6B
SPORTS / WEDNESDAY. APRIL 14, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
SOFTBALL
Kansas hopes to build from first Big 12 win
zgetz@kansan.com
twitter.com/zgetz
After securing the first Big 12 Conference victory of the season against Baylor, senior infielder Sara Ramirez said she hoped that Kansas would be able to use the victory to help win future games.
"A lot of players were frustrated, and now with this win, a lot of their frustration is gone," Ramirez said. "We're going to build on it and get so much better because our team morale is back up."
Senior infielder Alicia Irwin said it wasn't just that Kansas won, but how the team won that would help boost morale.
"It it was something we needed, not only to get a victory against a good team, but we played well and everybody was 110 percent into the game," Irwin said.
Kansas (17-22, 1-7) will have a chance to build on its first conference victory when it hosts Nebraska (24-7, 3-3) at 5 p.m. at Arrocha Ballpark. Nebraska will be the first Big 12 team not ranked in either major softball poll that Kansas will play this season.
But coach Megan Smith said that rankings didn't mean much and that Kansas would go in focused to any game it played.
"Every team in our conference is a top team, regardless if they are ranked or not," Smith said. "I
think when you approach conference teams, you don't look if they're ranked or not, and every time you play a conference team, both teams are going to be out for blood and going to want to win."
No matter who is on the field or what the rankings are, every Big 12 team has a chance to win any game, Ramirez said.
"I think we have a really solid conference," Ramirez said. "We go into every game thinking we can get beat, and we can beat people."
Smith said she felt Kansas was starting to understand her system of breaking down the game as much as possible.
"If you buy into that, consistently work hard at it, and stay focused
on it, the results will come in the end," Smith said. "Right now it's not about the wins and losses. It's about the performance."
Irwin agreed that the team was starting to buy in to Smith's coaching philosophies.
"We talked between every pitch and not just every batter," Irwin said. "It was 'What's going on with this pitch', and I think that kept everyone into the game the whole time."
After tonight's game against Nebraska, Kansas will have a quick turnaround and play a doubleheader in Omaha, Neb., against Creighton Thursday.
Edited by Megan Heacock
NEBRASKA VS. KANSAS
WHEN: 5 p.m. today
WHERE: Arrocha Ballpark
UP NEXT
Kansas vs. Creighton WHEN: 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. Thursday
WHERE: Creighton Sports Complex, Omaha, Neb.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Jayhawks hire new assistant coaches
BY ANDREW TAYLOR
ataylor@kansan.com
Coach Bonnie Henrickson filled out next year's staff Tuesday with the hiring of two new assistant coaches.
Verdi
Troy Veru and Chester Nichols will join Kansas' staff in the wake of assistant coaches Karen Lange's and Tamika Raymond's departures.
Verdi comes to Kansas after contributing to the most successful season in Nebraska women's basketball history. He helped guide the Cornhuskers
Nichols
to a perfect Big 12 regular season record en route to a 32-2 overall record.
Under Verdi's tutelage at Nebraska, redshirt senior forward Kelsey Griffin became one of the most prolific posts in the nation and was named the 2010 Big 12 player of the year. Verdi will continue to coach post players at Kansas, and he has a talented squad to work with. The Jayhawks will return all of their starting forwards and centers next year, including Carolyn Davis, a member of the All-Big 12 rookie team.
"I am excited about Tory's skills as both a recruiter and a post coach," Henrickson said in a press release. "He has recruited and developed three All-Big 12 performers at Nebraska, all of which were also WNBA draft picks. In addition, his familiarity with the Big 12 Conference in general will be a huge asset to our program."
Nichols will coach perimeter players at Kansas, after having spent one year fulfilling that same position at Central Florida, where he also served as the recruiting coordinator.
Before his brief stint at Central Florida, Nichols was an assistant coach for six seasons at West Virginia. He became known for his recruiting prowess there because he helped bring in five separate top 20 recruiting classes.
"Chester has seen major success recruiting on a national level," Henrickson said. "He is also an excellent coach who will specialize working with our perimeter players, an area he has also excelled in during his career. With all of our returning talent on the perimeter and our incoming recruiting class of guards, I am looking forward to him joining our program."
Edited by Katie Blankenau
MLB
Royals lose to Tigers after six-run rally
DETROIT — Carlos Guillen's two-run double capped a six-runs rally in the seventh inning and the Detroit Tigers pulled off another big comeback, beating the Kansas City Royals 6-5 Tuesday.
Jose Guillen hit his fourth home run in three games as the Royals took a 5-10 lead against the Detroit bullpen. But just like Sunday, when the Tigers fell behind 5-0 to Cleveland, they recovered to win.
The Tigers hadn't gotten a runner past first in the first six innings against Kansas City, then rallied against four pitchers.
Gerald Laird doubled home Brandon Inge and chased Royals starter Brian Bannister. Scott Sizemore hit Roman Colon's second pitch for a run-scoring double and with two outs, Austin Jackson pulled the Tigers within 5-3 with Detroit's third RBI double in four batters.
Associated Press