BASEBALL
9
Kansas takes one of three games against Cowboys
Though each of Kansas' three starting pitchers delivered a strong outing over the weekend, it was only enough to earn one victory in Stillwater, Okla.
After a convincing 17-3 victory on Friday, Kansas (26-19-1, 7-10-1) stumbled against Oklahoma State and dropped the final two games 7-8 and 4-5 behind a rash of mistakes and blown leads.
"That's a devastating weekend,"coach Ritch Price said. "They had an opportunity to do something special, and we were knocking right on the door but unable to finish the deal."
When the weekend began, the Jayhawks did not appear to be headed for disappointment, as they turned in a near perfect performance on Friday night.
Walz took his no-hit bid into the ninth but gave up two straight singles. The junior finished his outing with 8+ innings, allowing two hits and two runs while striking out 11.
Kansas was stout on offense — with every starter tallying at least one of its 20 hits and on the mound as well ,where junior T.J. Walz flirted with a no-hitter.
Senior Cameron Selik and freshman Tanner Poppe did not boast no-hit stuff in their starts on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, but they each gave the Jayhawks a great opportunity to win.
Selik held the Cowboys to two runs over seven innings on Saturday, while Poppe worked the first five and 2/3 innings on Sunday, allowing only three runs.
In both games though, despite rallying to take a late lead, Kansas was unable to hold off Oklahoma State.
With Kansas up 5-2 in the ninth on Saturday, senior Travis Blankenship relinquished the lead in the ninth, which sent the game
to extra innings.
The Jayhawks again regained the lead 7-5 in the eleventh, only to have its bullpen fail to hold the Cowboys — who rallied to tie the score in the 11th before walking off with the 8-7 victory in the 12th inning.
The finish on Sunday featured more of the same.
Poppe left the game with a 3-2 lead, which freshman Thomas Taylor relinquished in the seventh inning as the Cowboys tied the game on back-to-back hits before taking the lead after an errant throw by Lisher.
And after Kansas tied the score after a double by right fielder Casey Lytle and a single by Marasco, Blankenship again couldn't contain Oklahoma State, who struck for three singles in the eighth to regain the lead at 5-4.
"The guys that are getting the opportunities late in the game have got to find a way to finish the deal so we can close out victories,"coach Ritch Price said.
Not only did the Jayhawks bullpen falter, but their offense was unable to tack on runs despite mounting several promising chances. Kansas left eight men on base in the contest, the most glaring of the missed opportunities being a bases-loaded squander in the fourth inning.
"If they could have beaten us straight up without us making mistakes, then they were better that day," left fielder Jimmy Waters said. "But we shot ourselves in the foot plenty of times."
Senior Robby Price catches a pop-up on the infield Sunday at Hoglund Ballpark. Kansas lost to Texas Tech 21-10.
Ben Ward
AN
Mike Gunnoe/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
2010 Kansas Baseball Schedule & Results
as of Monday, May 3
| Date | Opponent | Site | Time | 3/20 | Saint Louis | St. Louis | L, 8-5 | 4/21 | Missouri | Kansas City, Mo. | W, 1-0 |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 2/22 | Eastern Michigan | Minneapolis | L, 3-1 | 3/23 | Creighton | Lawrence | W, 5-4 | 4/23 | Texas Tech | Lawrence | W, 10-2 |
| 2/22 | Eastern Michigan | Minneapolis | W, 9-5 | 3/24 | Baker | Lawrence | W, 16-10 | 4/24 | Texas Tech | Lawrence | L, 11-8 |
| 2/26 | Sacramento State | Peoria, Ariz. | W, 4-3 | 3/26 | Baylor | Waco, Texas | W, 9-8 | 4/25 | Texas Tech | Lawrence | L, 21-10 |
| 2/27 | Gonzaga | Peoria, Ariz. | W, 9-5 | 3/27 | Baylor | Waco, Texas | L, 9-8 | 4/27 | Wichita State | Wichita | L, 22-7 |
| 2/27 | Sacramento State | Peoria, Ariz. | W, 10-4 | 3/28 | Baylor | Waco, Texas | W, 12-6 | 4/30 | Oklahoma State | Stillwater, Okla. | W, 17-3 |
| 3/2 | Arkansas | Fayetteville, Ark. | L, 15-3 | 3/30 | Arkansas-Little Rock | Lawrence | W, 9-8 | 5/1 | Oklahoma State | Stillwater, Okla. | L, 8-7 |
| 3/5 | Iowa | Lawrence | W, 8-1 | 3/31 | Missouri State | Lawrence | W, 7-6 | 5/2 | Oklahoma State | Stillwater, Okla. | L, 5-4 |
| 3/5 | Iowa | Lawrence | L, 5-3 | 4/1 | Texas A&M | Lawrence | W, 9-5 | 5/7 | Missouri | Lawrence | 7 p.m. |
| 3/6 | Iowa | Lawrence | W, 8-4 | 4/2 | Texas A&M | Lawrence | L, 6-4 | 5/8 | Missouri | Lawrence | 6 p.m. |
| 3/7 | Iowa | Lawrence | W, 15-7 | 4/3 | Texas A&M | Lawrence | T, 8-8 | 5/9 | Missouri | Lawrence | 1 p.m. |
| 3/9 | St. Mary (Kan.) | Lawrence | W, 10-0 | 4/7 | Creighton | Omaha, Neb. | W, 5-4 | 5/14 | Kansas State | Lawrence | 7 p.m. |
| 3/10 | Tabor | Lawrence | W, 15-0 | 4/9 | Texas | Austin, Texas | L, 3-2 | 5/15 | Kansas State | Manhattan | 6:30 p.m. |
| 3/12 | LSU | Baton Rouge, La. | W, 11-9 | 4/10 | Texas | Austin, Texas | L, 3-1 | 5/16 | Kansas State | Manhattan | 2 p.m. |
| 3/13 | LSU | Baton Rouge, La. | L, 4-2 | 4/11 | Texas | Austin, Texas | L, 4-10 | 5/18 | Arkansas-Little Rock | Little Rock, Ark. | 6 p.m. |
| 3/14 | LSU | Baton Rouge, La. | W, 8-4 | 4/13 | Missouri State | Springfield, Mo. | W, 6-4 | 5/21 | Oklahoma | Lawrence | 7 p.m. |
| 3/16 | Tulane | New Orleans | L, 1-0 | 4/16 | Nebraska | Lincoln, Neb. | L, 11-7 | 5/22 | Oklahoma | Lawrence | 6 p.m. |
| 3/17 | Tulane | New Orleans | L, 5-3 | 4/17 | Nebraska | Lincoln, Neb. | W, 7-4 | 5/23 | Oklahoma | Lawrence | 1 p.m. |
| 3/20 | Saint Louis | St. Louis | L, 12-8 | 4/18 | Nebraska | Lincoln, Neb. | W, 6-1 | | | | |
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THE WAVE MAY 5,2010
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