THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY,MAY 2,2007
SPORTS
3B
SARRAF (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
big man on campus is not the most important thing to players anymore. While I'm sure Rush would love a chance to hang his jersey in the rafters of Allen Fieldhouse, a year of NBA salary is likely more important to him.
Rather, as fans we should thank Rush and Wright for the years they gave us. The last two seasons have been full of entertaining basketball and a lot of victories.
Kansan columnist Kayvon Sarraf is a Lawrence senior in journalism.
Edited by James Pinick
SOFTBALL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
tories.
Sophomore shortstop Stevie Crisosto leads the offense with a .310 batting average and 32 runs scored.
Sophomore catcher Elle Pottorf is swinging the bat well leading the team in RBI (37) and slugging percentage .500).
Humphreys has been back on track as well as recording a team high 18 victories on the season while holding a 2.15 ERA.
Sophomore pitcher Valerie George (9-4) leads the pitching staff with a 1.90 ERA.
"We know who we are; we know what we do well," Bunge said.
Kansan sportswriter Evan Kafarakis can be contacted at ekafarakis@kansan.com.
Edited by James Pinick
MURPHY (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
"Going into the season, I knew I needed to just throw all that out the window and be able to go in every day and have fun, enjoy putting my uniform on when I got to the field, enjoy going out and shagging fly balls and enjoy myself," Murphy said.
Baseball didn't instantly become all fun and games for Murphy. He worked religiously to improve himself as a hitter and an outfielder.
For help in those areas, he turned to former Jayhawk center
fielder Matt
Baty. Baty was a
four-year starter
for Kansas
and, from him,
Murphy learned
how to better
analyze the game.
"I learned a lot about the game and the game inside the game," Murphy
one incident. Baty was one of Murphy's biggest supporters during his struggles at the plate and, although Baty works in Dallas for the Big 12 Conference, the two still talk over the phone at least once a week.
Murphy speared Baty on the play, busting up his own face and lacerating Baty's spleen, which kept Baty out for several weeks.
"We always joke around that I destroyed his good looks because he got a big of scar from his nose down and how he beat me up because I spent so much time in the hospital." Baty said.
It could be said that Baty gave Murphy a crash course lesson on playing outfield when the two collided trying to catch a line drive to left-center against Lipscomb last season.
Good friends at the time of the collision. Baty said the two became best friends following
Come January, it was clear that even with Baty's help, Murphy still had to produce on offense to be in the starting lineup.
said. "He was a big guy on making the pitcher work when he was on the bases and there's a lot of aspects where he wasn't the most talented guy, but he got the most out of his abilities. The one thing I learned is that regardless of ability, you can be the best you can be by just being smart and intelligent about playing the game."
"I had so much stress built up, it was almost like catching a second wine, like I was just able to relax and put things behind me."
At the Kansas baseball media
KYLE MURPHY Center fielder
he'd be the happiest coach in the country.
baseball media day, coach Ritch' Price said Murphy would get every opportunity to be the team's starting center fielder because his glove was so valuable. If Murphy managed to hit 250, Price said
"We wanted him to be our center fielder," Price said. "He's so special with the glove in his hand. In my 29 years of coaching, he's the best defensive outfielder I've ever coached."
Considering the season Murphy has put together, Price must be absolutely giddy.
After an 0-for-3 day in the season opener, Murphy went on a tear, batting .389 in his next 10 games from the ninth spot in the order. But even when Price struggled to find a reliable leadoff hitter, he was hesitant to throw Murphy into the role.
"I was afraid if I moved him to the top of the lineup, he'd see more breaking balls, he'd see more change ups, he'd get pitched a lot tougher than he would in the nine hole and then he might start to struggle." Price said.
Price eventually did move Murphy to the top of the order and it appeared his fears had come to fruition as Murphy went 0-for-10
in his first three games as Kansas' leadoff hitter.
Then Murphy broke out, going 1-for-2 with three runs against Tabor, followed by a 3-for-5 performance against nationally ranked Arkansas with a home run, five RBI and two runs. Since, he's produced like the leadoff hitter Price envisioned when he recruited Murphy at Indian Hills Community College.
Murphy has upped his batting average 162 points from last season to .315, good for the second best average on the team. He leads the Jayhawks with 56 hits and 12 stolen bases and is tied for the lead with 39 runs scored and 82 total bases.
But without his new outlook on baseball, that first hitless afternoon could have gotten the best of Murphy, stunting his senior season.
"Now when I go 0-for-4, I look at that and compare it to last season and realize it's not a big deal." Murphy said. "I went 0-for-4 several times over last year."
Even when Murphy does go hitless at the plate, he remains an asset on the field.
With his speed and ability to read hits off the bat, center field is where fly balls have gone to
die for Kansas' opponents. At the same time, his cannon for an arm has amassed a team-best six outfield assists this season, forcing base runners to think twice about testing him.
Murphy's prowess as an outfielder even impressed his peers.
From the fans
Kyle Murphy's relentless work habits haven't gone unnoticed by his peers. The quotes below provide a glimpse into Murphy's dedication to becoming a better player:
"He is special," Tucker said. "You can't necessarily coach what he brings to the table. He's naturally athletic, he's gifted with a great arm and he's got the work ethic to go along with it. He's got the whole package."
— Ritch Price,
Kansas head coach
"I'm really pleased and really happy for him. He's a very, very hard-working young man and there's probably no player in America who's spent more time working on his swing individually."
"The guy can just straight go
"He sets the bar for everybody else, especially being a senior. Coming early, staying late and taking pride in what he does has all paid off for him. I don't think anybody could be as happy as we are of his progress and what he's done this year."
— Kevin Tucker, Kansas assistant coach
"There's nobody who can match his desire and his love for the game."
"He's naturally athletic, he's gifted with a great arm and he's got the work ethic to go along with it. He's got the whole package."
— Matt Baty,
former Kansas center fielder
out and get the ball," Baty said. "He has the best hands I've seen out in the outfield. He gets to balls you just dream of getting to."
Baty did radio commentary for Kansas' series at Texas Tech two weekends ago and said Murphy was the best center fielder held ever played with.
KEVIN TUCKER Assistant coach
--playing professional baseball was his ultimate goal, but the thought was inconceivable at times. Then again, he's already gone further in baseball than he ever thought possible.
"Being in a major program like this was something that I wasn't really sure was possible," Murphy said. "I came to junior college where
N o w equipped with the offensive production to complement his defense, all of Murphy's hard work may end up paying off in the form of a professional contract.
we were buying our T-shirts and cleats. Coming to a program like this, I was really blown away with how we were treated and the things we were given to perform each day"
The consensus among Murphy's coaches is that this June, Murphy will be packing his bags again. But this time it will be to begin his professional baseball career.
"He's put up some good numbers offensively and defensively, I think he could jump right in at that level," Tucker said. "If somebody gives him a good opportunity, he's really going to make them happy."
However, Murphy is enjoying his last few weeks as a college baseball player. He'll worry about the summer when the time comes.
"There's a good chance I'll be able to do that," Murphy said, "but that's something that's in the future and right now I need to stay focused on the present of winning some games and making the Big 12 Tournament."
Kansan sportswriter Shawn Shroyer can be contacted at sshroyer@ kansan.com.
BASEBALL
— Edited by Katie Sullivan
Kansas looks to sharpen skills in nonconference match-up
Preparing for the Swedes
BY ALISSA BAUER
The Bethany Swedes, Kansas' fourth NAIA opponent this season, enters tonight's match-up as the toughest one yet.
Coach Ritch Price has stressed the importance of games like these. Being in game situations against live pitching gives each team the chance to stay sharp, despite not being in the same division, and allows him to get his younger guys some extra playing time.
The competition the Swedes will likely provide may be Price's favorite part.
Kansas (22-26, 8-13 Big 12)
The Jayhawks are soaring after
picking up their first Big 12 series victory at Oklahoma last weekend. Out of the conference cellar, Price said on Sunday that his team now controlled its own destiny, and a victory tonight would keep them on the right track.
Senior center fielder Kyle Murphy and sophomore catcher Buck Afenir are on pace to make sure that happens. Each tallied four hits and four RBI against the Sooners last weekend, hitting safely at least once in all three games.
Bethany College (33-14, 18-6 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference) Despite falling to No. 10
Wichita State 13-6 on Monday, the Swedes also enter tonight flying high. Saturday, the Swedes defeated Friends University to clinch the KCAC regular season title.
In their last time out, against WSU, shortstop Keenan Dukes homered in the second at bat of the game and finished the evening 2-3. Third baseman Shaun Ravenscraft also held his own against the in-state powerhouse, hitting 2-4 with threeRBs.
Kansan senior sportswriter Alissa Bauer can be contacted at abauer@kansan.com.
Edited by Trevan McGee
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