KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / THURSDAY. MAY 6. 2010 / SPORTS
7B
SOFTBALL
Weston White/KANSAN
Senior infielder Sara Ramirez tosses the ball to first base for an out Wednesday night. Kansas won 9-2 after losing the first game of the double-header 4-1 against Wichita State.
Senior infielder's spirit makes her softball team's 'heart and soul'
BY ZACH GETZ
zgetz@kansan.com
twitter.com/zgetz
Two words are constantly used to describe senior infielder Sara Ramirez when she plays: competitive and fighter.
Ramirez's passion and drive for the game is contagious to the rest of the team, Jones said.
"She is one of the sweetest girls ever, but whenever you see her on the field, she has that drive and fire, which you can sense in her eyes," freshman pitcher and outfielder Alex Jones said. "When you see a person like that, it's intimidating."
"People want to look up to her, want to perform as well as she does and accomplish things she wants to get accomplished," Jones said.
That sort of fire is exactly why coach Megan Smith thinks she has been such an asset to the team this season.
"I've told her several times she's the heart and soul of our team," Smith said. "She pushes herself and her teammates."
Smith also said Ramirez was an extremely determined and resilient player.
"She fights through a lot of injuries and pain that you would never know she had," Smith said.
Ramirez said she got her will to win from her family.
"We can't even play a game of Go Fish without it getting crazy in our family." Ramirez said.
Being the youngest of six girls, all who played softball, Ramirez grew up battling against her sisters.
"We're so competitive at everything that it made us so much better," Ramirez said.
Twenty-four was the number their father wore when he played baseball. The Ramirezes, a very close family, all wore the same number to show their solidarity.
While playing on a California team with fellow senior Sarah Vertelka, Ramirez took a recruiting trip with several teammates to Kansas and realized the stereotypes about the state were wrong.
"It was kind of like if you had Ramirez and the number 24 on the back, you better be good," Ramirez said.
"It's not just like tumbleweeds and fields of corn," Ramirez said. "We didn't even know green existed here. That's how ignorant we were"
She committed to Kansas with Vertelka, but the distance from home took a toll on Ramirez. Coming from a big, close family, Ramirez said she was homesick during her freshman and sophomore seasons. But the closeness of the team helped alleviate some of the pains of being away from her family.
"The girls I came in with like Ally Stanton and Vertelka became my sisters." Ramirez said.
Now with just two more games in the regular season, Ramirez said she was going to feel lost after her career is over. She said she enjoyed the work ethic and discipline she got from softball.
"I feel like I need to be pushed that way," Ramirez said. "Maybe without it I'm not going to know what to do."
Edited by Cory Bunting
OAKLAND, Calif. — Eric Patter son homered, Trevor Cahill won in his second start since getting called up from the minors and the Oakland Athletics beat the Texas Rangers 4-1 on Wednesday to reclaim first place in the AL West.
Cahill (1-1), a 10-game winner last season as a rookie, allowed only two baserunners past first in five solid innings to earn the victory. He was brought up from Triple-A Sacramento last Friday to start at Toronto as the A's deal with an injury-depleted pitching staff.
Cahill gave the A's a boost after their starters had gone 1-6 over the past eight games, helping Oakland win its first series in the last three.
Brad Ziegler pitched a perfect eighth and Andrew Bailey finished the 2-hour, 26-minute game with a 1-2-3 ninth for his fifth save in as many chances. The reigning A Rookie of the Year hasn't allowed a run in a career-best 20 2-3 innings dating to last Sept. 6 and has converted 26 straight saves overall.
Daric Barton had an RBI single, doubled and scored a run for the A's. The Rangers had led the division for the first time all season the previous three days.
Associated Press
The Rangers won the first four games of their road trip before dropping the last two, losing their first series in the last three
Congratulations to the Class of 2010!
Wheeler and Satan scored 94 seconds apart in the first period to wipe out the Flyers' lead, and the Bruins never looked back. They won the first two games of the series at home — and the Bruins might not play in Boston again until the Eastern Conference finals.
allowed a quick goal at the start, but stopped 34 shots. The Bruins can complete the sweep in Game 4 in Philadelphia on Friday night.
Finally, the all-nighters and daily treks up the Hill have paid off. And now we want to help you celebrate your success here at KU! The KU Alumni Association staff would like to officially welcome you to alumni status!
Please join us for
Arron Asham scored for the Flyers.
Wieners for Seniors, Wed., April 28, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Adams Alumni Center
Grad Grill, Thurs., May 6, 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Adams Alumni Center
Commencement Lunch, Sun., May 16, from 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Outlook.
Associated Press
This year the KU Alumni Association has joined with KU Endowment to give you a special graduation gift, a one-year membership in the KU Alumni Association.
Ryan Sweeney and Kevin Kouzmanoff produced consecutive RBI groundouts in the first as the A's staked Cahill to an early lead. Patterson connected for his second homer leading off the fifth against Colby Lewis (3-1).
If you are interested in becoming a Life Member of the KU Alumni Association, take advantage of our limited-time offer; you can purchase a life membership for $500 (half price!) until June 30, 2010.
MLB
Athletics reclaim first place in AL West
NHL
PHILADELPHIA — Blake Wheeler, Miroslav Satan and Mark Rechi scored for Boston in a 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers that lifted the Bruins to a commanding 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal series on Wednesday night.
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION Student Alumni Leadership Board
Flyers win, extend lead to three games
www.kualumni.org
Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask
Patrice Bergeron scored an empty-net goal for the Bruins with 1:52 left.
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