jimmy Walker, 3-1, leads the conference with a 0.69 ERA, and last week was named Big Eight pitcher of the week.
The Jahayhawks, batting .341 as a team, are tied with Oklahoma for the highest team batting average in the Big Eight, and have the second-lowest team ERA, 3.61
Senior Jeff Berblering leads the conference in stolen bases with 16, is tied for the lead in home runs with 7, and his .410 batting average is the fourth-highest in the conference.
Tigers hand Royals 17th loss of spring
The Associated Press
Moore, acquired as a free agent, went seven innings, giving up three runs on nine hits.
LAKELAND, Fla. — Two new pitcher Detroit will be counting upon heavily, starter Mike Moore and reliever Bob MacDonald, turned in solid performances as the Tigers defeated the Kansas City Royals 5-3 yesterday.
Kansas softball team drops in latest poll
It was the fourth straight loss for the Royals, who dropped to 10-17 for the spring.
Kansan Staff Report
The Kansas softball team dropped to No.20 in the latest NCAA Division I Softball Poll.
The Jayhawks, who were ranked 13th, posted a 4-3-1 record during their Southern California spring break trip. The road trip moved the team's record to 9-5-1.
Kansas senior center holder Shauna Cole is sixth in the Big Eight Conference in hitting with a .352 average.
Senior pitcher Stephani Williams is second in strikeouts with 116, and freshman infielder Katie Morgan is second in hits a game at a 1.26 average.
Daron J. Bennett / KANSAN
Fan-tastic
Kansas coach Roy Williams waves to the Allen Field House crowd. About 12,000 fans welcomed the Jayhawks home Saturday. Fans will have one more chance to see the team before it departs for New Orleans. The Jayhawks will leave Allen Field House at 2 p.m. today.
Minnesota wins NIT championship
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — After failing to get an NCAA tournament bid 2% weeks ago, Minnesota was an angry and frustrated team. Then along came the perfect cure — the National Invitational Tournament.
Arriel McDonald scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half and the Golden Gophers withstood a Georgetown rally to beat the Hoyas 62-61 last night for their first NIT championship.
Minnesota, 22-10, managed to win despite goalless over the last 4% minutes.
Georgetown, 20-13, scored 10 straight points, cutting Minnesota's lead to 62-61 with 1:41 remaining on a free throw by Othela Harrington. But neither team could score the rest of the way.
Georgetown got the ball after Minnesota's Randy Carter missed two free throws with
24. 3 seconds remaining. But after working the ball for a good shot, Kevin Millen missed a 15-foot jumper with about three seconds left.
The ball was knocked out of bounds by Minnesota, however, and Georgetown got one more chance with four-tenths of a second remaining. But a job pass for Harrington was stolen by Minnesota's Voshn Lenard and time ran out.
Lenard scored 17 points for Minnesota. Harrington led Georgetown with 17 points, and Joey Brown added 14.
Only three Division I basketball teams get to finish the post-season with a tournament victory. Alabama-Birmingham became one of them last night with a 55-52 victory against Providence in the third-place game of the NIT.
The Blazers used a slowdown game to frustrate Providence and overcome a 17-point, 14-rebound performance by Michael Smith, the leading rebounder in the Big East the past two seasons.
UAB, 21-14, held Providence to only two field goals in the final 6:30 to win a lethargic game punctured by airballs, fouls and catcalls from a small crowd at Madison Square Garden.
The Blazers won despite shooting 35 per cent from the floor and being outre-bounded 39-35. Providence shot just 40 percent, missed 12 of 23 free throws and turned the ball over 17 times.
The Friars, 20-13, had the ball with just over a minute left with a chance to go ahead, but an inside shot by Dickey Simpkins hit the bottom of the rim.
Corey Jackson made one of two foul shots with 23.8 seconds left to make it 54-52, and Providence called time out to set up a shot. The play broke down, however, and Abdul Abdullah tossed up a wild shot that missed badly. Frank Haywood was fouled on the rebound and made one of two free throws for a three-point UAB lead.
Simpkins' long inbounds pass with 2.7 seconds left was intercepted by Reginald Allen. Robert Shannon led UAB with 11 points and Hayward had 10.
The score was tied 23-23 at halftime after a cold-shooting first half for both teams. UAB made just 6 of 24 from the field and Providence 7 of 18.
BEST OF THE MIDWEST
The NCA4 tournament's biggest moment awaits, but the level of emotions and intensity during the first four rounds have already made this year's tournament memorable.
Kansas senior guard Rex Walters spoke with the media after Kansas defeated Ball State 94-72 during the first round in Rosemont, Ill. CBS commentator Mike Francesa said before the game that the Jayhawks were ripe for an upset.
"This Mike Francesa, who looks like he's never played a game of basketball in his life, picks us to lose," Walters said.
Walters clarified his statement this weak
"I don't have anything personal against Mike Francesca," he said. "But if someone picks us to lose and we win, I'm going to let them know about it."
duke coach Mike Krzyzewski shed tears at the thought of losing his All-American point guard Bobby Hurley and his starting shooting guard, Thomas Hill. Duel lost to California in the second round three weeks ago at the Rosemont Horizon.
Losing a game doesn't mean a damn thing. Because I won for so long with these guys, and I'll win for the rest of my life for being associated with them."
"Bobby and Thomas have been like sons to me," Krzeyzkiwski said. "Every time they went out on the court, I knew that they would give me their bodies, their minds and their hearts."
California coach Todd Bozeman broke into tears at the postgame news conference after Kansas beat California 93-76 last weekend in St. Louis. Bozeman took over for Lov Campanelli, who was fired midway through the season. After that, the Bears went 11-2.
"None of you guys can imagine what we've been through," Bozeman said. "After every game, everyone asked questions about everything but the game. These guys never
got any credit all season long, even after we beat Duke, the two-time national champs.
"The experience that we went through here is going to make us all tougher people."
Indiana coach Bobby Knight turned over a glass crystal and gazed into it when asked about how he foresaw the development of junior guard Damon Bailey next season.
*Isee * 1. Isee * 1. Isee Damon being... being a better player*
*Isee* 2. Isee* 2. Isee Knight again
When asked to follow up, Knight again gazed into the crystal.
"Image is fading. image is coming back ...
fading. It says, 'What a horse—question.'
Kansas coach Roy Williams has stressed putting the attention on the players, not the coaches. He has done so as a matchup with Dean Smith and North Carolina nears, but also before Kansas played Indiana.
"It's not Roy Williams against Bobby Knight," Williams said about his 6-foot-5 counterpart. "He's a lot bigger than I am. Hopefully I would be a little quicker, but I'm not going to brag about something that I don't know for sure."
Compiled by Kansan sportswriter David Dorsey.
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