ANSAN
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, APRIL 8, 2013
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BACK TO BASEBALL BASICS
Jayhawks bunt their way to series victory over No. 19 Cowboys
BLAKE SCHUSTER
bschuster@kansan.com
By about the bottom of the third inning it didn't matter much what pitch, or pitcher. No. 19 Oklahoma State threw at Kansas.
The Jayhawks' small ball eliminated every opportunity for the Cowboys' defense to stop a Kansas team clawing its way above .500 in conference play.
And with the Jayhawks reaching base, Kansas coach Ritch Price could care little about how far the
ball was flying.
"We only have three home runs for the season," Price said. "By design, we tried to execute the short game."
The design: If a man gets on, bunt. If you can move him over, bunt. And if all else fails, bunt again.
In the bottom of the first inning, sophomore infielder Justin Protocio made a bunt from senior infielder Kevin Kuntz to move into second. One batter later, Sophomore outfielder Michael Suiter knocked
Protacio home on another bunt after the Cowboys' senior third baseman Robbie Rea overthrew junior first baseman Tanner Krietemeier.
The next pitch, senior infielder Alex DeLeon used a sac bunt to move Kuntz and Suiter into scoring position, which set up sophomore outfielder and pitcher Dakota Smith's ground out to second base for an RBI.
Oklahoma State's starting pitcher, sophomore Tyler Nurdin, entered Sunday's meeting with a 2.45 earned run average and a team-
leading 30 strikeouts, which probably would have fared well if the Jayhawks were given the sign to swing away.
But no such call was made and the Jayhawks kept the Cowboys' infield moving throughout the game.
Price noted the small-ball style takes a pitcher out of his rhythm. His players proved him right.
"When you play Big 12 teams with power arms, to be able to execute buns and get runners in scoring positions is just huge," junior center fielder Tucker Tharp said.
Tharp speaks from experience. He knocked in the eventual winning run with, of course, a sacrifice bunt in the bottom of the second.
"When you execute the short game it's pretty fun to watch it unfold," Tharp said. "It goes south for the other team."
It's a game plan the Jayhawks are sure to recycle. Since the start of the Big 12 season, Kansas has batted .232 with 58 strikeouts, the second most in the conference, and the least amount of walks, with 19.
For the Jayhawks to stay above
500, it won't matter how they get on base, so long as they do.
"Before we even stretch," Tharp said. "That's the first thing we work on."
The entire clubhouse understands the importance of bunting. It has found a new spot in the jayhawks' pregame routine.
Edited by Tara Bryant
SEASON STATS
AVERAGE:
Suiter
LF, Michael Suiter, .391
HITS:
Suiter
LF, Michael Suiter, 43
SS, Justin Protocio, 319
RBI:
Protacio
DeLeon
1B, Alex DeLeon, 22
3B, Jordan Dreiling, 37
Dreiling
Dreiling
Dreiling
3B, Jordan Dreiling, 18
3B, Jordan Dreiling, 14
3B, Jordan Dreiling,.316
Smith
Dreiling
STOLEN BASES:
RF, Dakota Smith, 34
RF, Dakota Smith, 17
LF, Michael Suiter, 11
Smith
Suiter
Smith
RF, Dakota Smith, 7
ERA, STARTERS:
SEASON PITCHING STATS
Taylor
Thomas Taylor, 1.84
STRIKEOUTS:
Taylor
Thomas Taylor, 38
SAVES:
Jordan Piche', 6
Piche
Wes Benjamin, 34
Benjamin
Frank Duncan, 5.02
Duncan
Duncan
Robert Kahana,1
Frank Duncan, 52
Kahana
INNINGS PITCHED:
Frank Duncan, 33
Duncan
Thomas Taylor, 49
Wes Benjamin, 5.52
Benjamin
Taylor
Wes Benjamin, 44
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Withey shares Defensive Player of the Year with Indiana's Oladipo
The list of accolades keeps growing for Kansas center Jeff Withey.
In his first two seasons at Kansas, Wittsley struggled to average more than six minutes per game before breaking out his junior year in 2011-12 and recording 400 blocks on 54 percent field goal shooting.
After averaging 13.7 points per game, 8.5 boards per game and totaling 146 blocks — a Kansas and Big 12 record — this season, the seven-footer has been named the National Association of Basketball Coaches Co-Defensive Player of the Year.
Withey shares the award with Indiana's Victor Oladipo.
NBAdraft.net projects Withey as a late first round draft pick and notes that he has the attributes to be a long-time backup center in the league.
LIST OF WITHEY 2012-13 ACCOLADES:
-NABC Co-Defensive Player of the Year
-Consensus All-America Second Team
-Associated Press All-America Third Team
-NABC All-America Third Team
-Lute Olson All-America Team
-USBWA All-America Second Team
-Big 12 Championship Most Outstanding Player
-USBWA All-District VI
-Second team All-America by Sporting News
-Ali-Big 12 First Team (Big 12, AP)
-Bie 12 Defensive Player of the Year
-Big 12 All-Defensive Team
-Wooden Award Final Ballot
-USBWA Oscar Robertson Player of the Year
Finalist (1 of 14)
-Naismith Award Top 30 Candidate
-Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week (2/25)
-co-Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week (2/18)
-Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week (12/3)
-CBE Hall of Fame Classic All-Tournament Team
-Senior CLASS Award candidate (1 of 30)
Blake Schuster