UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Monday, May 5.1997
3B
Future bright for baseball even with loss of 8 seniors
Geoff Krieger / KANSAN
Kansas shortstop DeJearm puts a late tag on a Kansas State runner after a pickoff attempt at second base. DeMarco is one of eight seniors graduating from Kansas this year.
By Harley V. Ratliff Kansan sportswriter
You may have noticed the bright light emanating from just south of Allen Field House. Look closely. It's the future of Kansas baseball.
Even as the Jayhawks close the season on a disappointing note, falling it to make it to postseason play, the prospects for Kansas baseball seem to be looking up.
"My expectations for this team are very high," Kansas head coach Bobby Randall said. "We need our players to have good summers and keep getting better."
The Jayhawks head into next season with a strong returning lineup and a deep, although young, pitching staff. Unlike this season, when Kansas depended heavily on freshman, the Jayhawks will have several proven pitchers.
This season's offense, expected to experience a drop in production from last year's record-setting performance, surpassed all preseason expectations. While the Jayhawks will lose several key offensive players, a considerable amount of talent returns.
Three players who will be looked to as leaders next season will be soo-to-be juniors Andy Juday and Les Walrond and senior Josh Dimmuck. Both Juday and Walrond turned it up a notch from their freshman year.
Walrond produced early in the season, providing several clutch home runs. The Tulsa, Olda, product also
became an everyday starter in the outfield.
Juday, who didn't regularly crack the starting lineup until mid-season, will give the Jawhays an anchor in the infield next year. He finished the year strongly, hitting nine home runs in his last 24 games.
"We're close to being a great ball club," Juday said. "It's going to be exciting. We have some new recruits coming in. I'm not ready to have this season over with yet, but I'm looking forward to getting back out here in the fall."
To go along with a number of quality players, Kansas will showcase a refurbished Hoglund-Maupin Stadium. Thanks to a donation of more
than $1 million from Kansas alumnus Forrest Hogland, the Jahawks will have new seating, dugouts and locker rooms.
Although the future appears rosy, Kansas will not enter next year completely unscathed. The Jayhawks will lose eight players from graduation. That list includes shortstop Joe Demarco, centerfielder Justin Headley and pitches Tim Lyons and Josh Wingerd.
Replacing Demarco and Headley will be difficult. The two provided offensive muscle and leadership on and off the field. Demarco, who turned in one of the Big 12 Conference's best seasons, could prove to be irreplaceable. The senior from
Tamarac, Fla., was the Jayhawks' best and most consistent player. He ignited the offense from his lead-off spot with his speed on the base paths and shored up the defense with his sparking love.
Headley finished with 63 doubles, more than any player in Kansas history.
Juday said the of the seniors, "They were the heart of the team. Without those guys we were nothing. Every one of the seniors — they have meant so much to this ball club."
Headley said, "I'll never forget the guys I played with and the teams I played on. I'll always keep in touch with these guys. I have a lot of memories to look back on."
honorary bricks, which will recognize baseball letter winners and financial donors.
Continued from Page 1B
RENOVATIONS
The renovation, which is being designed by Glenn Livengood Penzler Architects, will begin in September. Officials expect the majority of the construction to be
completed by the 1998 spring season. The remaining work will be completed the following fall.
Renovations will include increased seating capacity from 1,300 to more than 2,500, a premium seating area, expanded dugouts, team locker rooms, additional restrooms and a new plaza and entry area in front of the stadium.
stadium will be renamed Hoglund Stadium. Hoglund was on hand Friday at the Kansas-Kansas State baseball game and throw out the first ball in honor of his donation.
The Jayhawks' current stadium falls near the bottom of the Big 12 Conference in both seating capacity and quality. The renovations should help the Kansas baseball team better compete in one of the nation's most competitive conferences, said Kansas coach Bobby Randall. The new stadium should also aid recruiting and create a more pleasant atmosphere for fans.
After the project is completed, the
"The new stadium will be an attractive, fan-friendly ballpark." Randall said. "It will address all of the needs we have. It will create a stadium that is great to watch baseball in and great to play baseball in."
Men's tennis team No.2 for regional tournament
Kansan staff report
The No. 21 University of Kansas men's tennis team will be a No. 2 seed at the NCAA Regional Tournament this weekend in Wichita.
The Jayhawks will receive a first-round bye and in the second round will face the winner of a match between third-seeded Colorado and sixth-seeded Oklahoma.
The No. 1 seed is Auburn, and the No.3 seed is Colorado. Tulsa, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma round out the rest of the field.
Kansas' first match will be played at 3 p.m. Saturday.
The regional championships will be played 1 p.m. Sunday. The
Six teams will play in the regional, including four Big 12 Conference schools.
Men's tennis seeds
No. 1 Auburn 14-9
No. 2 Kansas 18-7
No. 3 Colorado 19-9
No. 4 Tulsa 17-8
No. 5 Oklahoma State 17-6
No. 6 Oklahoma 19-9
"I try not to worry about other teams," coach Mark Riley said. "I worry about if we're going to be prepared. Last year, we took some people by surprise. This year, people know who we are, and they'll be ready."
winner of the regional championships will advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tennis Championships in Los Angles, Calif., on May 17.
Soccer team signs 3 recruits
Kansan staff report
The University of Kansas soccer team has three new recruits to add to its roster.
Katie Garrity, a senior goalkeeper at Carroll High School in South Lake, Texas, Lindsay Horner, from West Des Moines Valley High School in West Des Moines, Iowa, and Katie Lents, from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Overland Park, have all signed letters of intent to play soccer at the University next year.
Garrity, who moved to Texas from Maryland in 1905, won a state championship in 1947 at Centennial High School in Ellicott City, Md. She was a member of the Maryland Majestic club team from 1992-95. That team won the state championship in 1995, when Garrity was named the most valuable player.
Kansas soccer coach Dan Magner said he was excited to sign a player of Garritv's caliber.
Garrity has been a member of the D'Feeters club team in Texas since 1995 and was a member of the Maryland team in the Olympic Development Program from 1992-95. She was the team's captain for two years.
"Katie comes from a very strong background," Magner said. "She has always played at the highest level with club and ODP teams. That experience will help both her and us next year. She is very athletic, which will help her at the Division I level, and we are excited that she is coming."
Horner has earned varsity letters for soccer, basketball and swimming. She was a member of the Iowa United under-19 team, Iowa's select team, and the regional team.
"Lindsey is a tall, strong player who is very athletic," Magner said. "We look to have her contribute immediately. We believe she can be an impact player on our Kansas team as well as in the Big 12."
Lents played varsity soccer and basketball for four years at Aquinas. Aquinas has won three state championships and a national ranking with Lents on the squad.
She was named to the MO-KAN challenge All-Tournament Team, and her team won the tournament three times.
"We are very fortunate that she had not signed with anyone else although she had several great offers," Magner said. "She is an outstanding student-athlete. We hope to continue to draw the finest student-athletes from the state of Kansas. Signing Katie is a step in the right direction."
Congratulations to the 1997 Outstanding Greek Seniors.
Gina Kim, Alpha Chi Omega Michelle Lawner, Alpha Delta Pi Ann Minors, Kappa Alpha Theta Heather Stoehr, Alpha Chi Omega Margaret Strayer, Alpha Delta Pi J.P. Claxton, Phi Delta Theta Pete Getz, Sigma Alpha Epsilon Ben Karel, Sigma Chi Matt Kennedy, Sigma Phi Epsilon Scott Merchant, Lambda Chi Alpha
Thank you for all that you have contributed to our university and Greek community. We are proud to call you our brothers and sisters.
The Panhellenic Association and Interfraternity Council
Congratulations
KU grads!
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