SPORTS / MONDAY, MARCH 8. 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
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BASEBALL
Jayhawks take three of four in home-opening series
BY BEN WARD bward@kansan.com
The best teams in baseball are those that receive steady production from their entire lineup.
Kansas (7-3) did just that this weekend, boasting a well-rounded attack to take three out of four games from Iowa (4-5) in the Jayhawks' home opening series.
"The quality of our at-bats improved all weekend." Coach Ritch Price said. "We laid off the breaking ball and the change up out of the zone, and pounded the fastball in fastball counts."
Eight of nine starters tallied at least one of 13 hits during Friday's opener, an 8-1 victory, and the trend continued throughout the weekend.
"Everybody contributing makes the biggest difference in the world," junior outfielder Jimmy Waters said.
Aside from the 5-3 setback in the nightcap of the doubleheader on Friday, the Jayhawks were dominant at the plate, spraying hits to all areas of the field.
"Hitting is definitely contagious," sophomore third baseman Jake Masco said. "You see the guy go up ahead of you and lace the ball, it's going to make you go up there, be relaxed, and you realize you can do it too."
After putting up 10 more hits in an 8-4 victory on Saturday, the Jayhawks' offensive balance of the weekend was bookended by a 16-hit barrage in their 15-7 drubbing of the Hawkees on Sunday.
Kansas began right from the first inning on Sunday, jumping out to a 3-0 lead on three straight hits, including a towering two-run home run by Waters. The layhawks put up five more runs in the following frame, with four different batters driving in a run.
It wasn't only Waters, the Jayhawks' leading hitter, doing the damage either. Similar to Friday, eight of nine starters recorded a hit, and seven drove in runs. Five of nine Kansas batters also enjoyed a multiple-hit afternoon.
Over the four games the Jayhawks racked up 34 runs, and did so without their best hitter
— junior third baseman Tony Thompson — who hasn't played at all this season because of a knee injury.
Though the lavahawks miss the production of Thompson, who won the Big 12's Triple Crown last season, his absence has given players like Marasco and senior Brett Lisher additional at-bats. Both players started three of four games and made the most of their opportunities: Marasco went 7-for-11 with an RBI and five runs scored, and Lisher went 7-for-14 with one run scored and seven RBI.
"Obviously once we get Thompson back, we're going to be even better one-through-nine," Price said.
For now, Kansas remains productive offensively even without Thompson's bat in the lineup. But Coach Price and the Jayhawks know that when Thompson returns, they'll add one more offensive weapon to their disposal.
Edited by Cory Bunting
Junior pitcher TJ. Walz fires the ball against Iowa Friday. Walz pitched eight innings with only four hits against him in the 8-1 win.
BASEBALL
Pitchers see improvement after early-season struggles
BY ANDREW HAMMOND ahammond@kansan.com
After a sloppy 3-1 loss to Eastern Michigan and a 15-3 rout by Arkansas, Kansas' problem early in the season seemed to be pitching.
But after winning three out of four games against Iowa this weekend, the arms for the lajhawks are starting to come to life.
"Coach Price always wants us to come out with a little swagger and confidence every outing
and just have fun out there"; senior Cameron Selk said.
On Saturday, Selik had another stellar outing as he won his third game of the season, allowing six hits in six innings. He struck out six while allowing two runs.
this coming Wednesday."
Selik's start to 2010 is the total opposite of what he experienced in 2009. Last season, in 10 starts, Selik finished with a 2-2 record and an ERA of 4.64. This year he is 3-0 with a team-leading ERA of 0.68.
Junior T.J. Walz, who has two wins on the season, is the workhorse so far for KU with 20 innings pitched in three appearances. While the Jayhawks have their first and second starters figured out, the No. 3 man is still to be established. The usual third starter, sophomore Lee Ridenbour, is out with an injury, so coach Ritch Price is looking to increase his pitching staff's depth by giving starts to the younger starters.
Sunday's winning pitcher, junior Wally Marceli, came into the game in the third inning and was very effective, although he had a big lead to protect. He pitched 4.1 innings, struck out two batters and only allowed three hits.
Selik is not the only jayhawk with a good start to 2010.
"The biggest thing for me is maturity, coming from a junior college and pitching at the D-1 level is a big difference and maturing into the starting role took some time and I feel like I'm getting there," Selik said.
"When you come in with runners in scoring position, you have to toughen up and get those tough outs," Marciel said. "It also helps and gives you confidence when the offense is productive. It helps you settle down a lot quicker."
"With Lee out, it gives us a chance to work in guys who we want to get in there and give some experience to." Price said. "We going to be starting (Tanner) Poppie
Edited by Cory Bunting
SERIES NOTES AND RESULTS:
Game 1: Friday: Kansas 8, Iowa 1
Game 2: Friday: Kansas 3, Iowa 5
Game 3: Saturday: Kansas 8,
lowa 4
Game 4: Sunday: Kansas 15, Iowa 7
The platoon at catcher continues for Kansas, as sophomores Chris Manship and James Stanfield and freshman Alex DeLeon each saw time behind the plate during the weekend. Manship made three starts, and has been efficient with the bat this season, going 8-of-19 with four runs scored and five RBI in seven appearances. He was replaced in the Saturday's game in lieu of DeLeon, who recorded his first collegiate hit in the contest. Stanfield, who returned to the lineup Saturday after missing three games with a hamstring injury, caught the series finale on Sunday and went 1-for-4 with a walk and an RBI.
Regardless of who is behind the plate for the Jayhawks, they've struggled to throw out runners on the base paths. On the season, opposing base runners have gone 11-of-15 in attempted thefts.
The Jayhawks continue to be ball magnets at the plate Three Kansas batters got hit by a pitch on Saturday, bringing the season total to 18 through 10 games. The all-time Jayhawk record for hit batsmen in a season is 91, recorded in the 2005-06 season.
Kansas pitchers have also made a habit of hitting opposing batters, plunking 14 so far.
The Jayhawks made five errors in the four games not a glaringly high total, but they also mishandled a few balls that were scored base hits. Coach Price said the sloppy play can be attributed to the lack of time taking infield on natural outdoor surfaces, but nonetheless needs to improve.
"We missed 11 days of practice with the field being wet and not being able to get on the dirt -and it showed," Price said."We've really got to clean it up defensively."
Edited by Ben Ward