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SPORTS
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KANSAN.COM/SPORTS | MONDAY, NOV. 2, 2015
MATT SLOCUM/AP
DAVID J PHILLIP/AP
Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez dumps water on manager Ned Yost.
The Kansas City Royals celebrate after Game 5 of the Major League Baseball World Series against the New York Mets on Nov.2 in New York. The Royals won 7-2.
Royals win World Series after late rally to rout Mets in 12th
MIKE FITZPATRICK Associated Press
NEW YORK — Crown 'em,
Kansas City!
One agonizing step from ecstasy last season, this time the Royals reign after their latest incredible comeback and a go-ahead hit from maybe the most unlikely player in uniform.
Christian Colon singled home the tiebreaking run in the 12th inning and those bound-and-determined Royals rallied one more time to beat the New York Mets 7-2 in 12 innings early Monday for their first World Series championship since 1985 and second overall.
Down two runs in the ninth, Kansas City fought back in Game 5 against two of the top arms on the pitching-rich Mets: Matt Harvey and leurys Familia. And the Royals did it not with home run power but instead a daring dash from Eric Hosmer, a three-run double by Lorenzo Cain, a couple of crucial stolen bases.
CONSISTENT CONTACT,
KEEP THE LINE MOVING
KEEP THE LINE MOVING. And that's how Series MVP Salvador Perez and the Royals became the first team since the 2002 Angels to come from behind in all four World Series wins, according to STATS. That's how they washed away the bitter taste of last year's Game 7 loss at home to San Francisco, an October heartbreak that drove them to their singular focus all season.
NEVER WAVER. WIN IT ALL THIS TIME.
Now, this group of homegrown favorites that turned around a floundering franchise, Mike Moustakas and Alex Gordon and Hosmer, can take their place in Royals history alongside George Brett, Willie Wilson, Bret Saberhagen and those champs from 30 years ago.
With no margin for error, Harvey put the Mets' last hope in his hands and hung on as long as he could. After eight scoreless innings, he finally faltered in the ninth.
New York slugger Yoenis Ces-
penes exited with knee pain but Curtis Granderson hit a leadoff homer, his third long ball of the Series, and the Mets managed a 2-0 lead against heavy-hearted Royals starter Edinson Volquez, pitching one day after returning from his father's funeral.
But for these resilient Royals, no deficit is too large, no time in the game too late.
Perez looped a leadoff single in the 12th off losing pitcher Addison Reed, and pin-runner jarrod Dyson stole second. One out later, Colon stepped in as a pinch-hitter for his first plate appearance since the regular-season finale Oct. 4.
Hardly rusty, he lined a 1-2 pitch into left-center and pounded his chest at first base. Alcides Escobar added an RBI double, and Cain's bases-loaded double off Bartolo Colon broke it open.
All that was left was for Wade Davis to close it out. He threw a called third strike past Wilmer Flores to end it and tossed his glove as the Royals rushed toward the mound to celebrate.
Kansas offense never gets going in 62-7 loss to Oklahoma
EVAN RIGGS
@EvanRiggsUDK
Every member of the Kansas football team — player and coach — ran to greet its special teams unit after Oklahoma missed 31-yard field goal on its first drive. For the first time in two weeks, the Jayhawks finally had some momentum.
But it made very little difference in the end. The Jayhawk offense, which only had 216 yards on the day, was completely outgunned in a lopsided 62-7 loss to the Sooners on homecoming weekend.
"One of my most disappointing things is the offensive production isn't what I expect," head coach David Beaty said. "We've got to be able to score more points than what we are, we just aren't getting it done right now. Everybody in this league can score, so we have to get that fixed in a hurry."
Last year, it was sophomore running back Samaje Perine who did whatever he wanted to against the Jayhawks. This time, it was less about his numbers (90 yards and two touchdowns on just 11 carries) than the attention he received from the Kansas defense. With the Jayhawks loading the box, the Sooners were to gain 710 total yards on the day, and 445 of them came through the air.
"We did a great job running the ball, so you have no choice but to load the box because you have to stop (Samaje) Perine and Joe Mixon," senior wide receiver Sterling Shepard said. "It definitely helps us wide-out a lot."
Mayfield, a transfer from Texas Tech, burned Kansas, going 27-of-32 for 383 yards and four touchdowns in not even three quarters of work. Shepard, who was Mayfield's favorite target, torched the layawk secondary for 183 yards and a touchdown.
"He's a good player, there's no doubt about it," Beaty said of Mayfield. "He understands Lincoln's (Riley) offense, you can tell. He was very comfortable out there with the way he was communicating with his guys and putting people in the right spots. The kid knows what he's doing."
down pass to senior wide receiver Durron Neal, and a four-yard touchdown pass to Shepard for a 21-0 lead.
In the first quarter alone, Mayfield threw a 68-yard touchdown pass to freshman running back Joe Mixon, an 11-yard touch-
But Shepard gave the Jayhawks some life with his muffed punt on the 19-yard line, which the Jayhawks recovered
On their next drive, Willis got the Jayhawks on the board with a 17-yard touchdown pass to freshman receiver Tyler Patrick.
The freshman's first career touchdown brought the Jayhawks within 21-7.
"When he came to the sideline, I thought he was going to pass out from screaming so loud," Beaty said. "He made some nice plays today, I know it was exciting for him."
The Sooners were 6-of-10 on third down conversions, and never punted. In the second quarter, the Jayhawks missed an opportunity to force a punt, and Beaty said that turned out to be a key play in the game.
After a penalty for chop blocking, the Sooners were facing a second-and-32 from their own 46. An 18-yard completion to junior receiver Dede Westbrook, which was originally ruled incomplete until it was reviewed and reversed, set up a more manageable third down.
"That was deflating," senior defensive end Ben Goodman said. "It was second-and-32, but they were able to get in a third and manageable and they ended up scoring on that drive. It was pretty hurtful."
After a 10-yard completion to Shepard, the Sooners were still faced with a fourth down with four yards to go. But Westbrook came up with a huge first down catch, and the drive ended in a touchdown.
"We just can't forget this loss," junior safety Smith Smithson said. "Giving up 60 points on homecoming... that's not good. Tomorrow, we have to keep this taste in our mouth. We have to watch film and figure out why the bad plays happened and try to correct them."
The Jayhawks weren't able to muster any more offense, and the Sooners put 34 more points on the scoreboard to run away with the game.
The loss will send the Jayhawks back to the drawing board looking for answers, but they will use it as motivation going forward.
KELCIE MATOUSEK/KANSAN Caelynn Manning-Allen, junior, tries to shoot the ball from around her defender.
KELCIO MATOUSEK/KANSAN
Striking from the outside makes the difference in win over Pitt State for women's basketball
SEAN COLLINS
@seanzie_3
In coach Brandon Schneider's first game, the Jayhawks showed just how quick and effective his offense could be. For the entire game, the Jayhawks ran in transition and found wide-open three pointers, which allowed them to build up a substantial lead.
Sophomore guard Lauren Aldridge cashed in on two quick three-pointers in Schneider's offense, including one in transition. At one point in the first quarter, Aldridge scored nine straight for the Jayhakws.
“[Coach Schneider] is a pleasure the play for. [The] offense he has set up is a dream come true for most of us,” Aldridge said. “It's very fun for us, and I've loved every minute of it.”
"I like to start on the threepoint line to draw them out," Kopatich said. "This really allows me to drive to the rim and make open shots possible."
The guard's defense forced multiple turnovers that led to easy transition baskets for the Jayhawks. The story of the first half, along with a stellar performance from Aldridge, was the wide-open threes that were knocked down.
Schneider's offense proved to be beneficial for the jayhawks in the exhibition, especially when it came to knocking down shots from deep. Freshman Kylee Kopatich was able to get two open threes early from the fast-paced offense, which later opened up things inside as she was able to get to the rim.
Kansas was a clean 5-of-7 from deep, giving the Jayhawks a 22-14 lead after the first quarter.
The three pointers stopped falling for the Jayhawks in the second period, giving Pitt State the opportunity to stay in the game. In the first half, Kansas was 6-of-12 from three, including 1-of-5 in the second quarter. Kansas went into the half up 39-35.
Aldridge came into the second half hitting two straight from deep, continuing her strong shooting exhibition. That gave the Jayhawks a 45-35 lead with nine minutes left in the third quarter.
"The offense is set up to have wide-open threes," Aldridge said. "Myself, Kylee, Chaya [Cheadle], Jayde [Christopher] and everyone will have a lot of good opportunities from the three-point line this year."
However, the team didn't just fire away all night. The Jayhawks cut down on the perimeter shots in the second half. Their pesky defense and depth is what led the way, forcing Pitt State to shoot 31.3 percent from the floor, including 21.2 in the second half.
"The depth and the tempo allow to get into peoples legs a little bit, and even if some of their shots are open, it makes it harder to knock them down." Schneider said.
In the end, it was the three-point shot that allowed the Jayhawks to take control of the game. After that, the team relied on the little things to carry it through the rest of the way.
Now the question is what will happen when the team isn't hitting shots for extended stretches, which will likely be a question it faces down the road.
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