BIG 12 MEN'S BASKETBALL Big 12 representatives decide to keep the men's basketball tournament in Kansas City. Page 5
SPORTS UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 1996
Shockers give the Jayhawks a jolt
SECTION B
Wichita St. hurler allows only five Kansas singles in complete game win
By Dan Gelston
Kansan sportswriter
WICHITA — For five innings, Kansas starting pitcher Mario Opipari pitched well enough to win.
But, for nine innings a lethargic Jayhawk offense hit poorly enough to lose. The Jayhawks could only muster five singles in a 4-0 loss to No. 4 Wichita State last night before a season-high 5.198 fans at Eck Stadium.
It was Opipari's first start of the year for Kansas, 16-18 overall, 6-0 Big Eight Conference, and he responded with a solid five
inning effort in which he allowed three runs, while striking out five.
It was Oipipari's third appearance since April 1, the end of his 30-day suspension for being charged with operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol.
"I thought we pitched well," Kansas baseball coach Bobby Randall said. "Mario pitched well, Chris Williams pitched well, and so did Josh (Wingerd)."
Meanwhile, Kansas sputtered offensively against Shocker starter Brandon Baird. He threw just 92 pitches in a complete game effort, walking one and striking out seven. He allowed just one Kansas runner to reach second base and that was in the second inning. At one point he retired nine of 10 batters.
"Their kid pitched a great game," Randall said. "I knew he was a quality pitcher. You can't pitch much better than he pitched."
Final statistics
Kansas-Wichita St. Linecore
Kansas 000 000 000—0 5 0
Wichita St. 010 020 10X—4 11 0
Opipari, Williams (6), Wingerd (8) and
Meadows; Baird and Reese. W—Baird (4-
3). L—Opipari (0-1). HR—Wichita St.,
Reese (2).
The Shockers scored first in the second inning. A two out single by catcher Nathan Reese scored right fielder Jerry Stine, who doubled.
Reese burned Kansas again the fifth. He led off the inning with a home run over the 390-foot sign in center field for his second homer of the year. The Shockers added another run in fifth after three singles to make it 3-0.
Kansas first baseman Justin Headley, who
finished zero for four with three strikeouts,
said the Jayhawks had a tough time figuring
Baird out.
"He was making really good pitches," Headley said. "He was keeping it in the zone and mixing it up pretty well."
The Jayhawks got a scare in the Wichita State half of the seventh. With one run already in and runners on second and third with two out, Stine hit a fly ball to the right-center gap that Kansas center fielder Isaac Byrd and right player Mike Dean gave chase to. Byrd crashed into the wall causing the ball to pop loose. But Dean was there to make the catch and end the inning.
However, Byrd, who doubles as a wide receiver for the football team, also took a shot to his ear from Dean's knee. He had to be helped from the field and ended up leaving the game.
Byrd said he was fine after the game.
you go back to the same. Byrd may be fine health-wise but the Jayhawks are reeling. They have lost five consecutive games, their longest losing streak of the season.
"I just got my bell rung a little bit," he said.
However the cure for their ails may be this weekend's series with Iowa State. The Jayhawks pummeled the Cyclones in Lawrence last March. But Headley said with the way the Jayhawks are playing, they can't take any team for granted.
"Iowa State's playing a lot better baseball and we're not playing too well," he said. "I'm not sure what it's going to take for us to start playing better ball. For me, it's really mental right now. I'm thinking about things I shouldn't be thinking about at the plate."
Jayhawk softball splits doubleheader
Kansas travels to Ames, Iowa, tomorrow to start a three-game series with the Cyclones. Game time is 3 p.m. tomorrow.
Jayhawks had only three hits in opener
By Jenni Carlson
Kansan sportswriter
If Kansas softball coach Gayle Luedek has any say in the Jayhawks' schedule next year, there will be at least one change.
Kansas won't have to see Southwest Missouri State six times. The Jayhawks and Bears battled for the fifth and sixth times yesterday at Jayhawk Field with the Bears taking the first game 1-0, and the Jayhawks winning the second 4-1.
"The team wanted to play them about as bad as I did," Luedke said. "I told them, 'Send me your schedule so I know what tournaments not to go to.'"
The teams met in Kansas' first game of the season at the Pepsi-Cola Intercollegiate Classic and then three times in the Southwest Missouri State Invitational.
The Bears got to the Jayhawks a second time yesterday as Kansas moved to 24-15 overall.
One run would be enough for Southwest Missouri State freshman pitcher Nora Cagwin
Southwest Missouri State scored in the second inning of the first game when Bear junior first baseman Kenna Jones drove in junior left fielder Krista Scholz with a one-out single against Kansas senior pitcher Beth Robinson.
"We just didn't make the adjustments we needed to," Kansas sophomore shortstop Michelle Huber said. "She was moving the ball in and out, and we weren't adjusting."
Cagwin surrendered just three hits, facing only three or four batters in
each inning.
Last weekend, the Jayhawks pounded out 32 hits in a three-game series against Nebraska, which leads the Big 12 Conference.
"The million dollar question is: Why can we hit the ball so well and score so many runs against Nebraska and then the last four games the offense can dissipate down to nothing?" Luedeke said.
The Jayhawks seemed to find some answers offensively early in the second game. Kansas sophomore left fielder Sara Holland sent a ball bouncing into center field to start the bottom of the first inning. She moved to second on a successful bunt by sophomore third baseman Sarah McCann.
Holland scored on a double steal. McCann crossed home plate moments later on a sacrifice fly to center by Hubler.
"We just wanted to come out and jump on them early," said Hubler, who was tabbed the Big 12 player of the week yesterday after hitting. 600 last week.
KANSAS TENNIS
Hubler got two more RBI in the fifth inning. She drove in sophomore designated player Kaele Saal and McCann with a single to right center field and finished the day two for two.
Kansas' four-run cushion held off Southwest Missouri State, which scored its lone run in the sixth inning. Kansas freshman pitcher Sarah Workman scattered five hits in upping her record to 12-7.
Kansas split its fourth consecutive doubleheader. Like the Jayhawks' hitting woes in the first game, their difficulty sweeping doubleheaders has the team asking questions.
"If we had answers, we'd be working on it," Hubler said. "We just can't seem to put two games together."
Matt Flickner / KANSAN
Kansas sophomore third baseman Sarah McCann connects with a pitch in the first game of yesterday's doubleheader with Southwest Missouri State.
Kansas junior Kylie火发ires a shot back to Kansas States' Yana Dorodna during yesterday's match at Robinson Counts. Hunt, who is
Tvler Wirken / KANSAN
ranked third in the nation, defeated Dorodnova 7-5, 6-2. Yesterday was the women's tennis team season finale.
Women's tennis continues streak
'Hawks undefeated against Wildcats
By Evan Blackwell
Kansan sportswriter
The No. 18 Kansas women's tennis team played its final Big Eight home match yesterday, and they weren't even on their home court.
For the third match in a row, the Jayhawks had to play at the Robinson Center courts, because the Allen Field House courts are still being repaired for the upcoming regional tournament. Kansas remained well on its way to a fifth straight Big Eight title and
Merzbacher had plenty to smile about after he watched his team defeat an opponent that gave them more problems than it has had in the past with Kansas State.
"They're really good," Merzbacher said.
improved its record to 12-7 this year.
Despite the change of venue, Kansas continued its winning streak against the Wildcats, who have never beaten the Jayhawks, with a 5-2 victory. Kansas also won all three matches they played at Robinson.
"We've played well over here," Merzbacher said with a wry smile. "Maybe we won't go back."
"If we're the best team in the Big
"They're a lot better than they have been," Atkerson said. "Usually, they don't even have a full team."
Eight, then they might be the second best."
The Jayhawks took control of the match early by taking the doubles point, winning all three matches.
Kansas senior Jenny Atkerson said the Jawhays were pushed further by the Wildcats than they had been before.
The No.1 doubles team of Atkerson and junior Kylie Hunt, who are ranked 12th in the nation, rolled past the Kansas St.队 of senior Karina Kuregian and sophomore Lena Piliptchak 8-1.
Hunt, ranked third in the nation in singles, was also a winner in No. 1
singles against Wildcat sophomore Yana Dorodnova 7-5, 6-2. However, Kansas sophomore Christie Sim, ranked 74th nationally in singles, lost at No. 2 singles to Kuregian 6-3, 6-3.
Playing in her final regular season home match, Atkerson won an impressive 6-1, 6-1 in No. 3 singles against Pilipthak. Atkerson improved her Big Eight career singles record to 21-0.
"That's just huge," Merzbacher said.
Merzbacher also said that Atkerson's leadership will be hard to replace when next season rolls around.
"We can always count on her to compete and play well," he said.
Louisiana dynamo may sign with Kansas
By Jenni Carlson
Kansan sportswriter
Several universities want high school star
Lester Earl may be close to signing a national letter of intent with the Kansas men's basketball team.
Then again, the McDonald's All- American may not be.
"He's hard to read," said Rich Allen, co-editor of Reidel's Roundball Review, a national basketball magazine. "He hasn't been talking a lot about it. There really hasn't been any indication which way he's leaning."
The 6-foot-9, 240-pound forward from Glen Oaks High School in Baton Rouge, La., has indicated that Kansas, Louisiana State and Tulane are on his final list, said Robin Fambrough, who reports on high school
sports for the Baton Rouge Advocate.
Like Allen, Fambrough couldn't speculate on which of the three schools Earl might choose in the late signing period, which began yesterday. She spoke with Earl yesterday afternoon, and there still was no indication.
Kansas, LSU and Tulane have always been constants on Earl's list of possibilities, though, Fambrough said.
The only change Fambrough detected was that Earl might change the day he intends to sign. Originally, he planned to sign his letter on Monday after he returned from Magic's Roundball Classic on Sunday in Auburn Hills, Mich.
"He hedged away from that," Fambrough said. "He said sometime next week will be time for a decision."
Norb Garrett, editor of Dick
Vitale's College Basketball magazine, said that decision appeared to be leaning more toward the Jayhawks.
"He's really become interested in Kansas, more so in the last couple days," Garrett said. "I hadn't heard Kansas on his original short list. Everyone loves playing for Roy Williams, though, and I'm sure it's kind of tournament related."
"He's an aggressive dynamo. He's relentless on the court." Allen
And Earl appears to be the kind of player the Jayhawks need. After losing to a physical Syracuse team in the NCAA tournament, Kansas would benefit by getting Earl's commitment.
The Jayhawks have one scholarship to give after signing Nicky Bradford, a 6-6 Parade All-American from Fayetteville High School in Fayetteville, Ark. Earl appears to be the only prospect Kansas is still pursuing. Allen said.
Earl has continued to improve since he entered high school. Fambrough said he had continually played well in transition and in the half court offense but had added a baby hook and a jump shot from eight-to-10 feet to his arsenal.
said. "He's a ferocious rebounder. The only part of his game is that his shooting is a little suspect. He's just not as polished, but that will probably improve."
The thing that may sway Earl to attend LSU or Tulane, neither of which made the 64-team NCAA tournament, is their close proximity to his home.
Fambroub said he's not getting any pressure from home. Earl's mother selected where he would go to high school and is leaving this decision to him.
"Never say never, though," Fambrough said. "I'll believe it when I see it on the dotted line."
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