WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2005
2B THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
ATHLETICS CALENDAR
TODAY
* Softball vs. Missouri, 4 p.m., Arrocha Ballpark
* Baseball vs. Wichita State, 7 p.m., Wichita
TOMORROW
♦ Soccer vs. KCFC U-15 (exhibition), 6 p.m.
Jayhawk Soccer Complex
FRIDAY
◆ Baseball vs. Texas, 6 p.m., Hoglund Ballpark
SATURDAY
♦ Softball at Iowa State, 2 p.m., Ames, Iowa
♦ Baseball vs. Texas, 6 p.m., Hoglund Ballpark
SUNDAY
SUNDAY
Baseball vs. Texas, noon, Hoglund Ballpark
Softball at Iowa State, noon, Ames, Iowa
FOOTBALL
High school wide receiver makes verbal commitment
The Kansas Jayhawks have received their first verbal commitment for next year from Xavier Rambo, a wide receiver from Dallas, according to rivals.com.
The 5-foot-1 wide out was also considering Texas and Texas A&M.
Texas and Texas Rams
Rambo is a junior at Wilmer-Hutchins High School in Dallas. He ran a 4,4 40-yard dash time.
School in Dallas. He ran a 4.4 40-yard dash time. Rambo is also a track athlete, competing in the triple jump.
"I feel relieved to know where my future is," Rambo told rivals.com. "Now I can just focus on my senior season and have a good year. I feel like a lot of pressure is off."
— Ryan Colaianni
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Former Mizzou player faces charges for brandishing gun
Police said Ferguson, 23, was arrested about 2 a.m. Saturday after he reportedly brandished a weapon outside an apartment complex after residents complained that someone had taken their parking spot.
Ferguson is charged with two counts of third-degree assault, each carrying a possible 15-day jail term, assistant Boone County prosecutor Steven Berry said yesterday.
The Associated Press
Ferguson initially was charged with felony unlawful use of a firearm, but that count was dropped Monday.
MLB
Pitcher begins to overcome rocky past with Cardinals
ST. LOUIS — Last year, the St. Louis Cardinals became the sixth team in six often tumultuous seasons for Julian Tavarez. And finally, the pitcher most likely to get the bulk of the save opportunities while Jason Isringhausen is on the disabled list appears to have found a home.
Tavarez arrived in St. Louis with baggage that likely kept him on the move. He's been suspended at least five times and his left hand still feels the effects of his attack of a dugout phone in the playoffs against Houston, when he broke his left finger and fifth metacarpal.
The pinky is unnaturally bent.
The pinky is unhappy. "It's still messed up and when the weather is cold, it hurts," Tavarez said. "I don't mind. I will live."
live Tavarez, who will turn 32 later this month, has been effective starting and relieving in his career. He led the NL with 89 appearances with the Giants in 1997 and made 55 starts in 2001 and 2002 for the Cubs and Marlins. Last year, he had a career-best 2.38 ERA and appeared in 77 games with St. Louis.
"I would want to stay here for the rest of my career," Tavarez said. "But I won't be surprised when it's time to leave. That's the way it goes."
Kansas aims to split with Shockers
BY MATT WILSON
mwilson@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
Bragging rights will be on the line tonight in Wichita when the Kansas baseball team takes on instate rival Wichita State in the final of four games between the teams this season.
The Shockers lead the series 2-1. Kansas won the opening game this year in Lawrence, but Wichita State has won the last two. The Shockers took the last meeting, in Wichita, 5-1.
wichita, Kansas (30-21) is striving to continue its winning ways and earn a split of the season series with Wichita State. The Jayhawks have won six of their last seven, including their first Big 12 series victory against Kansas State last weekend.
The Shockers (38-15) have also been on a tear. They have won three out of four games, seven of their last 10 and 14 of their last 19.
Freshman right-hander Tyson Corley will start for the lawhayes. He has seen more action lately after moving into the starting rotation during the last two Big 12 series. His record is 1-0 with a 6.38 ERA.
They sit in second place in the Missouri Valley Conference, behind Creighton.
ERA.
Wichita State will counter with freshman left-hander Rob Musgrave. He is 1-0 with a 4.09 ERA in two starts.
Kansas coach Ritch Price said it was important for his team to focus on this game and not look ahead to this weekend's game against Texas.
"It's going to be a difficult game for us," Price said. "We have to make sure our entire pitching staff and bullpen are ready for the weekend, so we need to have a solid game against Wichita State."
But Price is not worried about his players.
"They did a good job of taking care of what they needed to do
TONIGHT'S STARTERS
Two freshmen will take the mound in Wichita tonight.
Starter Record ERA
Tyson Corley (KU) 1-0 6.38
Rob Musgrave (WSU) 1-0 4.09
Source: Kansas and Wichita State Athletics Departments
against Kansas State before looking forward to Texas." Price said. "They are aware of what is ahead, but they will be ready to play."
but they did it.
Junior first baseman Jared Schweitzer has been the big story for the past few weeks. He is in the midst of an 19-game hitting streak, and has the longest streak this season in the Big 12. Nebraska's Joe Simokaitis had an 18-game streak earlier this year.
earlier this year.
"I think it's the hair that does it."
Schweitzer said of his Samson-like locks.
"I'm not going to cut it until the streak ends."
Speaking of streaks, Wichita
State's Derek Schermhorn had an impressive streak of his own earlier this year. The Shockers' leading hitter had a 34-game hitting streak snapped in game two of a double-header with Northern Iowa on April 17. It was the second-longest hitting streak in Wichita State history.
Wichita State holds a 39-19 advantage against Kansas in the alltime series between the two teams. This is the first time since 1992 that the Jayhawks and Shockers have met four times in a season. WSU won all four match-ups that year.
— Edited by Kim Sweet Rubenstein
BASEBALL
Kansas' greatness newly visible
BY ALISSA BAUER
@hanssan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
The scenery is changing at Hoglund Ballpark this spring.
Hoguido Sapporo No, not because of the ESPN equipment trucks that will surround the area as Kansas prepares to face No. 1 Texas on national television this weekend.
The new scoreboard at Hoglund Ballpark was in operation last night for the Jayhawks' game against the St. Mary's Spires. A new feature of the scoreboard shows the recorded speed of each pitch. The Jayhawks beat the Spires 8-3.
Look to right field and see a change that represents something much bigger, something that gives tangible proof that Kansas baseball is traveling down a road much improved, said Jim Marchiony, associate athletics director of external affairs. By adding the 35-by-60-foot scoreboard in place of an older, much smaller model along with an indoor hitting facility, Kansas is making a statement.
making a strides.
"I think that both the hitting facility and the new scoreboard are long overdue," Marchiony said. "I think it's two steps closer now to where we want to be, as far as having a good facility that will help us recruit players. The kind of players coach Ritch [Price] needs to make strides in the Big 12."
Not that the new equipment will make the Jayhawks College World Series champions overnight, but the new scoreboard brings an appeal that has been missing in recruiting visits.
High school and junior college recruits who would otherwise choose to play Kansas baseball are sometimes wooed by other Big 12 Conference schools, or in-state rivals such as Wichita State, with better equipment and facilities.
"It's all about recruiting," coach Ritch Price said. "As our program improves, and if we are going to get better players and better pitching, we have to continue to improve our facility because they are so great in our conference."
The portion of the scoreboard that is up and running includes an electric inning-by-inning scoreboard, a graphics board and full-color ads along the sides. Even
with these additions, the structure looks incomplete. Beneath the Hoglund Ballpark lettering and above the electronic scoreboard and graphics board is a gaping hole, filled only with the steel bar frame. The opening is to allow space for a video board in the future. Funding will not allow for that addition to be made now.
"We built it so that we could go that route if we wanted to in the future," Marchiony said. "There is no time table for that. It's something we need to figure out as we go along."
go along.
The total cost of the scoreboard is about $125,000 with an approximate $25,000 more for installation. After funding such a project, it may be a while before the video board is added.
board is audited.
"The scoreboard is like $125,000 and the hitting facility is
$700,000," Price said. "Lew Perkins picked up the tab for the scoreboard. Some of our boosters and alumni donated to pay for the hitting facility. Right now I think it is a gorgeous ballpark."
is a gorgeous building. Although the indoor hitting facility and scoreboard are being constructed at the same time, the two are completely unrelated projects, Marchiony said.
Scoreboard construction began in January after an unopposed decision that it was sorely needed at Hoglund Ballpark. The plans were set so the project to be completed in time for the Texas series this weekend, a series that will be televised on ESPN and ESPNU.
"It wasn't really a difficult decision to know that it needed to be upgraded," Marchiony said. "All we needed to do was look at the scoreboard itself. Its shortcomings
were painfully obvious."
were pannantly Making good time, the scoreboard was up and running last weekend and made its debut as the Jayhawks defeated the Kansas State Wildcats.
Making vast improvements to the scoreboard after only a year and a half with the previous one shows how committed Kansas is to making its baseball program one to be reckoned with, Marchiony said.
"It speaks to our commitment and desire for all sports here to be competitive, in the Big 12 and nationally," he said. "We're very pleased with the progress that Ritch is making. We are going to attempt to do anything we can do to help him improve the program even more."
— Edited by Jesse Truesdate
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