KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / THURSDAY, APRIL 1. 2010 / SPORTS
3B
BASEBALL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
was paid a visit by Szefc.
"He goes, 'Just go out there and try to make hard contact and go out on the night on a good note,'" Elgie said.
Elgie said Szefc's advice gave him confidence that carried over into his next two at-bats. In the fifth,
Eagle shuffled a single to center to get him going. Leading off the eighth, he launched the home run that proved to be the eventual game-winner.
"It's really nice to be able to go out there and help the team win."
"He's in the cages with me, and he knows the hardships I've been going
ZAC ELGIE sophomore infielder
through, too," Elgie said. "I appreciate that he came up and talked with me, and I think a lot of that was a deciding factor in those last two at bats."
After jumping out to a quick 6-0 lead in the second inning behind timely hitting and solid efforts from three different pitchers, the Jayhawks seemed to be coasting toward a victory.
Like Arkansas-Little Rock the night before though, Missouri State wouldn't go away without a fight. After being silenced for most of the night, the Bears rallied for three runs in the eighth, cutting the Jayhawks' lead to two.
Elgie got Kansas one run back with his home run to left in the bottom half of the inning, providing a little extra insurance for his bullpen in the process. But Missouri State got another rally going in the ninth, prompting Coach Price to bring freshman
Tanner Poppe out of the bullpen to close the game.
Poppe, who wasn't expected to pitch in the ball game, came in during the ninth with tying runs in scoring position and Kansas nursing a 7.5 lead.
"Everyone wants to pitch in those types of situations, so its fun to get out there.
throw strikes, Poppe said. "That's all you can do."
The first batter he faced fled out to center, scoring the Bears sixth run, which would have tied the game had Elgie not homered in the previous inning. After the next batter got out on a grounder to second base, Elgie's home run proved to be the winning tally.
"It's really nice just to be able to go out there and help the team win," he said.
The late-game drama didn't seem to bother coach Price, who said he was thrilled the layhawks were tested on back-to-back nights by mid-major opponents.
Senior second baseman Robby Price slides into home following a hit to center field. Price's run gave Kansas a 2-0 lead in the first inning Wednesday night against Missouri State.
Weston White/KANSAN
"We're getting everybody's best effort. There's no doubt about it." Price said.
- Edited by Michael Holtz
GAME NOTES
GOING STREAKING
Senior second baseman Robby Price continued his torrid pace at the plate with a 2-for-4 effort including a two-run home run. Price has now hit safely in 10 straight games, and has recorded at least two hits in five of them. Over his 10-game hitting streak, Price has gone 16-for-33 with 16RBIs and 14 runs scored.
SIX DOES THE TRICK
FINAL SCORE
With coach Price needing to rest his starters and several men from his bullpencil, he called upon six different members of Kansas' pitching staff to work in the contest. Most notable were redshirt junior Wally Marciel, redshirt sophomore Matt Kohorst and redshirt junior Scott Heitshusen. The three combined pitched the first six innings, holding the Bears to one run on six hits.
MISSOURI STATE 6
Junior left fielder Jimmy Waters dives for a fly ball in the game against Missouri State. Kansas won 7-6 and will play again Thursday at 6 p.m.
Western White/KANSAN
FINAL FOUR
MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE
Mountaineers pull ahead in tourney
You almost could see the steam coming out of Bob Huggins' ears as he walked to the West Virginia locker room at the Wachovia Center after watching his team throw up brick after brick in going down by 13 to Villanova at halftime.
But for as badly as Wildcats fans wanted to see their team finish the regular season on a positive note March 6, that's how badly the Mountaineers wanted to keep their momentum entering the Big East tournament. And Jay Wright could see it.
T he Mountaineers, who shot just 24 percent in the first half, gained a 68-66 overtime victory, and look at what's happened since: three wins and the championship of the Big East, and four victories in the NCAA tournament, including Saturday's 73-66 win over top-seeded Kentucky in the East Regional final.
"They scored only 16 points in the first half, but they kept themselves in it with defense and offensive rebounding," the Villanova coach recalled earlier this week. "The next thing you know, they got it going before the end. They started making shots and getting stops, and it was over."
Weston White/KANSAN
Now, for the first time since the legendary Jerry West got them to the 1959 NCAA championship game, the Mountaineers are in the Final Four. It is, according to Wright, because the team can defend and rebound like few around.
"They can win when they're not making shots," Wright said. "They can create offense off their great defense. If they miss shots, they
Huggins, 56. a West Virginia graduate whose only other appearance in a Final Four came at Cincinnati in 1992, likes the way his defense is playing. But he notes that's out of necessity because his offense is shooting only 40 percent in the tournament.
BOB HUGGINS
West Virginia coach
"We're not going to score a whole lot of points," he said. "Our..."
can get the offensive rebounds. There's no one in the country that can offensive-rebound like they do. They have great length."
"Our guys want to win. So I think they understand we've got to do a great job of guarding."
West Virginia has averaged 15 offensive rebounds in the tournament and outrebounded its opponents by nearly five per game. Defensively, the Mountainers, who employ a 1-3-1 zone much of the time, allowed fewer than 60 points in all of their postseason games except for Kentucky, and held their NCAA opposition to 33.9 percent shooting, 20.5 percent from three-point range.
The dour Huggins might turn off some with his intense, unsmiling nature, but the guy can coach. His 670 career wins are fourth among active coaches, trailing
want to win. So I think they understand we've got to do a great job of guarding."
His biggest achievement to now might have come shortly after he took over the job in April 2007 from John Beilein, who left to coach Michigan. Huggins persuaded the players he inherited that they could be successful even if his style - a more aggressive, go-after-it approach - was different.
Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, Syracuse's Jim Boeheim, and Connecticut's Jim Calhoun.
HIGH SCHOOL HOOPS
"The first time we met as a team, they were all on board," Huggins said.
Knight leads West in All-American game
COLUMBUS, Ohio — No harm, no foul for Brandon Knight.
Knight's three-pointer from the right wing with three seconds left gave the Westa a 107-104 victory over the East in the McDonald's All-American game on Wednesday night at Ohio State's Value City Arena.
Knight drove the right wing and stopped short as a defender fell down, taking his time to set up for the winning three. It appeared he may have pushed off to get open
"No, he just fell down." Knight said of the defender.
Associated Press
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Jayhawk Memo Board Giveaway
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