THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN SPORTS
Playing in spite of potential peril Lacrosse player Tyler Cauble wears a unique vest during play to protect his only kidney.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6,2011
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PAGE 12A
SENIOR SLUMP
Veterans fail to deliver in loss
Junior first baseman Zac Elgie connects for a single Tuesday against Missouri State. Elgie was 2-3 and scored the only run in the 5-1 loss.
Mike Gunnoe/KANSAN
BY MIKE VERNON
mvernon@kansan.com
A lack of experience at the plate continued to plague the Jayhawks (12-15, 4-5) in Tuesday's 5-1 loss to Missouri State at Hoglund Ballpark.
"You can look at the difference in the two dugouts," coach Ritch Price said. "Their seniors go home run, home run, and hit a two run single, and our seniors don't get a base hit today."
Kansas came into Tuesday's game after winning two of three against a top 20 Baylor team, in which the Jayhawks gave the image that their woes at the plate were behind them. It turns out
that image was just a mirage as the Jayhawks' six hits were their lowest total in their ten previous games.
The spark for the Jayhawk improved hitting was from their three senior leaders, outfielders Jimmy Waters and Casey Lytle and shortstop Brandon Macias. All three seniors went hitless today, leaving the Jayhawks without their usual producers, resulting in the Jayhawks' worst game since day one of conference play.
"If Waters, Lytle, and Macias don't hit, we're not going to score," Price said. "We were not talented enough one through nine in our lineup for that to take place, and I'm not being negative; that's a
The Jayhawks had a tough time even hitting the ball into the air
Things were supposed to be different for the Jayhawks in their second game against the Bears in six days. The game was played in Lawrence this time; the Jayhawks were coming into the game on a winning streak; the bats were hot and vet the results didn't change.
reality."
"It's kind of been our thing to do well on the weekends and then we come back and kind of look ahead, thinking we're a good ballclub," Waters said, "and then we have let downs like this. That's just been the story, and we've got to figure out a way to get it fixed before it's too late."
— the Jayhawks grounded out 12 times and flew out only four times.
"I think it's one of those experience things," junior first baseman Zac Elgie said. "People have been up and down all year."
Price attempted to shake things up before the game by tinkering with the batting order, but the Jayhawks failed to respond. The only Kansas batter to really respond to the changes was Elgie.
Elgie's hot bat got him moved up to the cleanup position in the Kansas lineup, and the 6-foot-2 North Dakota native came through. He led the second inning off with a screaming line drive
hit down the left field line for a double, and in his second at-bat, Elgie hit a single and stretched it into a triple after an error by Missouri State.
"He left a couple of pitches up to me and I put good swings on them." Elgie said.
The Jayhawks will have to respond from the loss quickly with a huge game looming tonight against Missouri at Kauffman Stadium. Sophomore pitcher, Thomas Taylor, will take the mound for the 5:30 p.m. showdown with the Tigers.
Edited by Corey Thibodeaux
SOFTBALL
Team makes changes to work toward victory
BY HANNAH WISE
bwise@kansan.com
hwise@kansan.com
The Jayhawks are on a six-game losing streak in conference. The offense is struggling to produce the same quality hits against Big 12 pitchers that it had during the pre-conference season. They are also struggling to make key strategic plays at the plate.
The softball team is looking for its first conference victory today against the No.14 Oklahoma Sooners.The team is making some player and strategic changes in the hope of getting back on a winning streak.Currently,the team is 0-6 in conference play and 27-10 overall.
"We are going to do some short game work to make sure we can lay down buns when we need to," coach Megan Smith said before Tuesday's practice.
Senior pitcher Allie Clark winds up against Nebraska Sunday afternoon in Lawrence. The team hopes for its first conference win today.
The team is also working on developing faster hands in the batters. It wants the batters to get their hands to the ball faster to speed up the rest of the batter's swing and increase the swing power. The batters have totaled
Aaron Harris/KANSAN
The infield is currently made up of young players who are still developing. The change is only expected to get the team out of the current Big 12 losing streak.
23 hits in all six Big 12 contests whereas their opponents have connected 53 times.
"We are going to get some players some reps at a new position," Smith said.
The Jayhawk pitchers have been struggling to throw strikes. In Big 12 games, they have totalled 11 strikeouts thrown. In the beginning of the season, the pitching staff was focused on throwing pitches to get ground balls. Now, they are changing their strategy to be more effective against Big 12 batters.
Defensively, the team will try out some changes in the infield.
"We have been focusing on throwing the ball off the plate and still working the knees, throwing it lower. We have been working on throwing off the plate and getting hitters to chase our pitches," senior pitcher Allie Clark said.
After six conference losses, both the players and the coach
ing staff have continued to focus on what they need to change and fine tune. The team has been working on keeping a level of confidence up during this rough patch. The changes in strategy
and personnel help to keep the girls focused and ready to face their opponents on a weekly basis. They are confident in their abilities as a team to earn a conference victory.
"We still feel like we have a chance," Clark said.
Edited by Sarah Gregory
COMMENTARY
4
College basketball thrives past its prime
BY KORY CARPENTER
kcarpenter@kansan.com
She's the former supermodel, 20 years past her prime. She still looks good, but nothing like in her past. She whips out old photos at any given moment, reliving her glory days while convincing people — trying to, at least — that she still has it.
Her name is college basketball.
With all due respect to Butler, VCU, and George Mason in 2006, they wouldn't have sniffed a final four 20 years ago. I know what people are thinking. They beat who they had to beat. Teams like Pittsburgh and Florida couldn't handle a Butler team that might have missed the NCAA tournament if they didn't win the Horizon League conference tournament. Kansas couldn't handle a team that finished fourth in the Colonial Athletic Association. Yes, that Colonial Athletic Association.
This is just as much a column about the perceived 'big dogs' as it is about the underdogs. Often under-experienced but talented blue bloods are losing to multi-directional schools. Upsets are bound to happen in the NCAA tournament; we all know that. But when they happen with this much regularity seemingly every year now, it makes you take a step back and ask, "Why?" Well, these midmajors usually have one thing in common: experience. Early NBA defections don't blow up rosters unexpectedly every year, which leads to the most popular answer to our simple question.
The common answer is NBA's "one-and-done" rule, in which a player can't be drafted until he's 19 years old or has played a year of college ball. But it's only half right.
College basketball was on the decline before the one-and-done rule came into effect in 2006. If anything, the rule has made college basketball better. Without it, fans would have never seen John Wall, Kevin Durant or Jared Sullinger. Kansas fans wouldn't have seen Xavier Henry or Josh Selby (Hey, that USC game was awesome, right?).
No, the one-and-done rule isn't the problem. It's a Band-Aid. To stop this decline, however, a bandage won't stop the bleeding. It will only slow it down temporarily
Major League Baseball has it right. Any player can skip college and enter the draft immediately after high school. But if they go to college, they have to stay for three years. It's not right to deny an 18-year-old the right to earn a living if someone is willing to pay him. If they want to take that risk, let them. It's a risk any adult should be able to make if he's so inclined.
But if they aren't good enough to play professionally after high school, three years of college is better for everyone. The player will only get better, the NBA will get more polished talent on a yearly basis, and college fans will get a much better product.
Until the rule is changed, the glory days will still be a distant memory. Fans will still watch, though, because hey, an aging supermodel is still a supermodel.
— Edited by Corey Thibodeaux