THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2013
PAGE 11
MIDWEEK MAKEUP
NEIGHBORLY COMPETITION
Kansas takes on Ottawa in rescheduled game
HOGLUND BALLPARK, 6:30 PM, LAWRENCE, KS
PITCHING
Drew Morovick has been the fifth starter in Kansas' starting rotation. When Kansas adds an extra game, Morovick has been the go-to guy for the lajayhows. Expect Morovick to pitch at least four or five innings before letting the relievers take over.
HITTING
Tucker Tharp's season took a turn after a clutch series against the Longhorn. Tharp came through with plays when the Jayhawks needed them the most in a very close battle against Texas.
FIELDING
After struggling in fielding for most of the season, Kansas only committed one in the series against Texas. The Jayhawks' only error came in the first game and they were free of errors the rest of the weekend. Kansas hopes to continue to carry that over while playing at Hoglund Ballpark.
PITCHING
Senior right hander Cole Meeks leads the Braves pitching staff with a 4-4 record and a 4.34 ERA in 10 appearances. The Braves have a 5.34 ERA on the season. Look to see several Braves pitchers in the team. Coach Cory Blaime should give several pitchers the opportunity to take the mound in Hogland Ballpark.
HITTING
The Braves have struggled at the plate this season with a .271 average and 135 runs on the season in NAIA play. The Braves make the trip to Lawrence after the Jayhawks scheduled them to fill in for the cancellation of game two in against Iowa in Iowa City. Senior outfielder Dustin Balmier leads the lineup with a .315 average, 34 hits and 10 RBIs.
FIELDING
The Braves are a sloppy defensive squad with 67 errors and a fielding percentage hovering slightly below 94 percent. Sophomore catcher Kaylem Quinn leads the Braves in the field with a .978 fielding percentage and two errors behind the plate. The Braves will have plenty of opportunity to improve their game in the field as the Jayhawks look to continue hitting the ball to all fields.
BASEBALL
- Farzin Vousoughian,
Trevor Graff
Jayhawks look to overcome loss in four upcoming games
Before facing Texas in a three-game series this past weekend, Kansas had 35 errors in 33 games this season. In the series against the Longhorns, the Jayhawks only committed one error, which came Friday night. The Jayhawks' near-perfect fielding this past weekend allowed them to pick up a series victory.
FARZIN VOUSOUGHIAN
fvousoughian@kansan.com
The Jayhawks look to continue
the jayhawks is the successful fielding performance on Wednesday when facing Ottawa. The players know that the fewer errors they commit, the better the final score will be at the end of the d
"If you make an error one day, you've got to forget it and flush it."
If you make an error one day, you've got to forget it and flush it," senior third baseman Jordan Dreiling said. "It's baseball. You just go out the next day with a brand new attitude toward it. I think that helped us, playing five games per week and getting into the rhythm defensively."
With a 7-5 conference record, winning two consecutive conference series and standing at fourth place in a competitive Big 12, the Jayhawks have a lot of energy and motivation and look to make more noise in upcoming conference battles.
Kansas will play five games in a week for the second week in a row, and the Jayhawks have five games scheduled next week to remain active.
just as much as the conference games when you look at RPI and wins on the road. We've got to have that right mentality going on."
Kansas completed one game last night and have another tonight before traveling to Lubbock, Texas for three games. Dreiling said the non-conference mid-week games will still be approached as if they were Big 12 games.
"You want to get those victories," Dreiling said. "You want to put yourself in the best position to get selected for the NCAA Tournament. These mid-week games mean
"We're all just playing for one another," junior pitcher Drew Mo-
JORDAN DREILING senior third baseman
rovick said. We're basically having fun and we're enjoying it. Beating a team like Texas, just the way they carry themselves, that's a team you want to take it to them and beat them. As a team,
Kansas defeated Texas twice and lost once in the conference face off this past weekend as each game was decided by one run. In a conference where pitchers hold the key to wins, Morovick knows he and his fellow pitchers have to keep playing hard in order to help the team succeed.
"Baseball's becoming a pitcher's sport," Morovick said. "And when you can get to a pitcher, like we did Friday, and put up six runs on a guy and win it in the 12th inning with the sevent run, that's pretty good. When you get to a pitcher, you've got to just keep pounding away at them and just got to come through."
they get hot at any moment, so to stop them before they reach their peak is definitely a good thing."
Edited by Madison Schultz
GEORGE MULLINIX/KANSAN
Senior first baseman Alex DeLeon takes a hard hit grounder in the top of the fifth inning of April 2 game against Creighton where the Jayhawks lost 6-4. DeLeon went two for five with one RBI.