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SPORTS THURSDAY MARCH 11,2010 THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN KANSAN.COM
MLB
Greinke adds on to scoreless streak
TUCSON, Aniz. — Zack Greinke was far more pleased with his first start than with the three innings he threw for the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday against the Colorado Rockies.
Nonetheless, he extended his scoreless streak this spring to six consecutive innings, allowing two hits in that stretch.
Greinke, the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, threw 51 pitches — 31 for strikes — to help the Royals to a 5-0 victory Wednesday. He gave up a first-pitch double to Troy Tulowitki with two out in the first and allowed two runners to reach base in the third on an error and a walk.
"It still wasn't as sharp as the game before," said Greinke, referring to the 27 pitches he threw in three innings Friday against Texas. "It was a little chilly out and it just was hard to get loose. So everything wasn't as crisp."
Greinke is on schedule for Opening Day start April 5 against Detroit. It will be the first start in a season opener for Greinke, and he won't see the Tigers this spring since they train in Lakeland, Fla.
"I think it works to the pitcher's advantage a little bit," Greinke said. "The first time a hitter sees you, it's tougher on the pitcher than the hitter."
Greinke said he's not thinking about the Tigers. His focus is on pitching well now.
"Still not there but it's better than it usually is this time of the spring," Greinke said. "Fastball command has been pretty good."
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Freshman guard Monica Engelman looks for an opening during Kansas' game against Texas A&M last week. Kansas will count on Engelman to counter Oklahoma State's Andrea Riley at both ends of the floor in Kansas' first-round game.
Jeff Francis made his second start for Colorado after missing the 2009 season following shoulder surgery. In his first spring start Friday, he allowed four hits, two walks and four runs in two innings.
Greinke said he threw one slider and no curveballs against the Rockies.
Tournament offers chance for redemption
Associated Press
Jerry Wang/KANSAN
BY MAX ROTHMAN
mrothman@kansan.com
twitter.com/maxrothman
Kansas women's basketball's late-season wreckage began the last time the Jayhawks played Oklahoma State. Now Kansas is aiming for redemption with its second wave of talent.
The Jayhawks take on the 20thranked Cowgirls at 5 p.m. today in the first round of the Big 12 tournament. It's a short drive to Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo., but the Jayhawks will have to go a long way for the victory.
Kansas' gameplan does not entail leaning on one player to score 30 points to neutralize Oklahoma State senior Andrea Riley. Instead, coach Bonnie Henrickson hopes to challenge Riley, the conference leader in points (25.5) and assists (6.7) per game, with a balanced attack.
"That's got to be done by committee," Henrickson said. "Monica [Engelman] and Sade [Morris] have got to step up and produce more."
Riley will match up mostly with Engelman this time around. After gaining valuable experience from the ups and downs of the nine games that she has started, Engelman said that she felt prepared for the task.
"I know I didn't have the opportunity to play as many minutes as I am now." Engelman said. "I wasn't as privileged. In preparation, it's a little different. She's a different player. She's a lot more aggressive, and she's a lot smaller, but I'm used to playing. So I'm excited to be able to match up with her."
Oklahoma State's Jan. 12 victory at Allen Fieldhouse was a back-and-forth shootout between Riley and Kansas' senior guard Danielle McCray, two of the best players in the country. Riley converted two free throws and her Cowgirls led 68-65 with 23 seconds to go. McCray responded with a gametying three-pointer with 14 seconds remaining. But Riley wasn't done vet.
She flashed her often overlooked distributing skills and dished a beautiful pass to freshman Toni Young for a game-winning layup with three seconds to go. The
Cowgirls edged the Jayhawks 70-68 as Riley won her showcase against McCray.
Kansas lost more than just the game. On a drive to the basket late in the second half, freshman guard Angel Goodrich planted her right
foot awkwardly and tore the ACL in her right knee. Good rich, once the catalyst to a quickst offense, was lost for the season.
Since then Kansas is 5-9.
Jayhawks, as freshman forward Carolyn Davis is questionable after suffering a conclusion in practice last Friday.
The layhawks played nine of those games without McCray, who also suffered a season-ending ACL injury.
"We're finding some type of momentum to carry into the Oklahoma State game."
To say the least, Kansas strives for a flip in its fate. The tournament provides the Jawhaws that
MONICA ENGELMAN Freshman guard
Injuries are still affecting the
opportunity against the team that initiated its demise.
"We're saying a lot of positive things," Engelman said at Tuesday's practice. "Yesterday, I thought that we had a very
good practice We lost to Texas A&M, but we're finding some type of momentum to carry into the Oklahoma State game."
Henrickson said that many of her players were approaching post-season play similar to a state tournament in high school. As long as Kansas equally distributes its scoring, rather than one hero trying to match Riley in dramatic state-tourney fashion, it stands a chance to advance to the second round for a matchup against second-seeded Iowa State.
Key to the game:
Neutralizing Andrea Riley
"It what we talked about when Angel and Danielle went down," Henrickson said. "It's not any different than looking at playing them again. We've got to have more production by committee."
No. 20 Oklahoma State's senior guard Andrea Riley scored 30 points,
a Jan. 12 victory against the Jayhawks. In that game, Kansas' now injured Danielle McCray almost went point for point with Riley by scoring a team high 28 points. Without McCray, the Jayhawks will need to find a different way to neutralize Riley. Kansas will likely attempt to do that by getting production from several different players and grabbing defensive rebounds to limit Riley's attempts.
Riley
Andrew laylor contributed to this report.
Edited by Taylor Bern
Keep an eye on:
Monica Engelman
Since scoring in double figures in her first six games as a starter, freshman guard Monica Engelman has failed to reach that mark in the Jayhawks last three games. Kansas lost those three games by an average of 24 points. Against Oklahoma State, Engelman will need to up her production as Kansas attempts to neutralize Oklahoma State Riley.
Engelman
Opponent to watch:
Tegan Cunningham
Senior forward Tegan Cunningham is the other part of Oklahoma State's dynamic duo. Throughout the regular season Cunningham and Riley averaged almost 42 points per game, Cunningham will need to produce alongside Riley to improve Oklahoma State's chances of advancing in the Big 12 tournament. In six out of the seven Cowgirls' conference losses, Cunningham failed to do that as she scored below her season average.
Cunningham
— Andrew Taylor
Prediction:
Oklahoma State 78, Kansas 67
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