THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY,APRIL 16,2007
SPORTS
3B
BASEBALL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
"My stuff was getting a little less sharp as the innings were going on, and it was time to get somebody else in there." Ashwood said. "But I was happy with my outing."
Entering the game with a 3-2 lead, the young reliever finished out the sixth unscathed but gave up Ashwood's chance for the victory in the seventh. It was a spell of shoddy defense that actually had the larger hand in the Bears' tying it up.
An error at second gave left fielder Ben Booker a free pass that led to the unearned run that tied the game at three. The score remained even until Price's home run.
Sophomore closer Paul Smyth (3- 2) picked up the victory when he came in the top of the ninth to shut the door on the Bears.
"That's baseball for you. It's good one game and the next game it doesn't go as good for you," junior shortstop Erik Morrison said. "You've got to keep battling through it. It's definitely a low point, but we've got to keep as much composure as possible."
Price's walk-off made for a dramatic victory but didn't do much for the Jayhawks' momentum. Only 30 minutes from one to the next, game two of Sunday's doubleheader went much differently than game one.
"I think we came out in the first game ready to play and then it seemed like maybe we were just cruising in the second game, but it happens," Ashwood said.
The second game of the dav and
final game of the series followed a path similar to the first game, minus the lead. Entering the sixth, Baylor held a 3-1 lead, compared to the 3-0 deficit the team faced in game one after five.
Home runs again played a large part, but this time all on the Bears' behalf. Baylor hit four out in the third game of the series while Kansas didn't honer even once.
Sophomore lefty Andy Marks (3-4) threw a decent start, just as Ashwood did in game one, allowing just five hits for three runs.
All three runs, however, were scored via home runs, including a pair of back-to-back shots to center fielder Chase Gerdes and shortstop Beamer Weems in the top of the fourth, a first for a Kansas pitcher this season.
"The reason why a lot of that happens is sometimes when you're pitching behind in the count, you have to throw a fastball, you have to throw a strike." Ashwood said. "Guys are going to be ready for that. Some of the balls were hit really well and some of them aren't hit that well, but they still get out."
Despite the different results, Kansas matched game one's three-error count in the second game, giving the defense a total of eight errors for the weekend.
In the seventh, Baylor transformed its lead from a slight advantage to a secured victory with a pair of Jayhawk errors. When first baseman Dustin Dickerson hit by a pitch, he stole second and landed on third
Kansas 4, Baylor 3
Baylor 6, Kansas 2
Baylor 000 002 100 — 3 31 1
Kansas 001 020 100 — 4 10 3
Randall Linebaugh, Aaron Williams (6), Tim Matthews (6), Cliff Springston (8), Willie Kempf (8) and Matt Sodolak; Zach Ashwood, Wally Marcelic (6), Paul Smyth (9) and Buck Afenir. W — Smyth 3-2. L — Kempf 1-1.2 BU — Chase Gerdes; KU: Brock Simpson. HR — BU: Aaron Miller; KU: John Allman, Ryne Price.
Baylor 000 201 210 — 6101
Kansas 001 000 100 — 293
Kendal Volz, Cliff Springston (6), Nick Cassavechia (2) and Matt Czimskyem; Andy Marks, Hiarali Garcia (7), Andres Esquibel (8) and Dylan Parzyk and Afenir. W — Volz 5-1. L — Marks 3-4. S — Cassavechia. 2B — BU: Dustin Dickerson, Czimskyem, Shaver Hansen; KU: Kyle Murphy, HR — BU: Gerdes, Beamer Weems, Miller.
RECORDS — BAYLOR 21-17, 6-9; KANSAS 19-22, 5-10.
because of a catcher's error.
"Errors are going to happen," Morrison said. "Just try to eliminate them as much as possible and get the next guy for a chance to redeem yourself later in the game. But we never get down on each other. Once you get down on someone it's just going to spiral out of control and that's no good."
An RBI double knocked Dickerson home. Another infield error kept the inning alive long enough for the Bears to push the lead to 5-1.
The Jayhawks kept kicking, finishing the series finale with nine hits to Baylor's 10. The battling of Kyle Murphy and Robby Price drove in another run, but it would be the last of the series. The Bears' fourth home run of the game negated the last-stitch effort.
"When I looked at the board one time and we have seven hits and only one run," coach Price said. "We had some opportunities with the right guys up. We just weren't able to capitalize."
Baylor closer Nick Cassavechia saw to that. The right-hander picked up his seventh save, tossing three innings without giving up a run or a hit.
"Doubleheaders are hard no matter who you're playing, what time you start the game," Ashwood said. "It's hard to go out and win two games straight against the same team."
Kansan senior sportswriter Alissa Bauer can be contacted at abauer@kansan.com.
Edited by Ashley Thompson
>> MLB
Arizona stumps Colorado in third of series
Umpire C.B. Buckner, left, takes his stance behind Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Chris Snyder, during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies Sunday in Phoenix. Like many players, Buckner wore number 42, in honor of Jackie Robinson.
BY BOB BAUM ASSOCIATED PRESS
PHOENIX — The "elder states man" had a big dav for Arizona.
Tony Clark drove in three runs with two homers and the Diamondbacks beat Colorado 6-4 on Sunday to take two of three from the Rockies.
"We're a talented group," Clark said. "We're a very young group. That being said, these guys come to the ballpark every day trying to be better than they were the day before. We're doing our best and they're doing their best to shorten the learning curve."
It was the 22nd multihomer game for the 34-year-old Clark, one of many major leaguers who wore a No. 42 jersey to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's major league debut.
Clark started for the second straight game at first base, a position normally occupied by young Conor jackson.
"He's the elder statesman," manager Bob Melvin said of Clark. "Tony is definitely a leader here, just as much in the clubhouse as on the field, especially on a day like this, when he's wearing No. 42. To have a big day, I know, is a special day for him."
"I ain't talking about no hitting," the superstitious second baseman said, after pushing his average to.412.
So Clark spoke for him
"O' is simply doing what 'O' is capable of doing," Clark said. "He started off slow last year, but the remaining 70 percent of the season he had a tremendous year, and all lie's done is carry that over."
After getting the first two outs in the ninth, Jose Valverde walked Helton and Matt Holliday. Valverde then struck out Jeff Baker looking for his sixth save in seven
Todd Helton hit his first home run of the season for the Rockies, a solo shot in the fourth.
chances.
The Diamondbacks jumped on Colorado's Byung-Hyun Kim for four runs in the first inning after the Rockies had scored a pair off Doug Davis.
Kim, the former Diamondback, was on the mound because scheduled starter Rodrigo Lopez was pushed back to Wednesday because of right elbow inflammation.
Two scored on sacrifice flies by Chad Tracy and Eric Brynes, then Clark hit a 2-0 pitch 420 feet onto the walkway in center field, a two-run hero that made it 4-2.
Arizona loaded the bases without an out on a walk to Stephen Drew and singles by Alberto Callaspo and Orlando Hudson.
Clark's second homer, leading off the fourth, put Arizona ahead 5-4. Kim (1-2) left after that with a bruised right thumb. The ex-
Willie Taveras' suicide squeeze scored Troy Tulowitzki to make it 4-3 in the second inning, then Helton had singled in a run in the center
— who had singled in a run in the first — lined one into the left-center seats to tie it at 4.
He said the thumb had been numb since he was jammed at the plate early in the game, but said he didn't want to take himself out because Colorado was short on available pitchers.
Diamondback closer pitched three plus innings, allowing five runs on five hits.
"I have to pitch more innings.
After I gave up the (last) home run, the next pitch was a ball, and then I really couldn't hold the ball," he said.
Arizona's sixth run came on Scott Hairston's two-out single in the fifth.
Four Diamondbacks relievers blanked the Rockies on one hit the final four innings.
Pitching woes haunt Jayhawks
BY SHAWN SHROYER
Coming into the weekend, Kansas' key to success was its pitching staff.
The problem certainly hadn't been scoring runs. Kansas had scored at least six runs in its eight games leading up to the Baylor series and was averaging more than eight runs during that span. Still, the Jayhawks had a 3-5 record to show for it.
On the other hand, Kansas' pitching staff had struggled mightily in Big 12 Conference play. The layhawks' weekend starters — sophomore Nick Czyz, junior Zach Ashwood and sophomore Andy Marks — had a combined 7.65 ERA against conference opponents.
Those trends went by the way side against Baylor as Kansas wasted solid performances from its starting pitchers and cemented itself as the last-place team in the Big 12.
Czyz got the first taste of disappointment Saturday afternoon.
After battling a tight tricep all week, Czyz allowed three runs in five innings, striking out four for arguably his best outing since March 10. But the Kansas offense mustered only two runs on five hits, stranding seven runners.
"I told him that's as competitive as he's been since he's been here," Kansas coach Ritch Price said of Czyz on Saturday. "He was in trouble and out of trouble and made some big pitches"
Sunday's doubleheader was more of the same for Jawhayk starting pitches, but not for lack of effort by the offense.
Kansas collected 19 hits in the doubleheader. That total translated
to only six runs as 22 men were left on base.
Ashwood got the start in game one and allowed only two runs in 51/3 innings.
Ashwood was just glad Kansas eventually won, evening the series.
Unfortunately, Ashwood wasn't rewarded for his effort with a victory. Three runs of support by his offense left a slim margin for error for the bullpen and, as fate would have it, an error erased the Kansas advantage.
"I don't really care who the win goes under as long as our team's getting wins and getting into the Big 12 Tournament so we can see what we can do from there," Ashwood said.
The Jayhawks' Big 12 Tournament hopes took a heavy blow when Kansas gave Marks only two runs of support in game two. Marks struck out eight in six innings, allowing zero walks and five hits. But, three of the five hits were home runs and he was charged with four earned runs.
"Their guys were throwing 90, 91 and 92 and they were using the change-up. When you're geared to hit the fastball, it's really hard to make that adjustment as a hitter," Price said.
Kansas bats did little to keep Marks from taking the loss. The Jayhawks had nine hits, but nine runners were left on base, resulting in just two runs.
Price credited his counterpart, Baylor coach Steve Smith, for his team's offensive woes.
Kansan senior sportswriter Shawn Shroyer can be contacted at sshroyer@kansan.com.
— Edited by Mark Vierthaler
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