8B
/ **SPORTS** / THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
BASEBALL GAMEDAY
KANSAS OPENING PITCH
ATAGLANCE
Kansas opens its Big 12 home schedule winners of three-straight, and six of its last seven since losing four in a row during spring break. The Jayhawks have used a high-powered offense to counter somewhat ineffective starting pitching.
QUESTION MARK
Will Kansas' starting rotation return to form?
Kansas' top three starters began the year as expected, turning in eight quality starts in 11 games. But since the series in St. Louis (3/20) all three — Walz, and seniors Cameron Selik and Brett Bollman — have mostly struggled, putting additional pressure on the offense to carry the Jayhawks to victories.
BY THE NUMBERS
12-7 — Kansas' record in games where Bollman, Selik or Walz pitched
7-2 Kansas' record in games where Bollman, Selik or Walz threw a quality start
9-3 KU's record in games where Bollman, Selik or Walz allowed four earned runs
PLAYER TO WATCH
T.J. Walz
With the series bumped up a day because of Easter, Walz will get the nod on Thursday instead of his usual Friday slot. Even with the change of day and his recent struggles, there's no mistaking Walz is still the Jayhawks' top starter, and needs to produce a toplevel outing to start the series off on a high note.
Walz
QUOTES
"I'm seeing the ball really well and have a lot of confidence in myself and my swing. I feel really good about my approach — like the pitcher can't get me out, and that's a good feeling."
senior second baseman Robby Price about his current success at the plate
Price
"If we don't pitch well with our starters, then we'll have very little chance to win with the quality of arms that A&M's going to run out there."
Coach Ritch Price on the importance of pitching against the Aggies
Ben Ward
Pitchers prepared to face hard-hitters
BY ANDREW HAMMOND
ahammond@kansan.com
In the conference home opener today, Kansas' pitching staff — a shaky unit so far this season — will face a tough test from the hard-hitting Texas A&M Augies.
"We have to get quality starts," coach Ritch Price said. "If we don't get those quality starts then we're going to struggle like last week at Baylor."
Since the conference opener against Baylor four games ago, pitching has been a serious issue. The Jayhawks haven't had a starter go beyond seven innings, mainly because of unproductive and inefficient outings.
In Wednesday's victory against Missouri State, six pitchers were in action for the Jayhawks. This plan was used to rest the usual starters and to save the main pitchers for this weekend.
hitting teams in the Big 12: They are in the top five in the Big 12 in total batting.
They are also conference leaders in triples. But the Aggies rarely walk; they have the fewest walks in the conference with 60. The Jayhawks gave up 14 walks in the three-game series against Baylor last week.
"We've been up and down" freshman pitcher Tanner Poppe said. "I think other than Sunday at Baylor, when our bullpen played well, we've struggled."
"It's just throwing strikes and pitching well," junior pitcher T.J. Walz said. "Giving up walks has been my enemy lately."
The Aggies come into the series as one of the best
Texas A&M's Brodie Greene could possibly give Kansas' pitching staff some issues. The All Big 12 second baseman last season is having another solid year for the Aggies.
He is in the top three in hitting with 37 hits this season, serving as the catalyst for
an offense that is scoring slightly more than six runs per game while averaging almost eleven hits per game.
"A&M is one of the best hitting teams in the conference," Price said. "Every time we're on the mound, we're going have to be at the top of our name."
Edited by Allyson Shaw
Scott Heitshusen
AXING THE AGGIES Kansas'shaky pitching staff will be tested today
KANSAS VS NO.21 TEXAS A&M 6 p.m., Lawrence
TEXAS A&M OPENING PITCH
ATAGLANCE
Rob Childress has the No. 2 pitching staff in the Big 12 ready to face the Jayhawks in a three-game set starting today. The Aggies are 4-2 in Big 12 play but were defeated in their last game against Texas State in a 6-5, 11-inning thriller. It ended in a walk-off single by the Bobcats.
QUESTION MARK
Can the Aggies win a slugfest with Kansas?
The Aggies may have more power at the plate than the Jayhawks. Brodie Greene and Joe Patterson are in the top five of the Big 12 in hits, each with 37. The Jayhawks pitching has been shaky as of late, so if a high-scoring game ensues, don't count the Aggies out too quickly.
BY THE NUMBERS
60 Times Texas A&M has been walked this season.The next lowest is Oklahoma State with 85.
44 — Errors the Aggies have in 2010
250 — Strikeouts the A&M pitchers have so far this season.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Brodie Greene
Greene, a senior, is one of the top players in the Big 12. He was named to the All Big 12 team at second base in 2009 and in conference games he had a .375 batting average. This season Greene is showing a little work. Defensively he has a .982 fielding percentage. Brodie also know how.
he is second on the team with six hit by pitches.
Greene
WHO WILL WIN THE SERIES?
Kansas is not a complete team with its pitching woes of late. The Aggies have not been tested on the road, but they do have the key to winning a road game: pitching and a high-powered offense. The winner of this series probably won't be decided until the third game on Saturday.
— Andrew Hammond
HPV Fact #8:
Guys can't get screened for HPV. So there's no way to know if a guy has the virus or is passing it on.
HPV Fact #12:
Condoms may not fully protect against HPV-the virus that can cause cervical cancer.
Why risk it Visit your campus health center.
MERCK
Copyright © 2010 Merck & Co., Inc.
All rights reserved. Printed in USA.
hpv.com
21050004(36)-01/10-GRD