Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Volume 125 Issue 104
COMMENTARY Kansas unlikely Big 12 contender
Kansas baseball doesn't look like an early '90s Major League squad at the plate.
kansan.com
In fact, the style of play frequenting Hoglund Ballpark is quite the opposite. It's not about the long ball. The chicks may dig it, but the Jayhawks haven't needed it to this point.
A three-bunt game from senior shortstop Kevin Kuntz is a more likely occurrence than one of the lahawks' six homers.
The lack of the long ball hasn't bothered Kansas baseball. For the Jayhawks, manufacturing runs is a way of life that has landed them among the best in the conference a little more than halfway through the 2013 slate.
The Jayhawks' 7-5 record in the Big 12 lands them one game behind the conference-leading Oklahoma Sooners' 8-4 mark in a league that could easily see the top five finishes within mere games of each other.
This weekend's series against the admittedly downtrodden Texas Longhorns, a team that touts six national championships in its program history and 17-year veteran manager Augie Garrido, is a bit of a statement series for the lawhaves.
Kansas, picked to finish eighth in the Big 12 conference by several pre-season pollsters, has played the toughest stretch of their conference schedule.
They beat a preseason top-10 TCU squad two games to one in the conference opening series in Fort Worth, Texas. They redeemed them in Norman, Okla., beating the Sooners 10-8 on Sunday after two tough defeats earlier in the weekend.
In Hoglund Ballpark, the Jayhawks have beaten a then 19th-ranked Oklahoma State and Texas two games to one.
Many surrounding Big 12 baseball would tell you the jayhawks have played their toughest games already, but those involved with the program won't take that view.
Kansas has protected the home field turf well this season, going 11-3 in Hogland after a snow-deployed start to the home season.
For the Jayhawks, it's off to Creighton today to face a team that beat the Jayhawks 6-4 in Hoglund Ballpark earlier this season. Home losses are an uncommon sight for Kansas baseball.
Protecting the home stadium isn't the only focus for the rest of the season. Coach Ritch Price's staff is undoubtedly focusing on getting solid starting pitching and continuing to find ways to manufacture runs.
The Kansas lineup has struggled to keep people healthy. The starting rotation suffered several rough appearances against Big 12 lineups. Fielding has struggled at times with multi-error games.
Kansas starters have combined for 188 2/3 innings and a record of 11-10 on the season. The group is increasingly getting 6-inning plus performances, getting the ball to red-hot closer Jordan Piche'.
Regardless of whatever trail baseball fans and coaching staffs choose to nitpick, the players on the field continue to grind out wins. It isn't always pretty in Hogland, but at the moment Kansas is getting the job done.
Edited by Madison Schultz
A JAYHAWK FAREWELL
SELF RESILIENCE
Despite early-season hiccups, Self praises team at annual banquet
GEOFFREY CALVERT
One year after taking a team with only one returning starter to the national title game, coach Bill Self made a bold statement about this year's squad that advanced to the Sweet Sixteen during the team's annual banquet Monday evening.
gcalvert@kansan.com
After his team finished 2-2 during its summer trip to Europe last August, Self couldn't find much praise for his team.
"We sucked over there," Self said. "This year I thought would be probably the biggest challenge from a rebuilding standpoint that we've had since we've been here."
Of course, as every Bill Self team seems to do, Kansas won, and won often. The Jayhawks finished 61, 6 earned their fifth No. 1 seed in the past seven years and retained what now must seem like a birthright, a ninth consecutive Big 12 title.
Despite a disappointing loss to Michigan in the Sweet Sixteen, the banquet focused on the season's positives. A joyful Self joked about plenty of topics, ranging from former Jayhawk and current radio announcer Greg Gurley's talent at the free throw line to Jayhawk radio announcer Bob Davis' age. Self even jokingly called out senior guard Elijah Johnson for his dunk at the end of the Iowa State game in Ames, Iowa, in late February.
"They talk about Elijah's 39
points, which I think is great. Elijah, but the last two almost got my ass whipped after the game" Self said.
Self also took time to look to next season during Monday night's ceremony. He told the audience that freshman forward Perry Ellis could average 15 points per game next season, and he also glowingly referred to Landen Lucas, a forward who redshirted this season, as "a bull."
Perhaps his highest praise was for a player who won't be on the Jayhawks' roster next season - freshman guard Ben McLemore, who declared for the NBA Draft last week. Self said McLemore could eventually reach a plateau that none of his players during his 10 years at Kansas have reached once they got to the NBA.
"If you're not an NBA All-Star, I think everybody in here will be disappointed," Self said.
TWO SENIORS SHARE TEAM AWARD
Kansas presents one award at its banquet, the Danny Manning Award, given to the player who best encompasses what being a Jayhawk represents. Just like last season, when Tyshawn Taylor and Thomas Robinson shared the award, two more departing players, seniors Jeff Withey and Travis Leford, split it this season.
"I think over the course of their career, those guys have graduated and done everything
that they've been asked to do and made sacrifices," Self said, "I think you could probably make a case for a couple more."
When Withey first arrived in Lawrence after transferring from Arizona, he remained firmly on the end of the bench behind Kansas' other big men, including Cole Aldrich, Marcus and Markieff Morris, Thomas Robinson and Mario Little.
Withey, who figures to become the fifth one of those big men taken in the NBA Draft, said he was thrilled to join players like Robinson as recipients of the Danny Manning award.
"It's awesome that I get to share it with Trav, too," Withey said. "He definitely deserves it."
SENIORS PREPARE FOR DRAFT
Both Withey and Johnson have signed with an agent and plan on working out in Lawrence for a few weeks until taking their training elsewhere. Withey said he would move to Los Angeles to continue preparing for the draft, while Johnson plans on going to Houston.
Both Johnson and Leeford recently participated in a pre-draft camp, the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, and they faced each other in the final game. Johnson contributed five points, four steals, four assists and six turnovers in 30 minutes for K&D Roundscaping,
MBB JUMP PAGE 8
ASHLEIGH LEE/KANSAN Kansas coach Bill Self speaks to guests at the men's basketball awards banquet last year. Self recognized the seniors at the banquet.
ASHLEIGH LEE/KANSAN
BASEBALL
Strong pitching key against Bluejays
HITTING
The Jayhawks continued to rely on the small ball fundamentals of baseball in their weekend series victory over Texas. Kansas is batting .283 with a total of six home runs on the season. Sophomore left fielder Michael Suiter continues to lead the Jayhawks at the plate with a .380 average, 18 RBI and 13 stolen bases. Senior Alex Delon has been hot of late with a .330 average and a team-leading 10 doubles.
PITCHING
Kansas pitchers continued to grind against Texas. Senior right hander Thomas Taylor struggled a bit through 6 innings, giving up nine hits and five earned runs on 104 pitches. Jordan Piche' continued his dominant play in the closers role with a 4 1/3 inning winning performance Friday and his sixth save of the year Sunday afternoon. Piche currently holds a 49 ERA with a 5-1 record 28 strikeouts and 36 2/3 innings pitched.
FIELDING
Kansas fielders committed only one error over the weekend against Texas. The team fielding percentage continues to hover around 97 percent, with 36 total errors committed in 35 games. Kansas middle infielders senior shortstop Kevin Kuntz and sophomore second baseman Justin Protacia have committed a total of seven errors this season. The infield tandem have provided a calming factor for Kansas pitching in the field.
HITTING
Creighton is batting .297 on the season with seven home runs and 144 RBIs as a squad. The Bluejays scored six runs on six hits against the Jayhawks April 2 in Hogland Ballpark, Junior Centerfielder Mike Gerber led the lineup with a two-hit performance and an RBI. Sophomore infielder Jake Peter leads the team with a .374 average, 23 RBIs and 43 hits.
PITCHING
The Bluejay pitching staff carries a 4.04 ERA and a 250 batting average against. In their last appearance against Kansas, freshman right-handed pitcher Austin Groth earned the win with a two-inning performance in which he gave up two hits and recorded a strike-out.
FIELDING
In its last appearance against the Jayhawks, Creighton committed a single error while the Jayhawks carded three. The Bluejays are fielding at a 98-percent rate with 20 errors on the season. Taking care of business in the field will be a key to winning in Omaha Tuesday.
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— Trevor Graff