4B
SPORTS THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
KANSAS 1, MISSOURI 0
BASEBALL REWIND
Offense struggles in Border Showdown win
BY ANDREW HAMMOND
ahammond@kansan.com
Lost in the aftermath of Wednesday's outstanding start from freshman pitcher Thomas Taylor were Kansas' offensive struggles.
The offense that had shown up with force in the last two games, Sunday against Nebraska and again Tuesday against Benedictine, disappeared in a 1-0 victory against Missouri.
"When you're in a game that's 1-0, it's always good to be out on the winning side," coach Ritch Price said, laughing.
The Jayhawks ran off the Tigers' starting pitcher Eric Anderson within the first two innings, but after that, Missouri's pitchers batted back, holding the Jayhawks to zero runs in eight innings.
Not only did Robby Price's hitting streak end at 22 games, but the offense managed to leave six runners on base while outhitting the Tigers 6-3.
After the Jayhawks struck first blood with a James Stanfield RBI single, the offense then shifted into neutral.
Still, Kansas wanted a better offensive performance against Missouri.
"We got that first run early in the game, and I figured we would put up eight or nine against these guys," outfielder Jimmy Waters said. "We just didn't get clutch hits, but I'm glad to get out of here with
the win."
The lineup received a shuffling of sorts with Brandon Macias hitting in the leadoff spot and Casey Lytle batting sixth.
Both players struggled from the plate in the game. Macias was 1-for-4 with a single. Litle was 0-for-4 from the dish, but he inched closer to the all-time school hit by pitch record. He's two away from the Kansas record of 20.
There were only a few positives on the night, as Brian Heere went 2-for-4 from the plate, and Stanfield had the lone RBI.
There were several times in the game when Kansas had an opportunity to break the game open, but bad at bats and quick outs were the jayhawks' undoing at the plate.
"We've been struggling at the back of our lineup, and I moved Casey down to get our best five hitters together and help set up Robby and Brian so they can drive in runs." Ritch Price said.
Although the game was ugly for the offense, the echoing sentiment among the layhawks after the game was that simply getting the victory against Missouri was good enough.
"I don't want to put any locker room material up there for them." Waters said "But after last season's bitter ending to them, we knew needed to take care of business"
Junior left fielder Jimmy Waters connects on a pitch for a base hit Wednesday night against Missouri in the Border Showdown. Waters scored the Jayhawks' only run in the 1-0 victory against Missouri and batted 1-for-4.
Edited by Cory Bunting
TAYLOR (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
"Always getting the leadoff guy is key," Blankenship said.
retired, Blankenship said he felt confident the game was in hand.
Blankenship quickly retired the final two batters and preserved the shutout victory - the first save of his career.
That meant Taylor, his fellow Royals fan, had earned his fourth victory of the season. Sporting an ear-to-ear grin after the game, it
was clear that Taylor was still relishing a moment he's not soon to forget.
"Ever since I was a kid the Royals have been my favorite team, so it's obviously a dream to come play at Kauffman." Taylor said. "And to pitch as good as I did, it's just icing on the cake."
Edited by Jesse Rangel
Player to remember
Thomas Taylor, freshman starting pitcher
Taylor was nothing short of brilliant in 5.2 innings against the Tigers, the longest outing of his young career. Taylor shut out Missouri, allowing just two hits with zero walks and tying a career-high with eight strikeouts. It continues a string of excellent outings for the freshman. In his last four appearances — three starts and a brief appearance in relief Sunday — Taylor has gone 14 innings and allowed zero runs on seven hits and no walks with 19 strikeouts.
Taylor
Player to forget
From the stat book
The Jayhawks may not have expected to pick up a 1-0 victory — "No way," coach Ritch Price said — but
Robby Price, senior second baseman
theyll certainly take it. It was the first 1-0 victory for the Jayhawks since 1983, at least a few years before any of the current players were even born.
Price may be all but a lock for All-Conference honors at second base, but he struggled against Missouri Wednesday night. Price reached base on a hit-by-pitch, but wasn't able to pick up a hit. It was just the sixth time this year Price had gone hitless in a game, and it ended a 22-game hit streak. No cause for worry, though. Price is still hitting .462 in conference play.
1983
Price
Key inning
Ninth
The Jayhawks failed to get any insurance runs for closer Travis Blankenship, but it didn't matter in the end. Blankenship came back from a 3-0 count to strike out arguably the most feared hitter in the Big 12, Aaron Senne, and mowed through the heart of the Missouri lineup en route to picking up a two-inning save.
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In perspective
There are two things to take away from a 1-0 victory. First, the bats don't come alive. The Jayhawks can't expect to pick up any more wins by just producing one run (it hadn't happened for 27 years), so they'll need to find a way to get more runs across the plate. On the other hand, the pitching staff can hardly perform better than a three-hit shutout against a conference opponent. Coach Price is deservedly happy with the development of Thomas Taylor since he underwent surgery last year.
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After an 0-for-3 night at the plate, senior second baseman Robby Price's hitting streak of 22 games is over, leaving him two games shy of the Kansas all-time record. Even more impressive than Price's 22 straight games with at least one hit is the number six. Price has now gone hitless in only six of the Jayhawks' 39 games.
STREAK SNAPPED
Gamenotes
BY THE NUMBERS
With the victory, Kansas improves to 21-1-1 when leading after six innings.
Kansas is now 3-0 over Missouri at Kauffman and 6-5 all-time in Major League parks.
The Jayhawks held Aaron Senne, Missouri's top hitter at .436, to an 0-for-4 evening and struck him out twice.