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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
FRIDAY. APRIL 22, 2005
BASEBALL
3-game series big for Kansas
Rylan Howe/KANSAN
Struggling Jayhawks seek triple victories against Red Raiders to break five-game losing streak
Junior pitcher Kodiak Quick throws the ball back to first base trying to catch a Baylor player leading off during the game last Friday at Hoglund Ballpark. Quick will start the first game of the series against Texas Tech at 6:30 p.m. in Lubbock, Texas.
BY MATT WILSON
mwilson@kansan.com
KANSAN SKORTWITTER
The Kansas baseball team will try to snap its current fivegame losing streak this weekend when it travels to Lubbock, Texas, to play a Big 12 Conference series with Texas Tahw
Kansa s' struggles stem from both sides of the ball. In last week's four losses, the Jayhawks (24-19, 3-9 Big 12) scored only nine
Van Slyke
total runs. The bats seem to be heating up, however. In Wednesday's 11-9 loss to Wichita State, Kansas matched its total from the previous week.
"We've been struggling with the bats for about a week, so it's good to get some good swings and some confidence," junior outfielder A.J. Van Slyke said. "We're going to have to score a lot of runs against Texas Tech. They're a good team."
The Red Raiders (24-13, 6-8) are led offensively by senior shortstop Cameron Blair. He is hitting .391 on the season with 12 home runs and 44 RBI.
Texas Tech has struggled on the mound this season. As a team they have an ERA of 5.39. Tech allowed 24 runs in a three-game series against Kansas State last weekend.
Kansas coach Ritch Price said this weekend would present the biggest three-game stretch that the Jayhawks had
"We've been struggling with the bats for about a week, so it's good to get some good swings and some confidence. We're going to have to score a lot of runs against Texas Tech." A.J.Van Slyke
played so far this season.
"We went there two years ago and won the series," Price said. "It propelled us to a series win the next weekend. We're in the same must-win situation now."
Jayhawk pitching was solid at times last week. They threw well in a 5-1 loss at Wichita State, and Sunday's game against Baylor saw a great starting effort by junior Kodiak Quick go to waste in the ninth inning. Price said the pitching staff would be all right despite its recent struggles, including Wednesday's game.
"It might be the change in routine," Price said, referring to his decision to change the pitching rotation for this weekend and senior Mike Zagurski's struggles Wednesday night. "Hopefully Z will be fine this weekend when we get to Texas Tech."
Price said he felt that the recent losing ways had snow-
balled on the Jayhawks.
"When you've lost tour or five in a row, it's tough," Price said. "You feel like every time you're at the plate you're down and you've got to get a base hit to tie the game. We just have to be strong enough and tough enough to get through it."
The Red Raiders are struggling as well. They enter this series after losing two out of three to Kansas State in Manhattan last weekend. They sit in sixth place
in the conference.
"They're a quality team," Price said. "They're a completely different team at home than they are on the road. We're going to have to go in and pitch well, play as good a defense as we did Sunday against Baylor and get our bats going again, too."
Game times for the weekend are 6:30 p.m today, 2 p.m. tomorrow and 1 p.m. Sunday.
Edited by Lori Bettes
NFL
Defensive drafts weak for Chiefs
BY DOUG TUCKER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In Carl Peterson's first draft as the Kansas City Chiefs' general manager, he picked Derrick Thomas. In the 15 drafts since, just two of his other defensive picks have made the Pro Bowl.
It's a slump that Peterson doesn't have much time to break.
For the past three seasons, the Chiefs' offense has set all sorts of records, sending five players to the Pro Bowl last season. But Trent Green, Priest Holmes, Willie Roaf and Will Shields aren't getting any younger, and playing with a defense that has ranked at the bottom of the league for three straight seasons has kept them from posting a single playoff win.
Should Peterson again fail to find a defensive star in the draft, the Chiefs could end up looking back at the first years of the 21st century as a wasted opportunity.
Peterson won't say who he has on the draft board. But with the 15th pick, cornerbacks Carlos Rogers of Auburn and Adam "Pacman" Jones of West Virginia and linebackers Kevin Burnett of Tennessee and Darryl Blackstock of Virginia are all possibilities.
After the 2003 season, the Chiefs chose to stand pat with their defensive personnel, replacing only coordinator Greg Robinson with former coach Gunther Cunningham. The new attitude and new scheme made little difference, as did the play of 2004 top choice Junior Slavii.
This offseason, Peterson has been active in the free agent market. Already signed are inside linebacker Kendrell Bell, safety Sammy Knight and reserve passrush specialist Carlos Hall.
Still pending is a possible trade with Miami for three-time Pro
Bowl cornerback Patrick Surtain, which could affect Kansas City's draft day strategy. The Chiefs have been haggling for weeks with the Dolphins and Surtain's agent, and Peterson cautioned this week that the deal may not get done.
The team has yet to work out a contract agreement with Surtain and they're still arguing about compensation with the Dolphins, who want a second-round pick.
"I do not want to give up our second draft choice, no," Peterson said. "We feel that we can draft a very good football player in the second round with the 46th pick. That's where I've been from the beginning with this thing."
The Chiefs could also wind up dealing 2006 draft choices to the Dolphins.
If the Chiefs do draft a quality defensive player, it will be the first in some time. Along with Siavili, the team's recent failures include tackle Ryan Sims, who has yet to show the promise expected of the sixth overall pick of 2002.
But Peterson said it's mostly members of the media who are bothered by the team's draft record.
"It's not dead, and it really doesn't have to happen before the draft," Peterson said. "We're running out of time to get it done before this particular draft."
"We have 72,000 season ticket holders," Peterson said. "We've renewed 95 percent of those people again this year.
"I haven't had a letter or a fax or a phone call from any of those people. And honest to goodness, I haven't had any letters from outside of that, if you want to say, sphere of people who I consider real Kansas City Chiefs fans because they step up each year and put their money down and say, 'I'm here to see the Chiefs.'"
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