10B SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, MAY 10, 2007
SOFTBALL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
Humphreys(18-12) is one of the Big 12's top pitchers.
Humphreys is holding opponents to a .194 batting average in 41 appearances. Humphreys' five saves are tied with Sarah Clopton's five in 2000 for the most in a season by a Jayhawk pitcher.
"Tournament time is to let everything that has been prepped the entire season to come out and shine."
Kansan sportswriter Evan Kafarakis can be contacted at ekafarakis@kansan.com.
Edited by Mark Vierthaler
Anna Faltermeier/KANSAN
Sophomore shortstop Stevie Cristoo throws to first base for an out during the second game of a double-header against Arkansas on Tuesday afternoon.
BASEBALL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
weekend."
Run support has been hard to come by as of late for sophomore lefty Andy Marks (4-6). In his last three starts, his guys had given him just one run.
Kansas' consistency duo, senior Kyle Murphy and junior John Allman, teamed up in the Javahaws' first at bat. Murphy dropped a single into shallow left to lead off the game before Allman blasted a Sean Toler delivery to right-center field.
"It was really nice," Marks said. "Anytime you put up eight runs you win a lot of ballgames."
The Jayhawk bats thanked him heartily on Wednesday.
Four straight Jayhawks reached base to start the fourth, including a two-run blast from junior second baseman Ryne Price deep to right. His ninth of the season was just the beginning of the six-run fourth. This was the first six-spot the Jayhawks have strung together since blowing out Texas 14-6 on Apr. 6.
"Me, Buck and Brock were like 'Let's try to do something productive with these AB's,' Ryne Price said. "It's kind of funny cause Buck singled and so did Brock, it just
hopefully got us going a little bit."
Price opened the gate for junior right fielder Brock Simpson to follow up with a single.
Sophomore first baseman Preston Land took his turn next, slugging only his second triple of his career.
Murphy, who went 4-for-5 on Wednesday night, struck again in the fourth. His RBI double to right was the last hit Toler would allow. He was lifted for Chris Mackey after walking freshman third baseman Roby Price.
"It's funny how baseball works," Murphy said. "It's probably not the best day that Ive swung the bat. I wasn't necessarily hitting the seats, but some days you hit them hard and go 0-for-5 and sometimes you hit off the handle and go 4-for-5."
When Mackey entered the game, it wasn't much of a game. The 8-0 lead Kansas had collected by the fourth appeared to have the makings of a blowout.
Missouri State, however, was in no mood for a slaughter. Facing an 8-1 deficit, junior right-hander Andres Esquibel took over for Marks.
Esquibel watched his first pitch
sail over the batter's eye in centerfield off the bat of catcher Kyle Paul, Paul, hitting in the eight-hole, had his way with every Jayhawk pitcher he saw on Wednesday, going 4-for-4 with four RBI and two home runs.
"He's obviously trying to get out of it for him and for me," Marks said of his reliever. "Unfortunately for that kid, he made a mistake and he hit it. He's a pretty good hitter, I don't know why he's hitting eighth."
Paul's second bomb pushed the gap even tighter. He took Esquibel yard again in the top of the eighth, narrowing the Jayhawks lead, 8-5.
Despite their final efforts, Kansas kept the squad at bay.
"We need to win every game this week," Marks said. "This was a good start, hopefully we'll carry it into the weekend and carry it into the last week of the season. You never know what could happen after that."
Kansan senior sportswriter Alissa Bauer can be contacted at abauer@kansan.com.
Edited by Mark Vierthaler
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Award season approaches
BY SHAWN SHROYER
BIG 12 BASEBALL
With only two weekends left in the Big 12 regular season, the best of the best from around the conference and the Kansas roster have emerged and are in line to receive postseason accolades.
Below are the top players the Big 12 and Kansas had to offer this season.
Big 12 Player of the Year:
Kyle Russell
Texas sophomore outfields
Big 12 Pitcher of the Year:
Kyle Nicholson
exas A&M senior right-hands
Texas sophomore outfielder
While Texas has pummeled its competition, Russell has pulverized opposing pitchers. The Longhorns haven't even reached postseason play yet and Russell has surpassed Texas' previous home run record of 20 with 26 on the season. He leads the nation in home runs by five. Russell is near the top of the Big 12 in five categories and he's registering on the national leaderboard, as well. His .880 slugging percentage and 162 total bases are first in the country.
Nicholson (10-1) has done it all for the Aggies this season. He's gone from middle reliever to closer and now to starter, but he's excelled this season regardless of his role. Nicholson's 1.71 ERA is the best in the Big 12 and his 77 strikeouts are fifth in the conference. He's been a workhorse with 94 2/3 innings pitched on the season but it hasn't affected his control with an impeccable 11:2 strikeouts-to-walk ratio. A two-time Big 12 Pitcher of the Week recipient this season and a candidate for the Golden Spikes and a Roger Clemens Awards, Nicholson is second in the Big 12 in wins and one of 13 pitchers in the nation with double-digit victories.
Big 12 Newcomer of the Year:
Justin Friend
Oklahoma State Athletic League
with the shaky starting pitching the Cowboys have had this season, they've depended on Friend (5-2) to hang onto leads when they hand him the ball. His 2.32 ERA is the best on the team out of pitcher with at least 17 innings pitched on the season and third in the Big 12. Friend has earned Big 12 Pitcher of the Week honors once this season and he has 61 strikeouts to only 11 walks. Although he has only seven saves on the season, Oklahoma State's offense has put most games out of reach, taking away save opportunities.
Big 12 Freshman of the Years
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Big 12 Most Improved Player:
Blake Stouffer
Texas A&M junior infielder/outfielder
Scott Migl
Migl (6-1) has alternated in and out of Texas A&M's starting rotation, but he's found success whether starting or relieving. The Houston freshman has outshined most of the veteran pitchers in the conference with a 2.20 ERA, which is the second best in the Big 12, behind only teammate Kyle Nicholson. Perhaps most impressive about Migl is that he's learned to trust his defense in his first year at the collegiate level. With only 26 strikeouts on the year, he's held opposing batters to a .251 average by letting his defense play behind him.
Texas A&M right-hander
Big 12 Coach of the Year:
Tim Jamieson
Missouri
Stouffer was an everyday player for the Aggies last season, but he hit just .259 with three home runs and 15 RBI. This season he leads the Aggies with a .417 average to go along with eight home runs and a 1.159 OPS. Compared to the rest of the sluggers in the Big 12, his 80 hits and 69 RBI are tops and his average is the second best. His 17 doubles, 127 total bases and 18 stolen bases also register on the Big 12 leaderboard. Nationally, his RBI total is second overall. Stouffer has been named Big 12 Player of the Week three times, and is on the watch list for the NCBWA Dick Hower Trophy.
What Jamieson has done with the Tigers this season has been nothing short of miraculous. With ace starters Max Scherzer and Nathan Culp last season, Missouri finished seventh in the Big 12 and then lost Scherzer and Culp to the MLB Draft. But Jamieson held together what was left of his pitching staff and Missouri's team ERA has remained under four. And although Missouri's team batting average is down from last season, its scoring has gone up. As a result, Missouri sits in second place in the conference this season and is the only Big 12 team that has taken a series from first-place Texas.
Kansas Player of the Year Kyle Murphy Senior center fielder
Murphy is one of the few overachieving Hawkies this season. Coach Ritch Price asked that Murphy hit .250 this season to justify having his glove in the lineup, but Murphy went beyond those expectations, shooting up Kansas' batting order from the nine hole to the leadoff spot. He leads the Jayhawks with 62 hits, 42 runs, 90 total bases and 14 stolen bases, and his .326 average is the second-best on the team. He's also shown some pop with four home runs, 25 RBI and a .474 slugging percentage.
Kansas Pitcher of the Year:
Andy Marks
Sophomore left-hander
After eight starts where he gave up 14 home runs, Marks took over as Kansas' ace. He is second in the Big 12 with 83 strikeouts, and having pitched only 80 innings, he owns an astounding 9.34 strikeouts per nine innings. He's six strikeouts short of setting the sophomore record. Marks has also had some tough luck. Against Texas, with the wind blowing out, he gave up only four hits, but three were home runs. In his three starts before Wednesday, he allowed a total of four runs in 19 1/3 innings, but, with one Kansas run during that stretch, he had an 0-2 record to show for it. Already Kansas' best pitcher, Marks will only get better.
Kansas Newcomer of the Year:
Andres Esquibel
junior right-hander
Esquibel (6-3) had some rough outings here and there, but his 5.11 ERA is the second best on the team and his six wins are the team high. Since giving up five runs without recording an out April 3, he hasn't allowed an earned run in six of eight outings. Esquibel also became Kansas' top setup man. Without his ability to eat innings, having pitched 61 2/3 this season, Kansas' bullpen might be in shambles.
Kansas Freshmen of the Year:
Robby Price, third baseman, and
Wally Marcel, left-hander
Both Price and Marceli filled holes for the Jayhawks this season and came into their own during Big 12 play. Price was Kansas' starting third baseman from the onset, but against conference opponents he has the second-most hits, the third-best batting average and the third-highest on-base percentage on the team. Price also displayed a stellar glove at the hot corner with only nine errors. Marceli (4-2) began the season as a midweek starter, but took in the weekend rotation. In 24 innings pitched in April, he allowed three earned runs, dropping his ERA almost three points. In his last two starts of April, he helped Kansas avoid a Texas Tech sweep, and put Kansas in position to beat Oklahoma and win its first conference series of the season. Marceli joins Esquibel as the only Jayhawk pitchers with winning records.
Kansas Most Improved Player:
Kyle Murphy
Perhaps only Stouffier experienced a more drastic progression from last season than Murphy in the Big 12. This season he's upped his batting average 173 points, from .153 to .326, increased his slugging percentage 188 points, from .286 to .474, and boosted his on-base percentage 185 points, from .215 to .400. In less than twice the at-bats, Murphy has three times the runs, four times the hits, twice the home runs and nearly three times the RBL.
Kansan senior sportswriter Shawn Shroyer can be contacted at sshroyer@kansan.com.
Edited by Catherine Odson and Gabriella
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