KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2011 / SPORTS / 9A
BASEBALL REWIND
Mike Gunnoe/KANSAN
Senior shortstop Brandon Macias fields a thrown ball while a Texas player steals attempts to steal second base. Kansas lost the game, 9-1.
Teammates congratulate senior infielder Brandon Macias after a home run to start Saturday's game. The Jayhawks defeated No. 4 Texas, 4-2.
Aaron Harris/KANSAN
Sohomore third baseman Jordan Drelling throws the ball to first for an out Friday at Hoglund Ballpark. The Jayhawks lost to the Longhorns, 9-1.
Mike Gunnoe/KANSAN
Aaron Harris/KANSAN
Aaron Harris/KANSAN
Coach Jay Uhlman congratulates sophomore catcher Alex DeLeon after a single against the Longhorns Saturday Hoglund Ballpark. The Jayhawks won, 4-2.
Sophomore pitcher Tanner Poppe winds up for a pitch against the Longhorns Saturday at Hoglund Ballpark. A strong outing by the Jayhawk pitching staff helped in the 4-2 victory.
Series notes
Senior T.J. Walz (5-4) took the loss on Friday night, giving up five earned runs over five innings. He hadn't been hit that hard since the first game of the season against TCU.
Senior southpaw Wally Marciel pitched a combined 41/3 innings in relief this weekend. He allowed two earned runs and has a 3.94 ERA on the year.
Texas' shortstop Brandon Loy had six hits, three runs and one stolen base in the series. Third baseman Erich Weiss tallied six hits, five RBI and hit his second homer of the season.
BY ALEC TILSON
atilson@kansan.com
The Texas Longhorns didn't sneak up on the schedule. They loom on the calendar every year, the date marked if not remembered. In February a poll of college coaches dubbed them Team of the Decade (2000-09) and they won two national titles during that span.
But as the Kansas baseball team did in its first matchup of the season against then-No.1 TCU, when they got shelled in the series' first two games, they avoided a sweep with a resilient victory the next day.
After a 9-0 loss on Thursday and a 9-1 loss Friday to No. 4 Texas (30-10, 13-6) at Hoglund Ballpark, coach Ritch Price said his team had been in the same situation before.
So on the verge of a sweep and facing one of the top rotations in college baseball, the Jayhawks had no choice but to go toe-to-toe with the Longhorns in Saturday's third and final game of the series. It was either that or roll over.
"I told our club that we've been in this position a few times already this season where we needed to salvage a victory on the third game of the set," he said.
Junior lefty Sam Stafford took the mound for Texas with a 5-0 record and a 1.39 ERA. He had given up two home runs in 45-plus innings, struck out 56 batters and allowed seven earned runs all season entering the game. It wasn't exactly a secret that scoring runs could pose a challenge.
Senior shortstop Brandon Macias dug his spikes in the batter's box to lead off the Jayhawks (20-20, 9-9) in the bottom of the first. In a 2-0 count, sitting on a fastball, Macias hit his second homer of the season to deep left field. A shot sophomore
third baseman Jake Marasco said went 400 feet.
"They're not used to guys coming out and jumping on them early. When we get a home run on the third pitch of the game, it just sets the tone," Marasco said.
"The first two games, they were unreal," Poppe said. "They were hitting everything. I just had to go out there and throw my game. I just needed to slow them down a little bit."
Sophomore starting pitcher Tanner Poppe (2-4) gladly accepted the one-run lead. He was in the same position against TCU back in February when he pitched six strong innings to avoid the sweep. Saturday he threw 5 1/3 innings, allowing two earned runs, striking out three and recording his second victory of the season.
Seniors Scott Heitusen and Wally Marceli provided relief before junior closer Colton Murray came in to record the final six outs. Murray threw 23 pitches and the Jayhawks went on to a 4-2 victory against an elite program.
After allowing 27 hits in the first two games, Kansas' pitching held the Longhorns to seven hits on Saturday. Poppe handed a 3-2 lead to the bullpen.
"That'll keep us in the top five of the league and that allows us to do something special in the last month of the season," Price said.
Kansas has its eyes set on the Big 12 Tournament, when the top eight out of 10 conference records compete for the conference championship. With matchups against Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Kansas State still to come, the Jayhawks will continue to fight for their season each game.
Edited by Brittany Nelson
Game to remember
Taylor Jungmann in the first game
The Longhorns ace, Jungmann, one-hit the Jayhawks in eight innings on the mound. He set the tone for the Longhorns pitching staff all series, in their 9-0 victory over Kansas.
Jungmann
Game to forget
Walz was hit hard by the Longhorns in five innings on the mound. He gave up 10 hits for five runs, in the Jayhawks 9-1 loss to Texas in the second game of the series.
T.J. Walz in the second game
Walz
Quote of the weekend
"Texas is playing better than anyone that we've played so far this year, and that includes Arizona State when they were No. 4, Arkansas or Texas A&M when they're playing at a really elite level."
— Coach Ritch Price after a 9-1 loss Friday night
Price
Stat of the weekend
17 Number of innings played before Kansas scored its first run of the series, which came in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 2 on Friday.
Key game
Saturday's game
The Jayhawks avoided being swept by the Longhorns, in a 4-2 victory Saturday. Tanner Poppe pitched 5 1/3 strong innings, and the bullpen for Kansas came through, no-hitting the Longhorns for the remainder of the game. Kansas stayed at .500 overall and at .500 in conference play with the win.
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