SPORTS
THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2005
PAGE 1B
WWW.KANSAN.COM
Courthouses
BASEBALL: 12-5
Kansas wins easily
Bill Cross/KANSAN
Freshman pitcher Tyson Corley winds up during the bottom of the seventh inning yesterday as junior first baseman Jared Schweitzer protects his territory. Corley pitched one inning, allowing two hits and one run. Five Kansas pitchers, including freshman right-handed pitcher Matt Lane, took the mound for the jayhawks.
Bunts, singles sacrifices allow easy victory
BY BILL CROSS
bcross@hansan.com
KANSAN SENIOR SWIPTERWRIER
The Kansas baseball team finished its stint at the first-ever Best of the Midwest Tournament by defeating Sacramento State 12-5 yesterday afternoon.
The game, at Community America Ballpark, was less exciting than the Jayhawks' tournament debut, a 12-11 comeback-victory against New Mexico State. However, coach Ritch Price said the performance gave him high hopes for the rest of the Big 12 Conference season, which will resume this weekend.
"I was really hoping we'd get on a roll before the weekend," he said.
"Now we just have to maintain it."
Contributions from two freshmen, third baseman Erik Morrison and designated hitter John Allman, added to the Jayhawks' offensive production from the previous night.
"They're head and shoulders above where they were two months ago." Price said. "And in the next month, they can make that same kind of progress."
Allman, who leads the team in batting average, hit his first career home run in the second inning, and
set the score at 3-1. He said players had teased him about being a "singles guy," and said he was glad to get that monkey off his back.
His first home run was almost not; the ball barely cleared the low fence in right field.
"The wind helped a little," he said. "I hit it well, but the wind helped. It felt good off the bat."
By that time, the Jayhawks had already established the ability to move runners with bunts and sacrifice flies. In the first inning, junior outfielder Matt Baty and junior shortstop Ritchie Price hit back-to-back doubles. Baty scored, and sacrifices by the next two batters sent Ritchie Price home.
"We're really getting in a rhythm offensively," Ritchie Price said. "We hit well last week and we're hitting
well this week."
Junior outfielder A.J. Van Slyke hit his team-leading ninth home run of the season, a two-run hit, in the bottom of the third inning. But it was Kansas' singles, bunts and sacrifices that produced an easy victory.
After two scoreless innings, junior outfielder Gus Milner singled off new pitcher Mick Joyce, leading off the bottom of the sixth. Senior catcher Sean Richardson's sacrifice bunt moved Milner to second, and junior first baseman Jared Schweitzer, whose hitting streak ended at 15 games, popped up as Milner progressed to third.
The Jayhawks followed with three hits, scoring twice more. They left two on base that inning and
LAST NIGHT'S BOX SCORE
Kansas (27.20)
SEE BASEBALL ON PAGE 6B
Ranks in ABs
| Player | AB | R | H | RBI |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Matt Baty, cf | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Ritchie price, ss | 4 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| A.J. Van Slyke, ff | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Brock Simpson, ff | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Gus Milner, rf | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Sean Richardson, c | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Matt Berner, pf | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jared Schweitzer, 1b | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Mike Dudley, 1b | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| John Allman, dh | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Travis Dunlap, ph | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eric Snowden, ph | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ryne Price, 2b | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Erick Morrison, 3b | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Jake Kauzlarich, ph | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Totals | 36 | 12 | 15 | 12 |
♦ HR: Van Slyke, Allman
Sacramento State (18-24-1)
| Player | AB | R | H | RBI |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Jim Strombach, rf | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Pat Kepler, 2b | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Brian Blower, ib | 4 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Brett Flowers, dh | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Brian Conradi, lf | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Cliff Hinkle, ph | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Wilson, c | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Billy Sincori, bc | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Travis Kassbea, cf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pedro Santiago, ph | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Everet Rincon, ss | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Taylor Watanabe, ph | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 36 | 5 | 9 | 4 |
HR: Flowers
Score by inning
Kansas: 212 002 23x 12 15 12
Sacramento State: 100 001 102 5 9 1
R H E
12 15 9
12 5 9
12 5 9
Win: Land (4-4)
Loss: Christensen (2-2)
Save: None
Source: Kansas Athletics Department
THE RANT
RYAN COLAIANNI
rcolationni@kansan.com
Pitchers should hear a 'crack'
You've seen it before when you're watching a Major League Baseball game. A batter rips a liner directly back at the pitcher and hits him.
Sometimes it's ugly, with the pitcher holding his face as blood pours from it. But the bats used in these Major League Baseball games are wooden. What if the pitcher was hit with a ball off the barrel of a metal bat?
It has been fatal in some cases throughout the country, from the collegiate ranks down to Little League.
According to an article in the Montana Standard, an American Legion ball player died after being struck in the head by a line drive off a metal bat. The Montana State Legislature then tried to ban metal bats.
It is time for college baseball and the NCAA to get their acts together, and stop using metal bats.
A pitcher lying motionless on the ground is not a wanted scene in Hoglund Ballpark.
By allowing college athletes to use metal bats, pitchers are being set up for disaster.
There is little time for pitchers to react to liners coming back at them. The ball is hit back faster than it's pitched, potentially at 120 mph.
PROFILE
Getting hit in the temple could mean instant
SEE COLAIANNI ON PAGE 6B
BY KELLIIS ROBINETT
krobinett@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
Leadership role falls on Moody
They saw his skinny frame and heard about how he swallowed goldfish to motivate his teammates and assumed he was only on the team because he grew up in the same town as then-coach Roy Williams.
When Christian Moody was invited to walk on to the University of Kansas men's basketball team, fans didn't expect much out of him.
But the junior forward has destroyed that image since his freshman season.
The Asheville, N.C., native did everything his coaches asked and is now being awarded an athletic scholarship, which was made available because of freshman Alex Galindo's transfer.
He cracked the Jayhawk starting lineup while maintaining a near-perfect college GPA and played so well that CBS commentator Billy Packer called him the greatest walk-on in college basketball history.
During his rise to the top, Moody's attitude never changed. He still has a squeaky-clean image and doesn't ask—or want—to be the center of attention.
With the loss of four graduating seniors, next year's team is going to be young, especially at the forward position, and Moody will be the only senior with significant starting experience. The other incoming seniors, guards Jeff Hawkins and Stephen Vinson and forward Moulaye Niang, have played sparingly during their careers.
Moody has done more than anyone expected, but being a solid walk-on is no longer enough. Kansas coach Bill Self told Moody that he was raising the bar even higher for next year.
That may have to change
your seniors," he said. "They have a big responsibility, whether they're playing or not, and I want to take that leadership role on."
Moody said he would learn to inspire his teammates when they were frustrated and challenge them when they lacked effort.
Moody said becoming a leader would be a difficult task, but he has done it before.
"My senior year in high school, I tried to do the same thing," he said. "Being a senior comes with a totally different mind set. You know you're the oldest and have to be a leader."
Moody's father, Mark Moody, remembered the leadership role his son took during high school and said he excelled.
His high school team hovered around a .500 record during Christian Moody's junior year, but as a senior he led his team to the state semifinals before losing to the eventual state champions.
Mark Moody said Christian did a great job all year, averaging 12.8 points per game. But he remembered one play above the rest.
"In the third round of the playoffs, his team was down by nine with two minutes to go, and Christian led the comeback," Mark Moody said.
"My high school coach once told me you're only as good as
"He was playing against a 6 (foot) 9 kid who went on to play Division I basketball, and Christian dunked on him with 10 seconds to go to tie the game," he said. "He made several shots in overtime, but that was the key moment in that game. He made this ridiculous baseline move that no one expected, and just dunked on this guy."
The biggest difference between leading in high school and college will be talent. Christian Moody was one of the best players on his high school team, and everyone already looked up to him. At Kansas, he has to compete with past seniors that led teams to Final Fours.
"Our past seniors were the main guys on the floor. It's almost like their leadership was apparent without them having to say anything," he said. "My freshman year, we had two all Americans. This year, we had some amazing players that won some awards. That's going to be
"I don't think I've gotten on anyone in an angry way. That might need to change. If I have to get in somebody's face, then I'll do that"
Christian Moody Junior forward
tough for me to live up to, because I don't have trophies hanging on the wall."
To develop that unspoken leadership role, Christian Moody said he would need to have a more hands-on approach and would need to be more vocal. Even if it means getting angry at a teammate, which he said had never happened.
"I don't think I've gotten on anyone in an angry way." Moody said. "That might need to change. If I have to get in somebody's face, then I'll do that."
Mark Moody said his son would have no problem becoming more vocal with his teammates because he won his high school's spirit award.
"He always went to events like football and baseball games and got the crowd fired up." Mark Moody said. "He didn't paint his body or anything like that, but he just had this personality that inspired people."
With all the pressure on Christian Moody to break away from his walk-on image and to become the leader of a team like Kansas, you might think he would dedicate his entire summer to the task. But other than a few meetings with Self, he said he wasn't going to do much to develop leadership skills. He said he already had them.
"I'm not worried about it," he said. "I think I've got it in me."
Edited by Ross Fitch
Kansan file photo
Junior forward Christian Moody guards a Bucknell player during the March 18 first-round loss at the NCAA Tournament in Oklahoma City.
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