NSAN
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28; 2013
PAGE 3B
have a what lessful
PLAY BALL
behind by any vision- to be ss will touched.
ey Jozwiak
N. COM
BASEBALL PREVIEW
Jayhawks hope to defeat Eagles in this weekend's games
EASTERN MICHIGAN, (1-5)
OUTFIELD
INFIELD
Dakota Smith and Conner McKay are part of one of college baseball's youngest outfield. Tharp is the veteran of the group, being a junior and has made some plays with his glove. The pitchers have seen good numbers this season due to some good outfield play so far this year.
Alex DeLeon, Jordan Dreiling and Kevin Kuntz are all returning players and serve as captains for Kansas. The experienced group of infielder and second baseman Justin Protocio have given the pitchers a lot of reasons to feel optimistic. The infielders combined have only committed three out of the seven team errors in seven games.
BATTING
Although Alex Deleon is the only player who has hit a ball out of the park this season, Kansas had a lot power with the bats this season. The Jayhawks lead the Big 12 with a batting average of .333 this season. Jacob Boylan has been a pleasant surprise as a freshman. He's earned a batting average of .520 after 25 plate appearances and looks to add on against Eastern Michigan.
PITCHING
Frank Duncan dominated against SIU-Edwardsville and held the Cougars scoreless last Friday. Duncan has only allowed four runs and 10 hits after pitching in 13 and 2/3 innings. Thomas Taylor has also made some noise as he leads the team in strikeouts with 13 and ranks 10th all-time in school history. Kansas has yet to allow a home run this season.
OUTFIELD
INFIELD
Daniel Russell made the switch from left to center field due to the departure of Brent Ohrman. Russell made some solid defensive plays at left field and hopes to continue to impress his coaches while playing a new role. Dae Bowden earns his chance at left field while Sam Ott returns at right field.
Adam Dennison and Tony DiLeo have seen some time behind the plate. Dennison and DiLeo have filled in well so far for Matt Hitt. Eastern Michigan, despite being young and inexperienced, have a bright future with Marquise Gill and Mitchell McGeein. The only senior in the infield is Jamie Simpson, who leads the team in putouts this season with 16.
BATTING
Jamie Simpson and Mitchell McGeein have the two highest slugging percentages on the team and are the only players with a home run for the Eagles this year. But the Eagles' 1-5 record has been due to the jack of runs in some games. If the Eagles can be more consistent, as well as get help from pitching, they have a chance against the Jayhawks.
SOFTBALL
Kansas travels to North Carolina for Wolfpack Challenge
cschaeder@kansan.com
CHRIS SCHAEDER
The tournament also features North Carolina A&T, Stony Brook, Lafayette and host North Carolina State. Play begins on Friday for Kansas when it takes on North Carolina A&T at 1:30 p.m. This matchup is the first in a Friday doubleheader as Kansas plays Stony Brook at 3:15 p.m.
The Kansas softball team hits the road for another tournament this weekend as the Jayhawks travel to Raleigh, N.C., for the Wolfpack Challenge.
Kansas also plays in a tough doubleheader on Saturday as they take on Lafayette at 9 a.m., and North
Carolina State at 3:45 p.m. The Jayhawks conclude the tournament on Sunday with a second matchup with Stony Brook on Sunday at 8 a.m.
The Jayhawks go into this weekend with a record of 10-4 and an impressive 9-2 record in neutral site games. Kansas won its first three games of the Islanders Classic last weekend before losing to New Mexico 2-1 in a highly contested pitcher's duel.
North Carolina A&T comes into the tournament with a 1-2 record at last weekend's North Carolina A&T Invitational. The Aggies lost to Canisius and St. Francis before defeating Maryland Eastern Shore in the finale of the Invitational.
Stony Brook won the first three games of the Longwood Adidas Spring Classic last weekend before losing to Longwood in the finale. The Sea Wolves defeated Bucknell twice and Longwood before losing to the host team in their second meeting. Stony Brook comes into the Wolfpack Challenge with a record of 4-6.
The Wolfpack Challenge brings with it the first games of the season for the Lafayette Leopards. Lafayette is coming off a disappointing 2011-12 season where they finished 14-40 overall and 7-13 in conference.
Kansas and North Carolina State already faced one another twice in the season in the FIU Panther Invitational in Miami. The Wolfpack defeated Kansas 8-0 in the teams' first matchup, but the Jayhawks got revenge in the second matchup defeating NC State 3-2. NC State has a record of 7-5-1 coming into this weekend.
Some key players to watch for the Jayhawks are utility player Maddie Stein, outfielder Maggie Hull and pitcher/outfielder Alex Jones. Stein leads Kansas with a .449 batting average and 20 RBIs. Maggie Hull's batting average of .442 is second on the team, and she's also second on the team with two home runs. Jones is fourth on the team in batting average, and is also one of the team's best pitchers with an ERA of 2.80.
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Senior infielder Mariah Montgomery makes contact with the bail in the first inning of Wednesday afternoon's game at Arrocha Ballpark. Kansas dominated the game against Independence Community College, winning the five-inning no-hitter 12-0.
All major appliances | Laundry facility on site Bus routes | Route to Campus & Downtown On-site management | Pet friendly | Pool Security and early bird deposit specials No application fee
Call today to schedule a tour!
(785) 843-0014