8A
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2006
BASEBALL
Jayhawks sign one of two in junior-college pairing
BY ALISSA BAUER
Gearing up for the 2006-2007 season, Coach Ritch Price and his staff picked up a lengthy list of highimpact players.
Two of the original recruits were from Garden City Community College. The first is Omaha native Joe Servais. Servais signed on after two years as a catcher in Garden City. The player he caught for — right-handed pitcher Aaron Breit — also originally signed on at Kansas but voided his contract after signing with a professional team.
Price knew that Brett had been drafted by the San Diego Padres. But at that time, Price still had every reason to believe that Brett would be the anchor for the jawhawk pitching
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staff in the fall.
After a player is drafted, the team that drafted him has a set period of time to woo its recruit to sign. The player can choose to sign, if not they will become re-eligible for the draft or college.
Breit accepted the Padres' offer after holding out as long as possible. He signed with San Diego just days before the Padres lost their rights to keep him.
"The way it happened was kind of shocking. We didn't expect it to take place". Price said, adding that he consulted with a Padres scout. "The scout said they didn't expect it to go to direction."
Servais was in North Carolina when he found out that the two wouldn't be teammates any longer. Although he was disappointed to part ways with his roommate of two years and it would've been easier to go to a new school with someone he knew, Servais was happy for Breit.
"The opportunity to play professional baseball is something we all dream about." Servais said. "I really wasn't mad at all."
Although Breit put Kansas at a disadvantage by leaving while scholarship money was reserved for him, Price doesn't fault him.
"We wish him the very best. There are no hard feelings at all," he said. "We think he could've made a better decision by coming here and playing a year and then going on, but he wanted to go on to play professional baseball and we wish him the best."
Price knows that competing with — and losing to — professional baseball organizations is part of coaching at a major university, especially when his club is breaking into the top 25.
"It won't be the last time that happens to us," he said.
With all three weekend rotation starter spots up for grabs, Breit was expected to be the age of the pack.
While the Jayhawks have room to sign another player, it's not likely they will be able to find one.
"Almost all of the impact guys have been signed by then," Price said.
The loss somewhat overshadows the gain the Jayhawks made by signing Servais. Although it was Breit who took the thunder as the No.1 guy to come out of the junior college circuit, it's Servais who will play a big role on this season's Jayhawk squad.
Last season, Servais started all 54 games for Garden City, nearly all behind the plate. He tallied an impressive .356 average and knocked in 36 runs. Servais' 13 stolen bases more than doubled any other teammate behind him.
It's not as if his starting role simply fell in his lap, though. After sitting the bench his first two games as a freshman, Servais was called in to pinch hit in the sixth inning of his third hit in Garden City. He knocked the first pitch he saw as a collegiate athlete out of the park.
Price said even though he was a catcher in Garden City,he might play other positions for Kansas.
"It was ridiculous." Servais said. "I can't even explain it."
"One of the reasons we were attracted to Joe was because he's so versatile." Price said. "I'm a believer in that if you're a baseball player we can put you anywhere on the field. We'll give his bat in the lineup."
Even though his Broncbuster buddy is no longer with him, Servais is pumped to get to know the guys he's playing with. Despite a quick change of roommates after Breit's departure, Servais seems ready.
"I'm still really excited to be here," Servais said.
Kansan sportswriter Alissa Bauer can be contacted at abauer@kansan.com.
and 68, noted the benefits of playing in Lawrence.
GOLF (CONTINUED FROM 10A)
"With the conditions as tough as they were out there today, playing a course we knew really helped us out," Woodland said. "It gave us a huge advantage all day long."
During the past several years, Woodland has often stood out as the lone bright spot on the Kansas team. On Monday, he had plenty of help from his teammates.
Senior Tyler Docking posted scores of 70 and 74 to hit at even par for the day, just nine strokes behind Woodland's pace. Docking's scores leave him tied for fourth place overall heading into the final round.
Perhaps even more impressive than the success of Woodland and Docking was the play of freshman Bobby Knowles. Knowles, playing in only his second college tournament, followed a strong first-round 74 with an even-par 72 to sit tied for 12th place. Monday's second round was the best of Knowles' promising career so far at Kansas.
"We needed some strong play behind Gary Woodland, and Bobby executed," Randall said.
At the top of the leaderboard, Jordan Irwin of Houston is currently in second place overall, trailing Woodland by six strokes. In third place is Louie Bishop of UC Davis, who is seven strokes back.
Sophomore Zach Pederson fired a 1-over-73 in the second round to finish 5-over on the day, tied for 25th. Senior Barrett Martens is in a tie for 85th place after posting the Jayhawks' high score in both of Monday's rounds, shooting 77 and 85.
Playing at home gave Kansas the luxury of sending three extra players onto the course as individual competitors. The individual Jayhawks did not disappoint on Monday, as freshman Patrick Roth posted a two-round score of 146 to land in a tie for 12th place. Freshman David Cosel and sophomore Walt Koebel both broke 80 in the second round on the way to ties for 66th and 81st, respectively. The extra individual players do not count when team scores are officially tallied.
Third-round play at Alvamar resumes tomorrow at 8:30 a.m.
Kansan sportswriter Asher Fusco can be contacted at afusco@kansan.com.
Edited by Aly Barland
Vanessa Pearson/KANSAN
Gary Woodland, Topeka senior, swings during the University of Kansas Invitational Monday at Alvamar Golf Club, 1800 Crossgate Drive. Woodland earned a NCAA regional bid and tied for 75th place in the regional tournament. The teams invited include Big 12 competitors Nebraska and Iowa State and 13 others.
Kansas Invitational leaderboard
Individual leaderboard:
Fin. Name School Score (to par)
1 Gary Woodland Kansas -9
2 Jordan Irwin Houston -3
3 Louie Bishop UC Davis -2
4 Tyler Docking Kansas E
5 Michael Haverfield W.Kentucky E
6 Cole Howard N.Texas E
7 Devin Carrey LA-Lafayet E
8 Rodney Hambill Iowa State E
9 Joe Cermak Iowa State +1
10 Ricky Romano Houston +1
11 Ty Capps Nebraska +1
12 Trent Peterson S.Dak St +2
13 Jordan Weber N.Iowa +2
14 Drew Reynolds Nebraska +2
15 Bobby Knowles Kansas +2
16 Patrick Roth Kansas +2
17 Matt Miller III St +3
18 Pablo Acuan Houston +3
Team leaderboard:
School Score (to par)
Kansas -2
Iowa State +8
Houston +12
Nebraska +13
UC Davis +20
South Dakota State +21
Louisiana-Lafayette +26
North Texas +28
Western Kentucky +30
UMKC +31
Northern Iowa +34
Illinois State +35
Missouri St. +36
Cleveland State +37
Drake University +42
Oral Roberts +46
Source: Kli Athletics
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