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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 2013
PAGE 5B
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The Jayhawks attempt to put losses behind them going into series with Texas Tech
WEEKEND SERIES IN TEXAS
PITCHING
FIELDING
For the Jayhawks, pitching is key, particularly starting pitching. Coach Price expects the Jayhawks starting pitching rotation to get deep into games allowing Jordan Piche' to take over. Piche' was named the Big 12's Newcomer of the Week for the second week in a row on Monday.
HITTING
The Jayhawks struggled at the plate against Creighton. Kansas scored the first two runs of the game and fought back to tie it at four, but couldn't get the bats started in the 12-4 loss. The Jayhawks will look to put pressure on the Red Raiders fielders with aggressive baserunning.
The Jayhawks committed to unfortunate errors in the loss to Creighton. Kansas middle infield play has been solid of late with senior shortstop Kevin Kuntz and sophomore second baseman Justin Protocio turning solid double plays.
PITCHING
HITTING
The Red Raiders return Junior right hander Trey Masek from a 3-week stint on the bench due to injury. Masek is 3-0 on the season with a .84 ERA, 42 strikeouts and a .185 batting average against. Earlier in the month, Masek was named the No. 2 college pitching prospect by Baseball America.
The Red Raiders are struggling to grind through a seven game losing streak of late. Texas Tech is led by Junior infielder Jake Barrios's .300 average, three homeruns and 30 RBIs. Although, nothing jumps off the stat sheet for the Red Raiders, coach Price is staying cautious with a young lineup that is due for a good weekend.
FIELDING
The Red Raiders have committed 42 errors in 37 games this season good for a .971 fielding percentage. Junior infielder Jake Barrios tops the list with five errors on the season. The young lineup has had several less than stellar moments on the season. Coach Price will continue to keep the pressure on with aggressive baserunning.
BASEBALL
Managing momentum is essential versus Texas Tech
TREVOR GRAFF
tgraff@kansan.com
TARA BRYANT/KANSAN
After a tough 12-4 loss to the Creighton Bluejays Tuesday in Omaha, Neb., and a cancellation due to inclement weather Wednesday, the Jayhawks are headed to Lubbock, Texas to take on a struggling Red Raider squad.
Junior Ka'iana Eldredge sprints past second base on his way to home plate to score the Jayhawks' first and only run of Saturday's game against the Texas Longhorns at Hoglund Ballpark, Kansas lost to Texas 2-1.
The Red Raiders are in the midst of a seven game losing streak, six of these coming on the road.
"I actually wish they were still playing as good as they were playing earlier in the year," coach Ritch Price said. "Lubbock's a really tough place to get to. It's a tough place to play. When they're playing well they draw over 3,000 people a game in their new stadium."
The Red Raiders return junior right-handed pitcher Trey Masek to the mound after a three-week absence due to injury. Masek, named the No. 2 prospect in the upcoming class of the MLB draft by Baseball America last month, is largely considered the soul of the Red Raider pitching rotation.
"The scary part for us is their number one guy is back and pitching Friday," Coach Price said. "He's been out three weeks and you can almost coincide their losing streak here with him being out of the lineup."
Price said Masek's Pitcher of the Year performance in the Cape Cod League this summer is a testament to just how solid he is on the
mound.
The Red Raiders are a mirror image of last year's Kansas team that fielded the youngest lineup in the Big 12. Coach Price said their struggles in the midseason stretch are much the same as his team last year.
"They've got a lot of freshmen and a lot of sophomores playing." Price said. "They've got into the Big 12 conference and it can just beat you up mentally with how good the teams are. Their going to continue to get better, we just have to make sure we take care of things we can control."
Red Raiders junior infielder Jake Barrios leads the team at the plate, batting .300 with 33 hits, three home runs and 30 RBIs.
"With us it starts with starting pitching," Price said. "We have to get three quality starting pitching performances in order to have an opportunity to win the series and not take a step back and lose the momentum we've gained after the first four weeks of the year."
The Jayhawks will start their attempt at maintaining that moment after their tough mid-week performance with a 6:37 p.m. first pitch Friday in Lubbock.
After Tanner Poppe's rough outing on the mound Tuesday, the Jayhawks continue their focus on starting pitching.
— Edited by Kyle Crane
Junior Ka'iana Eldredge slides into home base to score the Jayhawks' first and only run in Saturday's 2-1 loss to the Texas Longhorns at Hoglund Ballpark. Eldredge scored the run off of junior Tucker Tharp's double in the seventh inning.
TARA BRYANT/KANSAN
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