PAGE 2B
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2014
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Kansas City Royals have exceeded expectations, and then some
Many fans thought the light would never come. Last season was an aberration and it massively outperformed its talent. Regressing to the mean was only expected.
However, as the Royals find themselves one win away from the World Series, which Dayton Moore joked about winning last year for finishing over .500, the perspective rushes in.
Kansas City fired its hitting coach, Pedro Grifol, in the middle of the season. When the team hired Dale Sveum in his place, it was the Royals' sixth hitting coach since 2012. You have to imagine that is the most for a potential World Series team. The offense was anemic, to be kind.
Another story came later in the season, saying that Royals' hitters weren't listening to George Brett, the Hall-of-Famer who you could say had a decent career. Not all great players make great hitting coaches, but to not even gain a little expertise from the guy that has been lingering around the organization since he arrived was troublesome.
The offense completely changed the script. The Royals' offense was the first team to ever come into the playoffs last in home runs and walks.
But not only is it hitting home runs, it's drawing walks, too, during the postseason. It was something sabermetrics (advanced stats) has berated the Royals front office for and rightfully so.
There are other stories that make this run out of the realm of possibility even if this team is different from the past and the playoffs are a crapshoot.
Senior outside hitter Chelsea Albers makes a kill in the game against Texas on Oct. 5. Kansas defeated West Virginia in Morgantown on Wednesday.
Manager Ned Yost thought Yordano Ventura wasn't ready to pitch Opening Day because he didn't have the experience. He wanted a veteran to start because Ventura pitching during a playoff race in 2013 wasn't enough.
"Pinch-hitting for guys gets in their dome," Yost said. "And you don't want to get in their dome in the second game. When nobody is really swinging the bat good."
Yost then outdid himself when he was asked about why he didn't pinch-hit for Alcides Escobar during a late-game situation in the opening series of this season, and he responded with the quote that will maybe forever define him.
BEN LIPOWITZ/KANSAN
His loyalty to players has been reinforced by this marvelous seven-game run.
Kansas dominates second set, defeats W.Va.
Regardless of what happens, we can all sit back and laugh and enjoy this. Because at least for one season, everything you had thought to be had ceased to be. Baseball can wipe away the existential dread for almost three decades in one month. It's magical.
However, it would be nice to do this more frequently than every 29 years.
Edited by Lyndsey Havens
MATT CORTE
@Corte UDK
Kansas volleyball (14-5, 2-3)
won its second conference
match of the season, defeating
a slumping West Virginia (12-
8, 2-4) in four sets 19-25, 25-
10, 25-20, 25-22.
The Jayhawks led for all of nine points in the first set, as the West Virginia Mountaineers followed their game plan by hitting efficiently when opportunities came. The Mountaineers finished the set with a .265 hitting percentage, while the Jayhawks committed 11 errors and 15 kills on 41 attempts, plummeting to a .098 hitting percentage.
In the second set, Kansas committed only three errors on attacks in the set while contributing 13 kills as a team, producing a .400 hitting percentage. Led by senior outside hitters Chelsea Alber's five kills and Sara McClinton's four kills, the Jayhawks used a 9-0 mid-set run to extend the lead to 19-5 before finishing the second set, 25-10.
Going down two sets to none at West Virginia would have given the Jayhawks a slim chance at winning, and coach Ray Bechard knew the team's second set performance was crucial for momentum.
"We've been out here in past years and lost the first set before, but this year it was with our youngest team against their best team," Bechard said. "So they way that our team responded with a 25-10 win in the very next set was key."
Much like West Virginia did to the Jayhawks in set one, Kansas did to the Mountainers in set three. After ties of 3-3, 4-4, and 6-6, Kansas finally took the lead at 7-6 and never relinquished it again.
West Virginia was never quite out of the third set, tying the game again at 12-12 and closing the gap at 22-20.
but the team's six attacking errors against Kansas' four were enough to sink them.
Kansas' ability to finish matches has been mediocre at best in conference so far, but the team was able put away West Virginia in the fourth set with a strong 278 hitting percentage, the team's second best of any set on Wednesday.
Overall, each team's hitting percentages told the story of
the match.
Kansas finished well above its conference average of .215, ending the match with a .245 hitting percentage on 59 kills, 23 errors and 147 attacks.
On the other side, West Virginia had just six fewer attacks, but only managed 47 kills while committing 26 errors, finishing with a .149 hitting percentage.
Individually, Kansas freshman setter Ainise Havili came into the match second in the Big 12 in assists per set with 11.22. Havili added to that number by totaling 47 assists against West Virginia in four sets, good for a 11.75 assists per set average.
Kansas was also led offensively by Albers' 15 kills, and sophomore middle Tayler Soucie was the Jayhawks most efficient hitter with 11
kills and zero errors on 22 attacks.
"Soucie really got going with the block tonight as did Kelsia Payne and Chelsea Alers," Bechard said. "That really impacts the match when you can score points off the block in a dominant fashion.
Edited by Kelsie Jennings
Wambach scores, US beats Trinidad and Tobago
ASSOCIATED PRESS
KANSAS CITY, Kan.— Abby Wambach scored in the 55th minute to help the United States beat Trinidad and Tobago !-0 on Wednesday night in their opening Women's World Cup qualifying game.
Wambach scored on a header off Alex Morgan's cross for her record-extending 171st international goal. Hope also pushed for U.S. shutout record to 74.
The game was the United States' first competitive match since Jill Ellis took over as coach.
The United States and Trinidad and Tobago are in Group A along with Haiti and Guatemala. In the opener at Sporting Park, Haiti beat Guatemala 1-0. On Friday night in Bridgeview, Ill., the United States will play Guatemala, and Haiti will face Trinidad and Tobago. On Monday night in Washington, the United States will play Haiti, and Trinidad and Tobago will face Guatemala.
will face to the CONCA-CAF semifinals on Oct. 24 in Chester, Pennsylvania.
The top three teams from the CONCACAF tournament
The top two teams in group
will qualify for the Women's World Cup next year in Canada, while the fourth-place team will face Ecuador for a spot.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
United States' Abby Wambach celebrates her goal against Trinidad and Tobago during the second half of the game Oct. 15 in Kansas City, Kan.
FREE, CONFIDENTIAL 24/7 CRISIS COUNSELING
Live Chat with our Counselors
Tues, Wed, Thurs, Sat 11 p.m. - 2 a.m.
HeadquartersCounselingCenter.org
Help save lives! We offer fall, spring, and summer training and volunteer opportunities!
Local Number: 785-841-2345 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-8255
We're here to
COUNSELING CENTER
headquarters
listen
Recycle this paper
HeadquartersCounselingCenter.org / KansasSuicidePrevention.org
STUDENT SENATE
Get back up the hill with Don's Auto Center Service plus quality since 1974.
Auto Repair Machine Shop 11th & Haskell·785-841-4833
+