University Daily Kansan / Friday. April 14, 1989
Sports
13
Final football scrimmage tomorrow
Several quarterbacks to play; Mason says game to be short
by Scott Achelpohl Kansan sportswriter
Kansas football coach Glen Mason is confident that tomorrow's spring game in Memorial Stadium will propel the Jayhawks into their summer conditioning program and 1989 regular season.
Some players will be forced to play both offense and defense because of a shortage of players, he said.
"I want a bunch of guys running around and getting after it, under game conditions and without any injuries." Mason said. "It will be the first scrimmage resembling a game-type situation."
"We can put only one and a half teams on the field." Mason said. "Our offensive line is not even two our defensive line is barely two deep.
Mason said several quarterbacks would see action but that Kyle Donnose, 6-foot, 180-pound senior, would start the game.
"I feel we can run the ball as well as anybody." Dohoe said. "I feel very good about what we're doing newly and what the defense is doing."
Donoob said he felt secure at his starting position heading into the scrimmage and the regular season, a season for him from the past two seasons.
"I've had a real good camp," he said. "When you're very secure at your position and have a lot of pride in what you're doing, it's beneficial." In the past, I've worried about being pulled."
F. Joseph Zuma/KANSAN
Ron Page, 6-2, 19-5pound redshirt freshman, and Percy McClendon, 6-0, 18-pound sophomore, will be the second or other quarterbacks, Mason said.
The running back position is one of the strongest on the team, Mason said. The offensive line also is an improved unit, he said.
hoe has completed 31 of 44 passes for
378 yards. Last fall, he completed
135 passes on 258 attempts for 1,844 yards
and nine touchdowns.
"I think we've got three real good running backs in Tony Sands, Frank Hatchett and Maurice Douglas" Mason said. "The offensive line is one of the most improved positions on our entire football team."
In the first three scrimmages, Sands, a 5-6, 174-pound sophomore, rushed for 248 vards on 30 carries.
In three spring scrimmages, Dono
Sands was the Jayhawks' leading rusher last fall with 490 yards on 103 carries and three touchdowns in 26 games, and 45 yards, respectively, last year.
The all-sophomore starting secondary also will be an area to watch, Mason said.
It consists of strong safety Deral Boykin, 5-10, 197 pounds; free safety Jason Priest, 6-10, 180 pounds; corner Reno, 7-10, 214 pounds; and Tim Hill, 5-7, 155 pounds.
"I have total confidence in our secondary," Terry said. "I think it's probably as good as last year. In spring ball, all of us have gotten stronger, faster, and we've played together for one season already."
See MASON, p. 14, col. 1
Rod Martin (left) tries to tackle a sweeping Frank Hatchett. The Kansas football team practiced yesterday in preparation for tomorrow's scrimmage at Memorial Stadium.
Jayhawks to face OSU in four-game series
Kansan sportswriter
by Mike Considine Kansas sportswriter
Oklaham State's two losses to Oral Roberts this week were the last thing Kansas coach Dave Bingham wanted
"I don't want to see them mad." Bingham said of the Cowboys. "I really was disappointed that Oral Roberts beat them."
Oklahoma State, 27-8, is ranked ninth in the ESPN/Collegiate Baseball poll and 12th in the Baseball America poll.
Kansas, 20-17, will take a five-game winning streak into this weekend's four-game Big Eight Conference series against Oklahoma
The Jayhawks will play the Cowboys at 7 p.m. tonight at Hogland-Maupin Stadium. The teams also play at the other tomorrow and at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Last year at Stillwater, Oklahoma State outscored the Jayhawks 47-8. The Cowboy won all four games to drop Kansas "overall record" to 15-30. At the end of 15, the Jayhawks had lost 15 of their last 16 games.
Kansas senior pitcher Craig Houfek, 1-0, said the Cowboys didn't seem as intimidating this year.
"In the three years I've been here,
we have never beaten them," Houfck said.
"I always felt they were so much better than anybody else. They were in a totally different class of baseball.
"Now I don't think it will be like that. I don't know if they are quite as dominating."
This year, Kansas is tied with
Oklahoma for third place in the conference at 5-3. The Cowboys are tied for first place with a 3-1 mark.
"Oklahoma State is one of the best programs in the country," Bingham said. "They are a real challenge. We just have to keep focused on on building the program in a competitive way."
The Jayhawks need to win just one of the four games this weekend to stay on track for the Big Eight postseason tournament, Bingham said. He has said that Kansas would be playing in a league to qualify for the tournament.
"Our program is really not at a level to compete with Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, but historically it hasn't been necessary to beat them to get into the conference tournament," he said.
Bingham said it was more important for Kansas to beat the teams near the bottom of the conference against traditional powers like the Cowboys.
"We're making steps in the right direction. We're closer to them than we been since I've been here," he said. "We still have some problems as far as performance, but one thing we do right is stay confident."
Bingham said the only weakness Oklahoma State had was its inexperience.
"The big thing is they don't have the names they had a year ago," Bangham said. "Last year, the public knew that Oklahoma State had (All Americans) Robin Ventura and Monty Fariss. Now they have kids who are going to make their own names. They are all young kids who
are just developing."
The Cowboys designated hitter Ray Ortiz was the Big Eight Player of the Week this week. But Bingham said he thought Oklahoma State outfielder Jeremy Burnitz was the best player Kansas faced last season.
Houfek said Oklahoma State's offense wasn't as consistent as it had been in previous years.
"Their pitching staff is pretty much the same as last year, but what has got to hurt them is that in the past their offense could always get them 15 runs a game," he said. "They always had that luxury and now they don't have that to fall back on that they has to put pressure on them."
From a Kansas perspective, it may make the Cowboys seem less invincible.
Juco recruit signs intent
6-foot-8 forward second to commit
by Mike Considine Kansan sportswriter
A 6-foot-8 junior college forward became the second men's basketball recruit, signing a national letter of intent yesterday.
Kirk Wagner of Pasadena City College in California, signed the binding letter to play for Kansas, Pasadena coach George Terzian said. Wagner is the second recruit to sign for the 1989-90 season.
Adonis Jordan, a 6-0 point guard from Cleveland High School in Reseda, Calif., signed with Kansas in November. A third player, 6-4 Todd Jefferson and McPherson High School will attend Akron as a non-scholarship athlete.
Wagner averaged 20 points and 7 rebounds a game. He made 63 percent of his field goal attempts.
"His strength is in his all-around ability." Terzian said. "He can shoot, handle the ball and pass it. He is not a quality athlete, but he is aquality kid."
Tterian said Wagner chose Kansas instead of Baylor, New Mexico or Washington State. Tterian said the Pasadena native had been recruited by Kansas coach Roy Williams and his staff since the year and had taken a paid recruiting to the campus before Jan. 1.
Terzian said the Kansas coaching staff, the strength of the University's communications program, the caliber of play in the Big Ten matchups, and the ability to play next season were Wagner's reasons for attending Kansas.
The Pasadena coach said Wagner missed four weeks of play last season because of torn ligaments in his knees. The winger was back on the net her was about 95 percent recovered.
Brad Casey of the National Recruiter's Cage Letter said Wagner may have been underrated by college recruiting publications. The forward was not listed in the publication's most recent issue.
"He's just one of those players who slipped through the cracks." Casey said. "Kansas may have tried to keep his' recruitment quiet. If someone would say, 'Okay, you know they know he can play and they might try to get him in for a visit.'"
Another 6-8 forward may be close to signing with Kansas.
known admission of Pratt Community College, probably will decide Monday between Kansas and San Francisco. Pratt coach Gary Thomas said.
Kansas beats Tarkio College 5-1 and 8-0 in doubleheader
by Laurie Whitten
Kansan sportswriter
Kansas softball coach Kalum Haack had mixed emotions about the Jayhawks' performance in a doubleheader against Arkio College yesterday afternoon.
Although Kansas defeated Tarkio 5-1 and 8-0, Haack said he was disappointed with the way the 25-17 Jayhawks played in the first game but was extremely proud of the way they played in the second.
"I was disappointed in how we came out and played," Haack said after the first game. "I think we were telling ourselves that they were not as good because they're an NAIA team, and we're Division I."
"We didn't play with the same intensity and excitement as we did against Creighton. Our defense and base running had a lot of problems."
The team played Creighton on Tuesday.
In the bottom of the first inning, Kansas shortstop Christy Arterburn hit a bunt toward third base. The Tarkio catcher then made an error by throwing the ball past the first down, allowing Arterburn to hit.
Kansas scored two more runs in the fourth inning when catcher Eri Wahwa and first baseman Jodi Hoyer were walked and designated hitter Jennifer Frost bunted and drove Wahwa and Frox home.
Haack said that Roanna Brazier, who was the winning pitcher, picked one of her better games for Kansas.
"Roanna's pitching was the one thing we could count on in this game," Haack said. "She's playing better all the time."
Brazier, 17-11, leads the Big Eight Conference with 37 hits, seven doubles and 23 runs scored.
In the second inning, outfielder Karla Kalin walked and reached second on sacrifice飞 by Frost. Kalin then advanced to third on a drive by Brazer, and both she and Braster scored on a double by Spiiller-
The second game opened with Arterburn, Spitalerli and outfielder Jessica Hennig hitting consecutive singles, with Arterburn scoring on the left and out later, Wahna singled and drove in Spitaleri, making the score 2-0.
"In the second ballgame, we played excellent ball." Haack said. "We hit the ball hard like we were supposed to, and our defense was good." In between games, the girls came out and played like I wanted them to."
Reenie Powell, the Jayhawks only senior, was the winning pitcher. Powell's record is 2-4.
During the bottom of the fourth inning, Kansas' Jessica Hennig slides safely into third base.
Sports Briefs
KANSAS HOME TENNIS: The Kansas men's and women's tennis teams will face more Big Eight Conference matches tomorrow, when they play Colorado.
Kansas men's coach Scott Perelman said Kansas had to defeat both Wichita State and Colorado to qualify for the NCAA tournament on May 14.
The men's team also will play today against Wichita State in Wichita.
Play begins at 2 p.m. on the courts behind Allen Field House.
"Wichita State is within our region, and if we want to go to the NCAA, we've got to beat them." Perlman said the state has like any other Big Eight rivalry.
"As for Colorado, it's an important Big Eight match for us to win. That team is much improved from a year
Kansas woman golfer uses new swing, clubs
ago."
Colorado's women's team, 14-10, is led by Karen Myers, who was third at No.1 singles in the conference last year.
Kansas track coach Gary Schwartz said he wanted to concentrate on recruiting at the meet because it will include high school competitors.
KU TRACK IN WICHTA! The Kansas men's and women's track teams will compete tomorrow in the Woodman Classic at Wichita State.
"It's a good meet, but a low-key meet," Schwartz said. "We will go in and get a lot of work done to get ready for Relays."
The Kansas Relays will be April 18-22 in Lawrence.
bv Laurie Whitten
Kansan sportswriter
The course at the Nebraska Women's Golf Classic this weekend will not be the only thing unfamiliar for those women's golfer Laura Mvers.
Myers, a Missouri City, Texas,
freshman, will be playing the 54-hole
tournament with a revised swing and
a brand new set of clubs.
"My swing has been completely changed by Coach (Brad) Demo, and I've had to adjust to that." Myers said. "The change was necessary, and the timing more accurately. Now I hit a shot, and I know where it's going to end up.
"As for the clubs, it wasn't a question of buying better ones," she said of her new set of Pings. "Mine were just getting too old. It's always
hard to break in new ones, but I've been hitting the ball well with them so far, so hopefully it won't take me long to adjust."
Demo said Myers would be playing No. 1 for Kansas, followed by freshman Shelly Triplett and juniors Donna Loewen and Sherri Atchison. New to the Jayhawks spring lineup are Josh Gibbs and bookings S.D., freshman. Demo
Martin competed in two tournaments this fall and has an 86.2 stroke average.
Demo said Kansas had a good chance of winning the two-day, six-team tournament. The Jayhawks
"Laura is somebody you haven't heard much about, but she's really made a lot of progress." Demo said. He asked an assistant to see what she can do. "I'm anxious to see what she can do."
competed against 12 teams in the same tournament last year, finishing third.
"I think it's going to come down to Nebraska and us," he said. "As a team, we've been kind of struggling lately, but I think everyone understands what it takes to win. It is tough to book this tournament positively."
"I also think we're going to see a lot of low scores because of the course. It's a public facility, not extremely long, and wide open. It's just the kind of course we need right now."
The Kansas men's team will be competing against 15 teams in the Bradley Invitational this weekend. The tournament, which begins tomorrow and ends Sunday, will be played on the Lick Creek Country
Club course in Peoria, Ill., which was ranked by Golf Digest magazine as one of the top courses in the country.
Two of Kansas' competitors, Nebraska Wesleyan and Gustavus Adolph College, are ranked in the NCAA Div. III top 10, and Northeast Missouri State and Milliken College are ranked in the NCAA Division II top 10.
Coach Ross Randall said Kansas was considered a favorite in the tournament.
"I think we will do well at this tournament, if we play like we're capable of playing." Randall said. "We're playing better each time we compete, but we can still suffer from short game problems, but we're not in any trouble."
"I know it's a really demanding golf course."