} / **SPORTS** / WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
SOFTBALL
Kansas attempts to rebound
BY ZACH GETZ
zgetz@kansan.com
The Kansas softball team is trying to get back on track after losing 12 of its last 14 games. Kansas (16-29) will have another chance tonight when it plays host to Wichita State (16-27) at 5 p.m. for a non-conference doubleheader.
The Shockers have had an up and down season, much like the Jayhawks, coach Megan Smith said. Wichita State has lost four of the last five and is 10-15 in non-conference games.
Smith said inconsistency had been a big problem all season for the Jayhawks. Kansas will have one aspect of its game shine while the others don't perform, senior pitcher Sarah Vertelka said.
Tonight's doubleheader will be the second to last series Kansas seniors will play at home. Kansas will play the next four on the road before coming back to Arrocha Ballpark and closing out the season against Iowa State.
Jerry Wang/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Kansas will return to conference play this weekend when it travels to Norman, Okla. for a two-game series against No. 10 Oklahoma.
Right-hander Sarah Vertelkila pitches during game one in a doubleheader against Texas Tech Sunday. Kansas fell 4-2 in game one and 4-1 in game two givning it 12 losses in its last 14 games.
— Edited by Kirsten Hudson
John Matthew, Overland Park graduate student, practices Tai Kwan Do forms Tuesday afternoon at the Ambler Student Recreation Center. Matthew practices three to four days a week.
Mia lverson/KANSAN
Mets defeat Dogers 4-0
MLB
Jason Bay finally steps up with his first home run for New York
NEW YORK — Jason Bay hit his first home run for the Mets to back another stingy outing by Johan Santana, and New York beat the slumping Los Angeles Dodgers 4-0 in the opener of a doubleheader Tuesday for its fifth straight victory.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Santana (3-1) worked his way around early traffic on the bases, tossing six innings of four-hit ball to extend a run of splendid starts by the Mets' surprising rotation.
Luis Castillo hit a two-run single
and New York pitched its second consecutive shutout, following Mike Pelfrey's 1-0 win Sunday night over Atlanta in a game that was called in the sixth inning because of rain.
More wet weather Monday night led to Tuesday's old-fashioned, single-admission, twintight double-header — but few fans made it to blustery Citi Field in time for the first pitch at 4:10 p.m.
There were still plenty of empty sections of dark green seats down low by the time David Wright
dived headfirst to score on a second-inning wild pitch by Hiroki Kuroda (2-1).
The power of practice
A sparse crowd began filing in as the game wore on, but it was far from a full house as New York (11-9) improved to 7-1 on its 10-game homestand.
Pitching has been the key: Mets starters are 5-1 with a 1.17 ERA in the last 12 games, leading the club to a 9-3 record during that span.
As white napkins whipped around the outfield in the wind, Fernando Nieve worked two scoreless innings and Pedro Feliciano finished the five-hitter. With its fourth shutout of the season, New York tied San Francisco for the major league lead.
Oliver Perez was set to start for the Mets against knuckleballer Charlie Haeger in the nightcap, a matchup of winless pitchers.
Wright drew a one-out walk in
Missing injured slugger Manny Ramirez, the Dodgers lost for the fourth time in five games. They have scored only five runs in their last four.
the second, went to third on Ike Davis' double and scored when Kuroda threw a wild pitch with the bases loaded.
Bay connected leading off the fourth, driving a 1-0 pitch over the 384-foot sign in left-center for his first home run since signing a $66 million, four-year contract with the Mets.
New York had been waiting for Bay to break out the power bat that produced 36 home runs and 119 RBIs for the Boston Red Sox last season.
Castillo made it 4-0 in the seventh with a two-run single off Ramon Troncoso after fellow reliever Jon Link had loaded the bases.
NOTES: Dodgers manager Joe Torre said injured RHP Vicente Padilla won't throw for at least a week to 10 days and there is no timetable for his return. Padilla, who went on the disabled list Saturday, was diagnosed Monday with irritation of the radial nerve in his forearm, a condition the team said is very rare for pitchers.
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